Auto Airbag Settlement: Eligibility, Deadlines, and Filing

If you owned or leased a vehicle with a recalled Takata airbag inflator, the auto airbag settlement you can still file for depends on the make of your car and whether you were physically hurt. The Volkswagen and Audi economic loss settlement remains open until July 8, 2026. The Takata personal injury and wrongful death trust still accepts claims from more recent accidents. Every other manufacturer’s economic loss deadline has already passed.

Two Separate Tracks: Economic Loss and Personal Injury

Before anything else, figure out which claim applies to you. The two tracks have different administrators, different eligibility rules, and different deadlines, and you cannot cross-file between them.

Economic loss settlements compensate owners and lessees for the financial hit of owning a car with a defective inflator, even if the airbag never ruptured. Covered costs include diminished vehicle value, rental cars while waiting for a recall repair, towing, and lost wages tied to the inconvenience. Each automaker negotiated its own settlement, which is why the deadlines vary.¹

Personal injury and wrongful death claims go through the Takata Airbag Tort Compensation Trust Fund (TATCTF) and the Individual Restitution Fund (IRF). These funds exist only for people physically hurt or killed when a Takata PSAN inflator actually ruptured or aggressively deployed.²

Manufacturer Deadlines at a Glance

Eight automakers reached separate economic loss settlements, all handled through autoairbagsettlement.com. Here is the current status:

BMW, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, and Toyota: filing deadline was August 2, 2022. Closed.³
Ford: the $299.1 million settlement closed on March 10, 2025.⁴
Volkswagen and Audi: final registration and claim deadline is July 8, 2026. This is the only manufacturer economic loss settlement still accepting new filings.⁵

If you missed the deadline for your manufacturer, there is no path back in for economic loss claims. Those deadlines were court-ordered and are not flexible.

The Volkswagen and Audi Settlement

If you owned or leased a Volkswagen or Audi with a Takata inflator, you can choose one of two benefits. Option one is reimbursement of documented out-of-pocket expenses, with no cap on approved amounts. Option two is a residual distribution payment of up to $500. Which one fits you depends on whether you kept receipts and records for specific costs.⁶

Class eligibility varies by manufacturer, but the pattern is similar across settlements: anyone who owned or leased a covered vehicle during a defined window qualifies. The Ford settlement, for example, covered people who owned or leased an affected vehicle on September 5, 2018, plus former owners or lessees who sold or returned the vehicle between June 19, 2014, and that date.¹ You do not need to have experienced a deployment or any injury. Owning the vehicle during the class period is enough. Check the current Volkswagen settlement page for the exact class definition that applies to you.

Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Claims

Two funds handle claims from people physically hurt by a defective Takata inflator, and a single claim form covers both.

The Individual Restitution Fund was created as part of Takata’s criminal plea in federal court in Michigan, funded with $125 million in 2017. A court-appointed Special Master develops the compensation methodology and recommends payments to the judge.⁷ The Takata Airbag Tort Compensation Trust Fund was established through Takata’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy and confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court in Delaware in February 2018. It compensates individuals who suffered personal injury or wrongful death from a ruptured or aggressively deployed PSAN inflator.²

Only people with physical injuries or families filing on behalf of someone who died qualify. Economic-only losses do not. Estate representatives can file wrongful death claims on behalf of a decedent.

Injury Claim Deadlines

The filing window depends on when the accident happened. For accidents before April 10, 2018, the filing deadline was April 10, 2021. For accidents on or after April 10, 2018, you must file within three years of the accident or within the time allowed under your state’s applicable statute of limitations, whichever is later.²

A Note on Fund Solvency

An unexpected increase in the value of eligible claims has raised concerns about whether the current point-value system holds up over the projected lifespan of the funds. Administrators paused new award valuations while economic experts reexamined cash flow projections. Valuations already issued will be honored at current point values, but future claimants may see adjustments and delays.²

Confirming Your Vehicle Is Covered

Start with your Vehicle Identification Number. It’s the 17-character code visible through the lower left of your windshield or printed on a sticker inside the driver’s-side door jamb. Enter it at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see any open Takata recall notices on your vehicle.⁸

A recall notice does not automatically mean you qualify for a settlement payment. Some vehicles are recalled for free inflator replacement under federal law but fall outside a particular settlement’s class definition.¹ Federal law requires manufacturers to fix recalled safety defects at no charge if the vehicle was purchased less than 15 years before the recall notice.⁹ Get the recall repair done whether or not you file a claim. An unrepaired Takata inflator is a genuine safety hazard.

Documents to Gather

Economic loss claims are lighter on paperwork. Injury claims require substantially more.

For Economic Loss Claims

At minimum, you need your VIN and proof you owned or leased the vehicle during the class period: registration, title, lease agreement, or an insurance card showing the VIN. If you’re seeking reimbursement rather than the flat residual payment, collect receipts for every expense you’re claiming: rental car invoices, rideshare receipts, towing bills, mechanic charges for temporary fixes, and documentation of any lost wages tied to recall-related appointments. Without documentation, you may still qualify for the residual distribution (up to $500 in the Volkswagen settlement), but reimbursement of specific costs requires proof.⁶

For Personal Injury Claims

Injury claims demand thorough medical documentation: hospital discharge summaries, surgical records, and physician notes that specifically reference the airbag-related cause of your injuries. Ask for itemized billing statements rather than summary invoices. If you need ongoing care, a letter from your treating physician outlining future medical needs strengthens the claim for a higher point-value award.

The official accident report from the responding law enforcement agency provides the factual foundation for the crash. Photographs of the ruptured inflator and vehicle damage add visual proof. If the vehicle was later sold or scrapped, maintenance records or an insurance total-loss statement can verify ownership at the time of the incident.

Keep a dedicated folder, digital and paper, of every document you submit and every piece of correspondence with the administrator. Settlement administrators use duplicate claim detection and document review workflows, so consistency across your records matters.

How to Submit

For the Volkswagen and Audi settlement, claims are filed through the portal at autoairbagsettlement.com. The form asks for your contact information, vehicle details, and the type of benefit you want. Upload scanned copies of supporting documents directly through the portal, and save the confirmation receipt.⁵

For personal injury or wrongful death claims, filing goes through TakataInjuryClaimSubmission.com. A single claim form covers both the IRF and the TATCTF, so you don’t file twice. The Special Master’s office reviews submissions and makes compensation recommendations to the court.²

Double-check every field before submitting. Mismatched VINs, misspelled names, and incomplete vehicle history are the most common reasons claims get flagged. If you’re allowed to mail the submission, use certified mail with tracking so you have proof it arrived before the deadline.

What Happens After You File

Economic loss claims go through an administrative review that verifies your eligibility and expenses. The administrator may email or mail you asking for more documentation if the initial filing is incomplete. Approved out-of-pocket reimbursements are paid directly. Residual distribution payments may be staggered across program years depending on available funds.

Personal injury claims take longer. A point-based system assigns a value based on the severity and nature of your injuries, and the Special Master reviews medical evidence before recommending an award. With the ongoing solvency review, expect delays before new valuations resume.

If your claim is denied, most settlements provide a window to appeal or supply missing information. The appeal procedure and deadline will be spelled out in the denial notice.

Tax Treatment of Payments

Compensation for personal physical injuries or physical sickness is excluded from gross income under federal tax law, whether paid as a lump sum or over time.¹⁰ Most personal injury payouts from the Takata trust funds fall under this exclusion.

Economic loss payments compensate for diminished value and inconvenience rather than physical injury, so under the general rule that all income is taxable unless specifically exempted, they are likely taxable.¹¹ The amounts are usually modest, but don’t ignore them at filing time.

Emotional distress damages are taxable unless the distress arose directly from a physical injury. Reimbursement of actual medical expenses you paid to treat emotional distress, and didn’t previously deduct, can be excluded.¹⁰ If your claim mixes physical and emotional components, how the settlement paperwork allocates them directly affects your tax bill.

Health Insurance Liens

If your health insurer paid for medical treatment related to a Takata injury and you later receive a settlement for those same costs, the insurer may have a right to recover what it spent. This is subrogation, and it can take a real bite out of your payout.

Employer-sponsored plans governed by ERISA often have the strongest reimbursement rights, sometimes overriding state protections that would otherwise limit what an insurer can claw back. Medicare has federally protected reimbursement rights under the Medicare Secondary Payer Act, and ignoring a Medicare lien can create personal liability. Medicaid liens vary by state.

Before you accept an injury settlement, review your health plan documents for subrogation language and determine whether Medicare or Medicaid covered any treatment. Lien reductions are often negotiable, but the negotiation has to happen before you cash the check.

If Your Airbag Recall Isn’t a Takata Recall

Not every airbag recall is a Takata recall. Separate class actions have targeted ZF-TRW airbag control units in certain Hyundai, Kia, and Toyota vehicles, involving a different defect where a faulty electronic control unit could prevent airbags from deploying at all. The Toyota ZF-TRW settlement has a claims deadline of December 11, 2028. If your recall notice references a different defect or component, check whether a separate class action covers it before assuming Takata’s deadlines apply.

1
Takata Settlement – Ford. Ford Settlement
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Takata Airbag Tort Compensation Trust Fund. Takata Airbag Tort Compensation Trust Fund
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Takata Settlement. Submit a Registration/Claim Form
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Takata Settlement. Takata Settlement Home
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Takata Settlement – Volkswagen. Submit a Registration/Claim Form – Instructions
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Takata Settlement – Volkswagen. Volkswagen – Frequently Asked Questions
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Takata Airbag Individual Restitution Fund. Frequently Asked Questions
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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Check for Recalls – Vehicle, Car Seat, Tire, Equipment
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 30120 – Remedies
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 104 – Compensation for Injuries or Sickness
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Internal Revenue Service. Tax Implications of Settlements and Judgments