Originally Posted By: supton
I've looked a few times at the airbags in my '99 and wondered, what are the odds that these are still working properly? They should be, but one just never knows--until it's asked to do its job. In which case one then wonders if Takata got asked to make 'em. In which I don't want them to inflate.
I wouldn't fear a pre-2000s Takata airbag - back then almost everyone but Autoliv/Morton for Mercedes contracts used sodium azide and potassium nitrate as the propellant - KNO3 is much more stable than NH4NO3(ammonium nitrate). The reason why sodium azide isn't used anymore is that it doesn't produce as much N2 to inflate an airbag for the amount that needs to be detonated and that's it's pretty toxic - as much as cyanide. The automakers are concerned about EOL of a car when it does end up at a junkyard.
However, Takata did have a rash of bad seatbelts that triggered recalls in the 1990s. The buckle was prone to either jamming or not engaging properly.