"That said, the matter is so grave from a safety perspective that
Toyota is taking the extreme step of disabling the passenger airbag entirely if a replacement is not available and putting a “Do Not Sit Here” decal in the car until a proper repair can be effected."
Shrapnel-Shooting Airbags Being Disabled, "Do Not Sit Here" Stickers Affixed to Dashboards –Â*News –Â*Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog
"1.
Under what circumstances will NHTSA allow air bag deactivation?
If the vehicle manufacturer does not make an ON-OFF switch available for a particular vehicle, NHTSA will authorize deactivation for the following reasons only:
A rear-facing infant restraint must be placed in the front seat of a vehicle because there is no back seat or the back seat is too small for the child restraint. (For the passenger air bag only.)
A child 12 years old or younger must ride in the front seat because the child has a condition that requires frequent medical monitoring in the front seat. (For the passenger air bag only,.)
An individual with a medical condition is safer if the frontal air bag is turned off. A written statement from a physician must accompany each request based on a medical condition unless the request is based on a medical condition for which the National Conference on Medical Indications for Air Bag Deactivation recommends deactivation. (For driver and/or passenger frontal air bag as appropriate.)
Drivers must sit within a few inches of the air bag (typically because they are of extremely small-stature, i.e., four feet, six inches or less). (For the driver frontal air bag only.)
Provided one of the above four conditions are met, the agency will continue to grant deactivation requests even if an aftermarket parts manufacturer makes an ON-OFF switch available for those vehicles.
[There should be one more option here now.]
2. How do I get authorization for air bag deactivation?
If you want air bag deactivation for any of the above reasons, describe the reason in a letter and send it to: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Attention: Air Bag Deactivation Requests (W-51), 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC, 20590. Deactivation is not available for any other reasons. The request can also be faxed to 202-493-2833."
http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/Air+Bags/Deactivation+FAQ
Given the circumstances I've thought about it, though I wouldn't ask NHTSA. Honda sold an unsafe vehicle with defective safety devices and are giving priority to vehicles in specific areas, as if they're unaware vehicles can be driven different places, like from low humidity areas to high humidity areas. Worst of all Takata knowingly continued selling the defective airbags for more than a decade and honda allegedly knew as well. They waited until at least two people died [Edit: four] and a couple dozen more injured.
It's pretty easy to do on the CR-Z for the driver's side airbag, there's an access panel for the plug on the bottom of the steering wheel, disconnect 12V, wait several minutes, pop off the panel with a flathead and disconnect the plug. Then black tape the light in the gauge cluster. SRS components are all distinct yellow electrical connectors and shrouding.
Edit: "Toyota has gotten permission from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to disable the airbags, which otherwise would be illegal."
The fix for exploding airbags may be more deadly than the problem - Oct. 31, 2014
Edit 2: "UPDATE 2/3/2016, 6:00 p.m.: Honda dealerships in the U.S. have received letters from the carmaker stating that a new recall and
stop-sale order applies to a long list of used Honda products: 2007–2011 CR-V, 2011–2015 CR-Z, 2009–2013 Fit, 2013–2014 Fit EV, 2010–2014 Insight, and 2007–2014 Ridgeline. According to Automotive News, if dealers don’t abide by the stop-sale order, they could be liable for any injuries that occur as a result of defective Takata airbags in these cars, which number some 1.7 million. The aforementioned vehicles have not yet been added to our list below because the news is not yet official."
Massive Takata Airbag Recall: Everything You Need to Know – News – Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog
Pessimist/realist: they'll probably secretly give priority of airbags to fix the brand new cars ready for sale at the stealerships before they fix many of ours.
Edit 3: For those who want to be angry this is the must read story on the issue:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/07/b...said-to-have-conducted-secret-tests.html?_r=0
Some of the blame definitely lies with Honda, 'get it here as fast as possibly by any means in any condition or we'll fine you out the ***':
"And as automakers drove down costs using “just-in-time” production — which require parts to arrive at assembly plants only as they are required — Takata was under pressure to meet intense delivery schedules, they said. Workers were often told that if a client like Honda or Toyota was required to stop production at their plants because of a late Takata shipment, the parts supplier would be fined tens of thousands of dollars for every minute of lost production."
