The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has ordered Ford to remove a small annoying problem that could affect three million of its U.S.-based cars: Takata air cushion inflators could break and send fragments of deadly metal to passengers. It is estimated to have an impact on machinery worth about $ 610 million.
This defect has “caused the largest vehicle recall in U.S. history.” Reuters reports, with 67 million individual inflators in 2.7 million U.S. vehicles. For some prospects, there have been only (“only”) 100 million inflator recoveries from 19 different car manufacturers all over the world.
And, yes, Ford has protested because it has not found enough evidence to issue a withdrawal, but will “respect the NHTSA’s decision and issue a withdrawal.” The company also disclosed that it is only seeking a $ 1.2 billion loss.
That said, Takata’s problem has been linked up to 18 deaths in the United States alone. In one case, a driver in a car accident died after the airbag broke and then ignited. In addition to the deaths, 400 drivers or passengers have been injured as a result of these airbag failures, leaving some blind or mutilated. It seems like a good enough reason as anyone to issue a complaint-free withdrawal.
These are the cars to remember, from CNN:
- Ford Ranger from 2007 to 2011
- Ford Fusion from 2006 to 2012
- Lincoln Zephyr from 2006 to 2012
- Ford Edge from 2007 to 2010
- Lincoln MKX from 2007 to 2010
In addition, Mazda has been forced to recover 5,800 airbag inflators on 2007-2009 Series B pickup trucks. NHTSA also rejected a request from General Motors calling for it to be exempt from the removal of seven million vehicles with Takata airbags.
G / O Media may receive a commission
Ford spokeswoman Monique Brentley noted that “unlike other parts of Takata’s passenger side airbags that were previously recalled, these driver’s side airbags contain a moisture absorber. [material] and act differently. ”
NHTSA, however, rejected any evidence presented by Ford in the belief that these airbags deteriorate over time. Ultimately, he decided that “what Ford presents here, while valuable and informative in certain respects, suffers from too many shortcomings.”
You can enter your VIN number in the file NHTSA website to see if the car shows up at retreats.