Takata Airbags: Mandatory Loan Vehicles, Which Drivers Are Affected?

The government has decided to put pressure on the (many) car manufacturers whose vehicles equipped with Takata airbags are still on the road in France. There are 1.7 million of them in France, all targeted by a huge "stop and drive" operation, forcing their owners to go to the garage to have these Japanese-brand airbags replaced, which have already caused the deaths of 18 drivers in France, including 16 overseas.

After requesting an inspection report from the IGEDD (General Inspectorate for the Environment and Sustainable Development) last January, the Ministry of Transport decided to require manufacturers, including Citroën, Audi, Opel, BMW, Volkswagen, Toyota and Mercedes, to offer free mobility solutions to motorists whose vehicles are immobilized for more than 15 days.

These solutions include requiring brands to lend their customers a replacement car, offer home repair appointments, and tow the unsafe vehicle to a garage. The decree, which will be published in the Official Journal this Wednesday, July 30, also stipulates that manufacturers have 20 days to notify owners of vehicles targeted by a "stop and drive" order that they are prohibited from continuing to use their car and two months to schedule an appointment at a garage. The government is also threatening them with a "penalty" of one million euros per week of delay.

How do you know if your vehicle is equipped with a potentially dangerous Takata airbag? Checking is actually quite simple, by going to the official website of your brand. For Citroën and DS models from the Stellantis group (Peugeot is not affected), simply take your registration document and go to the dedicated website (here for Citroën , here for DS ). You will be asked for a reference to identify your vehicle: the VIN (line 6 of the registration document). The answer is then displayed in one click. For the other brands concerned - more than twenty -, dedicated sites are also available for free and allow you to find the list of models concerned.

The Takata airbag scandal, named after the Japanese equipment manufacturer that went bankrupt in 2017, has been affecting the automotive industry for about ten years. These airbags, which can explode in the driver's face due to a gas that degrades, particularly in hot and humid conditions, were installed in cars from many manufacturers at the time. Major brands are affected and have already recalled several million vehicles worldwide.

But the number of cars still on the road today with these defective airbags is still significant, as demonstrated by the two fatal accidents that occurred in France in 2025, the first in Guadeloupe in March, the second in June near Reims.