Over 475,000 Decade-Old Cars Face 'Do Not Drive' Warnings Over Exploding Takata Airbags

Photo: Joe Raedle (Getty Images)

With over 6.4 million cars on U.S. roads still carrying deadly Takata airbags, it was only a matter of time before there was another recall. Ford and Mazda issued “Do Not Drive” orders for over 475,000 vehicles from the 2003 model year until 2015. All the models were recalled previously but did not have the proper repairs completed.

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If you don’t know, 67 million Takata airbags were fitted with faulty inflators. These inflators can explode with too much force when deployed, especially after long-term exposure to high heat and humidity. The airbag’s metal canister will blow apart, shooting shrapnel into the vehicles and severely injuring or killing the occupants, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Obviously, it’s not ideal for a device intended to save your life to potentially take it.

These “Do Not Drive” Warnings cover 374,290 of the following Ford vehicles:

2004-2011 Ford Ranger2005-2006 Ford GT2005-2014 Ford Mustang2006-2012 Ford Fusion2007-2010 Ford Edge2006-2012 Lincoln MKZ/Zephyr2007-2010 Lincoln MKX-2006-2012 Mercury Milan

Mazda’s warnings cover 82,893 of the following models:

2004-2009 Mazda B-Series2003-2013 Mazda62006-2007 MazdaSpeed62004-2011 RX-82004-2006 MPV2007-2012 CX-72007-2015 CX-9

NHTSA has confirmed that faulty Takata airbags have killed 27 people to date and injured at least 400 others. I cannot overstate how serious a danger these defective devices are. Considering these models impacted are between a decade and two decades old, the inflators are even more likely to explode during a crash. Please check to see if your vehicle has been recalled and seek a free repair from a dealership.