Ford Motor Co. and Mazda North American Operations issued “do not drive” advisories Tuesday to owners of certain vehicles who have not yet had their vehicles repaired following several Takata airbag recalls.
Both automakers are urging customers of recalled vehicles equipped with undesiccated Takata airbags to stop driving their vehicles immediately and have their defective airbags repaired or replaced, according to a notice issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “If you own one of these vehicles, do not drive it until the repair is complete and the defective airbag is replaced,” NHTSA said.
Ford’s notice comes after three previously announced recalls (15S21, 17S42 and 19S01) from 2015 involving several vehicle lines equipped with Takata’s non-dried airbag inflators.
“The age of these vehicles makes it increasingly likely that a part inside the airbag could explode and expel sharp metal fragments during a crash. This could cause serious injury or death to the driver or passengers,” the automaker said in its warning.
Ford’s warning covers 374,290 previously recalled 2004-2014 model year vehicles:
- 2004-2006 Ford Ranger Trucks
- Ford Mustang 2005-2014 Vehicles
- 2005-2006 Ford GT Vehicles
- Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln MKZ / Zephyr 2006-2012 vehicles
- 2007-2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX Vehicles
- 2007-2011 Ford Ranger Trucks
Mazda’s warning covers the following previously recalled 82,893 vehicles from model years 2003 through 2015:
- Series B 2004 – 2009
- Mazda6 2003-2013
- MazdaSpeed6 2006-2007
- MPV 2004-2006
- RX-8 2004-2011
- CX-7 2007-2012
- CX-9 2007-2015
According to Ford, approximately 95 percent of U.S. customers have responded to the Takata recall, thanks to more than 121 million outreach efforts — including letters, emails, phone calls, text messages and more than 1 million door-to-door customer visits — the company has made about the recalls. The company says 765,600 Ford and Lincoln airbag inflators are affected worldwide, including 374,300 in the U.S.
“Some of these vehicles are now more than 20 years old, increasing the risk of an airbag rupture in a crash. If an explosion occurs, it could seriously injure or kill vehicle occupants,” NHTSA said.
Takata inflators can explode with too much force, sending shrapnel into drivers and passengers. At least 27 people have been killed in the United States and hundreds more have been injured by defective airbags, according to NHTSA. The inflators have led to the recall of 19.2 million vehicles in the United States, and government regulators are investigating the possibility that millions more vehicles are affected.
The airbag explosion drove Takata in Japan into bankruptcy.
Both automakers said airbags in vehicles affected by the recalls will be repaired or replaced free of charge.
You can check if your vehicle is included in the recall by entering your VIN number or license plate number at www.ford.com/support/recalls/, https://www.mazdarecallinfo.com/ or nhtsa.gov/recalls.
If you believe your vehicle may have a safety defect that is not part of an active recall, contact NHTSA online or by calling the agency’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
