Since 2016, General Motors has fought orders to replace allegedly defective Takata airbags in over six million of its pickup trucks and SUVs, arguing in a series of petitions that the recall is unnecessary because the airbags are safe. Four years after receiving the first of the petitions, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has yet to rule on them, leaving owners of the vehicles in limbo.
“Every time I have a passenger in the front seat I feel they and I are in danger,” wrote one anonymous owner in a comment posted on a federal website. “This situation is a nightmare.”