(Listener42)

The thing about car air bags is it’s quite necessary that they deploy at the right time. Which is why the Japanese maker of safety gear is at the center of a recall of more than three million vehicles, scattered across the Honda, Toyota and Nissan brands. Those companies all have cars that could have defective airbag inflators, causing airbags to possibly deploy abnormally in a crash.

The wonky products were made between 2000 and 2002, said a spokesman for Takata, the safety gear company at the crux of the recall, notes Bloomberg.

According to a press release from Toyota, 170,000 front passenger airbag inflators across several models are involved in the safety recall. Those include certain Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Sequoia, and Tundra, and Lexus SC 430 models manufactured from 2001 to 2003. The company says as many as 510,000 vehicles might have to be inspected to identify problem inflators.

Anyone who owns a Toyota affected by the recall will receive a letter in the mail with further instructions. More information is available at  www.toyota.com/recall, by calling the Toyota Customer Experience at 1-800-331-4331, www.lexus.com/recall and Lexus Customer Satisfaction 1-800-255-3987.

Honda is recalling 1.1 million vehicles, with about 680,000 of those in the United States. Here, the recall covers 2001-2003 Civics; 2002-2003 CR-Vs; 2002 Odyssey. Mailed notification to customers will begin in late-May, 2013. Customers can inquire about recalls by going to www.recalls.honda.com or by calling (800) 999-1009, and selecting option 4.

Nissan has 480,000 vehicles globally in the recall, including the 2000-2004 Maxima, Infiniti FX, Infiniti QX4, Nissan Pathfinder and Nissan Sentra, according to reports. We weren’t able to locate a press release on Nissan’s site but customers will likely receive a letter from the company as well, or call your local Nissan dealer.

Toyota Announces Voluntary Recall of Certain Vehicles for the Front Passenger Airbag[Toyota]
Toyota Joins Honda, Nissan in Car Recall on Airbag Fault [Bloomberg]
Statement by American Honda Regarding Passenger Front Airbag Inflator Recall: 2001-2003 Honda Civic; 2002-2003 Honda CR-V; 2002 Honda

(Louis Abate)

“Where are my keys? I had them right here. But where are they now? UGH I NEED TO FIND MY KEYS.” That’s happened to you probably, but what about losing your smartphone? Maybe not as often, and it’s easier to find what with that whole ringing/beeping and otherwise making noise feature. In the future, losing your keys might be tougher as the American Automobile Association predicts smartphone apps will replace traditional car keys.

Some cars already use electronic keys and fobs (which did lead to self-starting issues cited in a recent Subaru recall) and the AAA thinks this technology is simply paving the way for phones to take over, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Already in the technology club are Chevrolet and Nissan, both which already have mobile apps that can be used to monitor and control certain car functions. Hyundai also unveiled plans for a smartphone that can work with a vehicle to perform some functions as well.

“Traditional car keys will likely become obsolete and be replaced by technologies offering even greater security and convenience,” John Nielsen, AAA director of automotive engineering and repair told the L.A. Times. “Motorists will need to adapt with the technology to avoid the hassle and expense of smart key replacements.”

That could make less work for the AAA, which rescued 4 million locked out drivers last year, a number that hasn’t changed much in the last five years.