USA - Ford expands TAKATA Airbag scandal to over 1.5 million vehicles.

Ford is expanding its safety recalls on vehicles that have certain Takata airbag inflators after Takata declared that those inflators are defective, bringing the total number of Ford vehicles recalled for Takata airbag inflators to 1,509,535 vehicles to date.

This expanded recall follows Takata’s notification to the U.S. NHTSA last week that certain of its airbag inflators are defective, affecting several automakers across the industry. For Ford, affected vehicles include:

• 2005-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles built at Flat Rock Assembly Plant for driver side airbag inflators;
• 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles built at Wixom Assembly Plant for driver side airbag inflators;
• 2004 Ford Rangers built in North America at Edison Assembly Plant and
• 2004-2006 Ford Rangers built at Twin Cities Assembly for passenger side airbag inflators.

As disclosed in November 2014, Ford is aware of one airbag deployment that might be related to the issue, in which a driver’s leg was injured by a metal fragment when the airbag deployed after a crash. Ford has not seen any other inflator ruptures on Ford vehicles in the field or in testing to date. 

A total of 1,490,764 vehicles in North America are now affected by this expanded recall, including 1,380,604 in the United States and federalized territories, 93,207 in Canada and 16,953 in Mexico.

Dealers will replace the airbag inflator at no cost to the customer.

Customers who want to know if their vehicle is included in these recalls can visit www.ford.com  and click on safety recalls at the bottom of the page. Customers can then enter their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to see any open safety, compliance or emissions recalls, as well as customer satisfaction programs.