It's been nine years since Ford (and a whole host of other automakers) first warned drivers of the dangers of airbag inflators manufactured by Takata, but according to the automaker, there are still as many as 374,300 such inflators driving around on streets here in the United States (765,600 globally). In light of this seemingly apathetic response, Ford has issued another do-not-drive advisory for the cars and trucks included in the original campaigns.
This is a seriously dangerous problem. Back in 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed the death of the driver in a 2006 Ford Ranger pickup truck after the steering-wheel-mounted airbag ruptured and sent shrapnel flying at the driver. At the time, NHTSA noted that there had been 23 fatalities in the U.S. due to ruptured airbag inflators.
According to Ford, "The age of these vehicles makes it increasingly possible that a part inside the airbag will explode and expel sharp metal fragments during a crash. This could cause serious injury or death to the driver or passengers." The list of vehicles still on the road with defective Takata inflators includes:
Driver and passenger airbag inflators in:
- 2004-2006 Ford Ranger trucks
- 2005-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles
- 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles
And passenger airbag inflators in:
- 2006-2012 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln MKZ / Zephyr vehicles
- 2007-2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles
- 2007-2011 Ford Ranger trucks
Ford notes that, like other automakers, it has made repeated efforts to alert owners to the dangers of potentially faulty airbag inflators, "with more than 121 million outreach attempts to date in the U.S. alone, including letters, emails, phone calls, text messages and more than 1 million canvassing visits to customer homes." It will continue its efforts to get these dangerous parts replaced, noting that parts are on hand for replacement.
It bears repeating: Do not drive a vehicle equipped with one of these faulty airbag inflators. It literally could mean your life.
