Although the Takata airbag recall has largely been associated with Honda vehicles, Ford recently expanded its Takata airbag recall.

Takata has come under scrutiny over allegations that its airbags can dangerously over-inflate and even explode, making car accidents even more dangerous. Takata airbags have been linked to incidents in which drivers are seriously injured, blinded, or even killed as a result of the bags exploding during accidents.

Takata sold the airbags to a number of different automakers, so there have been airbag recalls across different brands. More than 16 million vehicles have been recalled by 10 different car makers. In the United States alone, 7.8 million vehicles have been involved in the Takata airbag recall.

Takata airbags include ammonium nitrate as the chemical used to inflate the bag. This actually costs more than the explosives previously used for this purpose. The change in design was intended to let Takata make their airbags smaller and more lightweight.

However, this change may have made the airbags more dangerous.

Up to this point, Honda has borne the brunt of the recalls. In July, a pregnant woman in Malaysia was killed when her airbag allegedly exploded and turned metal in the steering column into deadly shrapnel. This was the first death outside the United States allegedly linked to the Takata airbag recall.

Honda is also under scrutiny from regulators over allegations that Honda was aware of the problem before the airbag recall. This is the fifth alleged death stemming from airbags involved in the Takata airbag recall.

The death in Malaysia has Ford particularly concerned because the vehicle in question used a similar Takata airbag inflator to the one used in several models of Ford vehicles, including 2004 and 2005 Ford Ranger trucks.

Both Ford and Takata have stated that they have not received any reports of problems with Takata airbags in Ford vehicles. As a precaution, Ford has expanded its recall of 25,000 Ford Rangers that may contain these airbag components. According to Takata, the airbags in the Ford Ranger are similar.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is investigating the issues along with various congressional committees, wants the recall expanded nationwide. Currently, the recall only involves cars in high-humidity areas.