Federal government rejects Ford and Mazda’s claim on recalls

DETROIT – The U.S. government’s highway safety agency has rejected a request by Ford and Mazda to avoid recalling approximately 3 million vehicles with potentially dangerous Takata airbag inflators.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Tuesday the ammonium nitrate propellant used to inflate the driver’s airbags showed signs of degradation and posed a safety risk.

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Businesses now have 30 days to give the agency a schedule to notify owners and start recalls.

Vehicles included are the 2007 thru 2011 Ford Ranger; the Ford Fusion, Lincoln Zephyr and Lincoln MKZ from 2006 to 2012; the Mercury Milan from 2006 to 2011; the 2007 thru 2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX. Also covered are Mazda’s 2007-2009 B-Series small pickup trucks.

Teleprinter	security	Latest	Change	% Change
F	FORD MOTOR COMPANY	10.02	+0.19	+ 1.93%

Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate the airbags in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate over time when exposed to high heat and humidity and can burn too quickly, detonating a metal canister and projecting shrapnel at drivers and passengers.

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Airbags have claimed at least 27 lives worldwide, including 18 in the United States. Some 400 were injured.

The issue sparked the largest spate of auto recalls in U.S. history, with at least 67 million inflators recalled by 19 automakers. A court-appointed observer reports that by early January, $ 50 million had been repaired or was otherwise accounted for. Around 100 million inflators have been recalled worldwide.

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All of the vehicles covered by the recall announced Tuesday contain a moisture-absorbing chemical in the inflators that Ford and Mazda said they have secured. But the security agency disagreed and dismissed the automakers’ petition to avoid the recall.

Ford and Mazda inflators are the first generation of Takata that used calcium sulfate as a drying agent. In its decision to reject the Ford petition, the NHTSA wrote that ammonium nitrate could degrade, a sign that it could explode too aggressively. “The evidence clearly shows that these inflators pose a significant safety risk,” the agency wrote.

The NHTSA has determined that 56 million other inflators with different moisture-wicking chemicals are safe and do not need to be recalled.

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The agency urges people to check open recalls of their vehicles on its website. Owners must enter their 17-digit vehicle identification number, which is typically printed on state registration documents.