Ford faces $ 610 million recall for Takata airbag explosion

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has ordered Ford to issue a recall for a pesky little problem that could potentially affect three million of its US-based cars: Takata airbag inflators could rupture, sending deadly metal shards fly in the passengers. It is estimated to impact around $ 610 million worth of machines.

This defect “resulted in the largest automotive recall in US history,” Reuters reports, with 67 million individual inflators in 2.7 million US vehicles recalled. To some perspective, there have been (“only”) 100 million inflator recalls by 19 different car manufacturers. worldwide.

And, yes, Ford has protested that it has not found enough evidence to issue a recall, but that it “will respect the NHTSA decision and issue a recall”. The company also revealed that it is forecasting a loss of $ 1.2 billion from this recall alone.

That being said, Takata’s problem has been bound to 18 deaths in the United States alone. In one case, a driver in a car crash was killed after his airbag ruptured and then set on fire. In addition to the deaths, 400 drivers or passengers were injured as a result of these airbag defects, leaving some blind or crippled. Seems to be reason enough to issue a recall without a complaint.

Here are the recalled cars, from CNN:

• 2007 to 2011 Ford Ranger
• 2006 to 2012 Ford Fusion
• 2006 to 2012 Lincoln Zephyr
• 2007 to 2010 Ford Edge
• 2007 to 2010 Lincoln MKX

In addition, Mazda was required to recall 5,800 airbag inflators in 2007–2009 B-Series pickup trucks. The NHTSA also rejected a petition from General Motors asking to be exempted from the recall of seven million vehicles equipped with Takata airbags.

Ford spokesperson Monique Brentley noted that “unlike other previously recalled Takata passenger side airbag parts, these driver side airbags contain a [material] and run differently. ”

The NHTSA, however, rejected any evidence presented by Ford, believing that these airbags deteriorated over time. He ultimately decided that “what Ford presents here, while valuable and informative in some respects, suffers from far too many shortcomings.”

You can enter your VIN number on the NHTSA website to see if your car is listed in recalls.