Air bag manufacturer Takata has finally admitted that its air bags are defective. So now what? If you have a car with this safety recall, do take it seriously. Even if you have owned the car for a long time, without incident. That's because as the cars age, the air bag components are exposed to the elements, and are more likely to explode with excessive force, spewing metal fragments at drivers and front seat passengers' faces and necks, blinding them and causing them to bleed to death. Don't wait to get a recall notice from the manufacturer. They tend to use outdated databases, and often recall notices don't reach the current owners. This is especially true if you are not the first owner. Instead, check online yourself, and sign up to receive recall notices directly, electronically, from the manufacturer and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. If your car is being recalled: Contact your local dealer and request two things: 1) that you be put on the list for repair parts, and 2) that you be provided a RENTAL car (not a loaner), while you have to wait for repairs. Rental car companies (except Rent-a-Wreck) have adopted best practices that call for grounding recalled cars until they're repaired. But dealers are pushing to be able to continue loaning cars with unrepaired safety recalls to consumers. Yes, this is nuts, but hey, they're dealers. They think they have a God-given right to loan, rent, or sell their customers unsafe, recalled cars with lethal safety defects. Like CarMax.