Owners of Toyota, Subaru, Mazda, and BMW vehicles affected by the massive shrapnel-shooting Takata airbag defect could soon receive compensation for past repairs and other economic losses, as the automakers agreed today to pay $553 million to compensate owners and create programs intended to repair defective airbags more quickly.

The settlement, filed this morning in a Florida federal court, is expected to accelerate the removal of defective Takata airbag inflators and compensate owners and lessees of approximately 15.3 million vehicles equipped with the airbags.

If the settlement is approved by the court, Toyota would contribute $278 million to the fund, followed by $131 million from BMW, $75.8 million from Mazda, and Subaru’s $68.2 million.

As part of the deal, the automakers will use these funds to create several programs, including those for customer outreach, rental car loaners, a out-of-pocket claims process, and customer support.

“This agreement achieves our goals of educating consumers about the urgent need to have their recall remedies completed while providing them compensation for their economic losses,” Peter Prieto, Court-appointed Chair Lead Counsel, said in a statement.

The soon-to-be established independent outreach program is aimed at increasing the recall remedy completion rates for affected vehicles.

To date, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 15.4 million airbags affected by the recall have been repaired.

Of the carmakers involved in the settlement, BMW has repaired 340,802 airbags, Mazda has repaired 233,555, Subaru 352,365, and Toyota 1.7 million airbags.

The new program will regularly contact class members through direct mail, phone calls, email, internet ads, and social media to educate them about the settlement and incentivize them to receive the recall remedy, representatives for the plaintiff’s said in a statement Thursday.

The settlement also creates a compensation plan to cover the economic losses of owners and lessees of the carmakers’ vehicles, as well as establishing program for rental car loaners.

The rental car loaner program applies only to customers who own a vehicle included in the highest priority group as established by NHTSA.

In order to be eligible, the settlement requires owners to contact a dealership and request a replacement airbag. If the dealership informs the customer they do not have required parts available, the owners can request a rental or loaner vehicle.

To obtain compensation for out-of-pocket claims, owners must submit a claim form to a Settlement Special Administrator, who will determine composition. Reimbursable expenses may include rental car and transportation expenses; storage or towing charges for completion of the Recall Remedy; or, childcare expenses or lost wages necessarily incurred during the time in which the Recall Remedy is being performed.

The customer support program is intended to provide program information to customers related to repairs and adjustments on the replacement inflators, including an extended warranty.

The program will generally last for no less than 75,000 miles from the date the Recall Remedy was performed on the vehicle, and each eligible vehicle will receive no less than two years of coverage.

While today’s settlement covers millions of vehicles, it does not include tens of millions manufactured by other automakers, including Honda, Ford, and Nissan.

Vehicles covered by the settlement include:

Model Years	Make and Model
2002-2004	Toyota Sequoia
2002-2005	Lexus SC430
2003-2004	Toyota Tundra
2003-2007	GM-Pontiac Vibe
2003-2007	Toyota Corolla (JPN)
2003-2008	Toyota Corolla (NAP)
2003-2008	Toyota Matrix
2004-2005	Toyota RAV4
2005-2006	Toyota Tundra
2005-2007	Toyota Sequoia
2006-2010	Lexus SC430
2006-2011	Toyota Yaris (HB)
2006-2013	Lexus IS
2007-2012	Lexus ES350
2007-2012	Toyota Yaris (SDN)
2008-2014	Lexus IS-F
2008-2015	Scion XB
2009-2013	Toyota Corolla (JPN)
2009-2013	Toyota Corolla (NAP)
2009-2013	Toyota Matrix
2010-2015	Lexus IS250C/350C
2010-2016	Toyota 4Runner
2010-2017	Lexus GX460
2011-2014	Toyota Sienna
2012	Lexus LF-A
2014-2015	Lexus IS250/350
2014-2017	Toyota Corolla (NAP)
2015-2017	Lexus RC350/300/200T
2015-2017	Lexus RC-F
2016	Scion iM
2016-2017	Lexus IS350/300/200T
2017	Lexus GX460
2017	Toyota 4Runner
2017	Toyota iM
2003-2006	Subaru Baja
2009-2013	Subaru Forester
2004-2011	Subaru Impreza (including WRX/STI)
2003-2017	Subaru Legacy
2003-2017	Subaru Outback
2006-2014	Subaru Tribeca
2012-2014	Subaru WRX/STI
2005-2006	Saab 9-2X
2011-2014	Mazda2
2010-2013	Mazda3
2003-2013	Mazda6
2006-2007	MazdaSpeed6
2007-2012	Mazda CX-7
2007-2015	Mazda CX-9
2004-2006	Mazda MPV
2004-2011	Mazda RX-8
2004-2009	Mazda B-Series
2006, and 2008-2013	BMW 1 Series
2014-2017	BMW 2 Series
2000-2017	BMW 3 Series
2014-2017	BMW 4 Series
2001-2003, and 2009-2017	BMW 5 Series
2012-2017	BMW 6 Series
2011-2017	BMW X1
2007-2017	BMW X3
2014-2017	BMW X4
2000-2004, and 2006-2017	BMW X5
2007-2017 2014-2017	BMW X6 I8 EV

 

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