Takata Airbag Fiasco Expands With Additional Recalls From Toyota, Ford

More cars have been added to the global recall of Takata airbag inflators as Ford has issued a safety recall for various vehicles including the 2007-2010 Edge, 2006-2011 Fusion, 2005-2011 Mustang, 2007-2011 Ranger, 2007-2010 Lincoln MKX, and 2006-2011 Lincoln MKZ, Zephyr, and Mercury Milan. This wave of recalls addresses the front passenger airbag inflators. The automaker says it isn’t aware of any injuries associated with those parts. In total, 1,898,728 vehicles are affected by the safety recall in the U.S, and another 1,304 in Canada. Ford dealers will replace the defective front passenger airbag at no cost to the owner. The defective airbags have been found to explode with excessive force in hot and humid conditions and have been linked to 13 deaths and over 100 injuries globally.

Automotive News reports Toyota also announced a recall affecting 490,000 vehicles in regions including Japan, China, and Europe for faulty airbag inflators made by Takata. This latest recall also involves the front passenger airbags, which don’t contain a dryer agent and use ammonium-nitrate as the inflation agent. Toyota will recall 45,000 Lexus IS sedans in Japan, and around 140,000 Lexus IS, ES, and GX vehicles in China produced between 2005 and 2011. In Europe, Toyota issued recalls for the same three models from the Lexus brand along with the Toyota 4Runner and Corolla, bringing the total to around 80,000 vehicles produced during the same time period. Another 100,000 Toyota vehicles, including the Corolla, Yaris, and Sienna are affected by the recall in Mexico. In South America, 120,000 Toyota and Lexus vehicles are affected.

In the U.S., a senate report revealed that four automakers, Toyota, FCA, Mitsubishi, and Volkswagen, continue to sell new vehicles with defective airbags that will eventually need to be recalled. AN reports all four manufacturers confirmed they are continuing to sell some vehicles with ammonium-nitrate inflators without drying agents and revealed that these vehicles are legal to sell, but must recalled by 2018.

NHTSA has taken over the recall, which has grown into the largest automotive safety recall in history with nearly 70 million vehicles affected. “What’s troubling here is that consumers are buying new cars not realizing they’re going to be recalled,” said U.S. senator and report author Bill Nelson, D-Fla., in a statement. “These cars shouldn’t be sold until they’re fixed.” The news comes after last week when eight automakers announced recalls for 12 million vehicles due to faulty Takata airbag inflators. Originally, 14 manufacturers recalled inflators in 24 million cars, but last month Takata agreed to declare another 35-40 million inflators as defective.

Source: Ford, Automotive News 1, 2 (Subscription required)

The post Takata Airbag Fiasco Expands With Additional Recalls From Toyota, Ford appeared first on Motor Trend.

from Motor Trend http://ift.tt/1Y3675h