Ford Says Beware, Takata Murder Bags Are Still Out There

It's been nine years since automakers like Ford and Mazda first issued warnings about the dangers of airbag inflators manufactured by Takata.

Despite these warnings, Ford reports that there are still about 374,300 vehicles with these faulty inflators on U.S. roads, with a global total of 765,600. Mazda adds another 83,000 vehicles to that count. In response, both automakers, alongside the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, have issued a renewed do-not-drive advisory for the affected vehicles.

This issue is highly dangerous. In 2022, NHTSA confirmed the death of a driver in a 2006 Ford Ranger due to a ruptured airbag inflator, which sent shrapnel flying into the cabin. This incident brought the total number of fatalities related to these faulty inflators in the U.S. to 23.

The age of these vehicles increases the likelihood that a part within the airbag could explode during a crash, potentially sending sharp metal fragments into the vehicle’s occupants, and leading to serious injury or death. The affected Ford models span from the 2004-2012 model years, including vehicles like the 2005-2014 Mustang and the 2007-2011 Ranger. Mazda’s warning covers models from 2003-2015, such as the Mazda6 and CX-9.

Ford has made extensive efforts to alert owners, including more than 121 million outreach attempts in the U.S. This includes letters, emails, phone calls, and even visits to customer homes. Both automakers are offering free towing, mobile repair services, and loaner vehicles to encourage owners to get these dangerous parts replaced.

This warning covers 374,290 model year 2004-2012 vehicles:

2005-2006 GT

2005-2014 Mustang

2006-2012 Fusion

2006-2012 Lincoln MKZ/Zephyr

2006-2012 Mercury Milan

2007-2010 Edge

2007-2010 Lincoln MKX

2007-2011 Ranger

2004-2009 B-Series

2003-2008 Mazda6

2006-2007 MazdaSpeed6

2004-2011 RX-8

2004-2006 MPV

2009-2013 Mazda6

2007-2012 CX-7

2007-2015 CX-9

This article was co-written using AI and was then heavily edited and optimized by our editorial team.

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