Ford, Mazda air bags overview:ย
- Who: Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor of America have issued urgent โdo not driveโ warnings for more than 457,000 vehicles.
- What: The automakers say the vehicles are equipped with recalled Takata air bags.
- Where: The warning is active in the United States.
Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor of America have issued urgent โdo not driveโ warnings for more than 457,000 vehicles, as they contain deadly Takata air bags.
The warning was issued Aug. 13 on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website and applies to all unrepaired, recalled Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles, and all Mazda vehicles that are equipped with non-desiccated Takata air bags.ย
The NHTSA said it is urging all vehicle owners to immediately check to see if their vehicle has an open Takata air bag recall. You can check if your vehicle has been recalled here.
โIf you have one of these vehicles, do not drive it until the repair is completed and the defective air bag is replaced,โ the warning says.
27 people killed in U.S. by defective Takata air bags
The warning was issued to ensure that anyone with a vehicle that was recalled due to it containing a faulty Takata air bag is aware that they must stop driving the vehicle for their own safety, and schedule a free repair.
โSome of these vehicles are now more than 20 years old, which increases the risk of an air bag rupturing in a crash,โ the recall states. โIf an explosion occurs, it can severely injure or kill vehicle occupants.โย
To date, NHTSA has confirmed 27 people in the U.S. have been killed by defective Takata air bags that exploded, it said.ย
In addition, at least 400 people in the U.S. reportedly have been injured by exploding Takata air bag inflators. Even minor crashes can result in exploding Takata air bags that can kill or produce life-altering, gruesome injuries, the warning states. Older model year vehicles put their occupants at higher risk, as the age of the air bag is one of the contributing factors.โฏ
Ford, Mazda offer free towing and loaner vehicles
If the vehicle contains the faulty air bag, owners should contact their dealership to schedule a free repair as soon as possible and follow any warnings from the vehicle manufacturer, the warning states.ย ย
Ford and Mazda are offering free towing, mobile repair and, if necessary, loaner vehicles.ย
Fordโs warning covers 374,290 model year 2004-2014 vehicles previously recalled and includes certain Rangers, GTs, Mustangs, Fusions, Lincolns, Mercury Milans and Edges.ย
Mazdaโs warning covers 82,893 model year 2003-2015 vehicles previously recalled and includes certain B-Series, Mazda6, MazdaSpeed6, RX-8, MPV, CX-7 and CX-9.
Ford customers with questions or concerns can visit the automakerโs recalls website and check to see if their vehicle is affected. Mazda customers can visit its recalls website for more information and to check for recalls.
Meanwhile, Ford is facing class action claims that it manufactured and sold certain model year 2016 and newer economy, subcompact and compact vehicles containing defective Ford 1.0-liter EcoBoost engines.ย
Are you affected by these Ford and Mazda recalls? Let us know in the comments.
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3 thoughts onFord, Mazda warn consumers not to drive vehicles with Takata air bags
I have Mazda cx-7 and I was just in a car accident almost two weeks ago and my airbag did not go off .
Add me as I purchased a new 2013 Ford Mustang in 2012 which was the first to be sold in our dealership in our town where we live. We had a recall for the Takata air bag and took it to the dealership to have it replaced but not sure what airbag they replaced it with as we asked what brand name the new airbag was and got a โno commentโ reply from the dealership.
Add me