Topline
Ford and Mazda on Tuesday warned the owners of more than 457,000 older cars to stop driving them because they are likely equipped with recalled airbag inflators that could explode when deployed in a crash, a defect regulators said has affected scores of automakers and killed dozens of people in the U.S. over the last decade.
The airbags have killed at least 27 people and injured hundreds of others in the U.S., regulators … [+]
Key Facts
The “Do Not Drive” advisory covers cars ranging from 2004 to 2015, including some previously recalled Ford Ranger, GT, Mustang and Mazda CX-9 and RX-8 vehicles, among others, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
The vehicles are equipped with airbag inflators manufactured by Takata, which could explode in a crash after being exposed to heat and humidity, causing metal shrapnel to shoot into the car’s interior.
At least 27 people have been killed by the airbag inflators in the U.S. among all affected cars and automakers, including at least 400 others who have allegedly been injured, according to the NHTSA.
Some of the vehicles are over 20 years old, which could increase the risk of the airbags rupturing in a crash because “the age of the airbag is one of the contributing factors” in possibly exploding, the agency said.
The NHTSA urged all vehicle owners to check whether their car was affected by a Takata airbag recall, adding owners should contact their dealership for a free repair “as soon as possible” if needed.
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Big Number
765,600. That’s the estimated number of Ford vehicles equipped with the airbag inflators worldwide, the automaker said.
Surprising Fact
Ford and Mazda issued earlier advisories not to drive certain Ford Ranger and Mazda B-Series vehicles manufactured in 2006. Other automakers have issued similar warnings, including BMW, Chrysler, Honda and Nissan, which issued an advisory earlier this year. Though most airbag inflators have been installed in passenger cars, they have also been equipped on Ferrari’s luxury vehicles and Daimler’s trucks.
Key Background
Takata’s defective airbag inflators are part of the largest series of automotive recalls in U.S. history, with 67 million inflators recalled by the NHTSA since 2019. Another 33 million airbags have been recalled worldwide. Several automakers have issued recalls for cars with the airbags, including BMW, which recalled more than 390,000 cars last month after the driver of a 2014 BMW X3 was injured by shrapnel after the vehicle’s airbag exploded in October. The Transportation Department fined Takata $200 million—the largest civil penalty ever handed out by the agency—for the inflators in 2016, while also requesting regulators to preserve all recalled inflators for a federal investigation. Takata filed for bankruptcy in 2017 after years of regulatory scrutiny.
