Ford and Mazda issue “Do Not Drive” alerts for 457,000 cars

Ford Motor Co. and Mazda North American Operations Tuesday issued “Do Not Drive” advisories for owners of certain vehicles who have not yet had their cars fixed after several Takata-airbag recalls. 

The two automakers are urging customers of recalled vehicles equipped with non-desiccated Takata air bags to stop driving the cars immediately and get their faulty airbags repaired or replaced, according to a notice posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

“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 Ford advisory comes after three previously announced recalls (15S21, 17S42, and 19S01) beginning in 2015, involving several vehicle lines equipped with Takata non-desiccated airbag inflators. 

“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 automaker said in its advisory notice.

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

Approximately 95% of U.S. customers completed Takata recalls, said Ford, as a result of more than 121 million outreach attempts — including letters, emails, phone calls, text messages and more than 1 million canvassing visits to customer homes — made by the company about the recalls. According to the company, 765,600 airbag inflators in Ford and Lincoln vehicles are impacted globally, including 374,300 in the U.S.

“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.

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 NHTSA. 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.

The exploding air bags sent Takata of Japan into bankruptcy.

Both automakers said the airbag on vehicles affected by the recalls will be repaired or replaced for free. 

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/ or nhtsa.gov/recalls.

If you think your vehicle may have a safety defect that isn’t part of a current recall, contact NHTSA online or by calling the agency’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time.