8 ON YOUR SIDE CONSUMER ALERT: Ford, Mazda issue “Do Not Drive” warnings for 457,000 vehicles

8 ON YOUR SIDE CONSUMER ALERT: Ford and Mazda have both issued “Do Not Drive” warnings for owners of some of their vehicles in the U.S.

The 457,000 vehicles involved are Ford, Mercury, Lincoln and Mazda models that have not had their Takata-made airbags fixed under recall.

Takata inflators can explode with too much force, sending shrapnel into drivers and passengers. At least 27 people have been killed in the U.S. and hundreds injured by the defective airbags, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The inflators have led to the recall of 19.2 million vehicles in the U.S., and government regulators are investigating the possibility of millions more.

CBS News reports the two automakers are urging owners to stop driving the cars immediately and get their faulty airbags repaired or replaced, according to a notice posted by the NHTSA.

“If you have one of these vehicles, do not drive it until the repair is completed and the defective air bag is replaced,” the NHTSA said.

“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,” Ford said in its advisory notice.

Both automakers said the airbags will be repaired or replaced for free.

Ford’s warning covers 374,290 of the following model year 2004-2014 vehicles previously recalled:

2004-2006 Ford Ranger trucks
2005-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles
2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles
2006-2012 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln MKZ / Zephyr vehicles
2007-2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles
2007-2011 Ford Ranger trucks

Mazda’s warning covers 82,893 of the following model year 2003-2015 vehicles previously recalled:

2004 – 2009 B-Series
2003 – 2013 Mazda6
2006 – 2007 MazdaSpeed6
2004 – 2006 MPV
2004 – 2011 RX-8
2007 – 2012 CX-7
2007 – 2015 CX-9

“Some of these vehicles are now more than 20 years old, which increases the risk of an air bag rupturing in a crash. If an explosion occurs, it can severely injure or kill vehicle occupants,” the NHTSA said.

You can check if your vehicle is part of the recall by entering your VIN number or license number at: visit www.ford.com/support/recalls/
https://www.mazdarecallinfo.com/
nhtsa.gov/recalls