It has been 9 years since Ford, Mazda, and an entire host of different automakers first warned drivers of the hazards of airbag inflators manufactured by Takata. Sadly, in line with the Ford, there are nonetheless as many as 374,300 such inflators driving round on streets right here in the USA (765,600 globally). Mazda stories an additional 83,000 autos. In mild of this seemingly apathetic response, Ford, Mazda and the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration have issued one other do-not-drive advisory for the vehicles and vehicles included within the authentic campaigns.
This can be a critically harmful downside. Again in 2022, NHTSA confirmed the demise of the driving force in a 2006 Ford Ranger pickup truck after the steering-wheel-mounted airbag ruptured and despatched shrapnel flying on the driver. On the time, NHTSA famous that there had been 23 fatalities within the U.S. as a consequence of ruptured airbag inflators.
In response to the automakers, “The age of those autos makes it more and more potential {that a} half contained in the airbag will explode and expel sharp metallic fragments throughout a crash. This might trigger severe damage or demise to the driving force or passengers.”
Ford’s warning covers 374,290 mannequin yr 2004-2012 autos:
Mazda’s warning covers 82,893 mannequin yr 2003-2015 autos:
Ford notes that, like different automakers, it has made repeated efforts to alert homeowners to the hazards of doubtless defective airbag inflators, “with greater than 121 million outreach makes an attempt so far within the U.S. alone, together with letters, emails, telephone calls, textual content messages and greater than 1 million canvassing visits to buyer houses.” It’ll proceed its efforts to get these harmful components changed, noting that components are available for alternative. Each Ford and Mazda are additionally providing free towing, cellular restore and, if obligatory, loaner autos.
It bears repeating: Don’t drive a automobile geared up with one in every of these defective airbag inflators. It actually may imply your life.
