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Takata adds millions to recall expansion in US [UPDATE]

Thu, May 28 2015
UPDATE: Ford spokesperson Kelli Felker has advised Autoblog that of the 1,509,535 total vehicles worldwide that the company is recalling, 966,504 of them are new additions for this expanded safety campaign.

Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that the Takata airbag inflator recalls would expand to an estimated 33.8 million vehicles in the US. However at the time, automakers weren't sure specifically which of their models might be affected under this enlarged campaign. Now, the numbers for BMW, FCA, Ford, and Mitsubishi are being released by the agency. Additionally, Honda is outlining the broadening of its own campaign.

BMW's recall amounts to 420,661 vehicles in the US, an increase from 140,696 previously. All of the following models need their front, driver's side airbag replaced:

  • 2002-2005 BMW 325i/325xi/330i/330xi Sedan
  • 2002-2005 BMW 325xi/325i Sportswagon
  • 2002-2006 BMW 330Ci/325Ci/M3 Convertible
  • 2002-2006 BMW 325i/330i/M3 Coupe
  • 2002-2003 BMW M5/540i/525i/530i Sedan
  • 2002-2003 BMW 540i/525i Sportswagon
  • 2003-2004 BMW X5 3.0i/4.4i

BMW has received no reports of any injures or deaths from this problem in its vehicles.

FCA has 5,224,845 vehicles globally in need of inflator replacements, according to its statement. However, the company is only aware of one injury related to the issue, which occurred in a 2006 Dodge Charger in southern Florida.

There are 4,747,202 vehicles worldwide from the company that are affected on the front, driver's side. Among these, 4,066,732 are in the US, 374,508 are in Canada, and the rest are in other countries. The models are:


Also, there are 438,156 vehicles in the US, according to the NHTSA documents, that need their front passenger's side inflators replaced in the expansion of an earlier regional recall:

The total number of vehicles from Ford now covered under these campaigns stands at 1,509,535 worldwide. Of this total, there are 1,380,604 in the United States, 93,207 in Canada and 16,953 in Mexico. The company knows of one injury that might be linked to the problem when a driver's leg was harmed by a metal fragment from a deploying airbag. The Blue Oval's campaign covers:

  • 2005-2014 Ford Mustang at Flat Rock Assembly Plant for driver side airbag inflators;
  • 2005-2006 Ford GT built at Wixom Assembly Plant for driver side airbag inflators;
  • 2004 Ford Rangers built in North America at Edison Assembly Plant for passenger side airbag inflators
  • 2004-2006 Ford Rangers built at Twin Cities Assembly for passenger side airbag inflators
Mitsubishi is also now recalling 82,784 vehicles in a national expansion of its previously regional campaign for the passenger's side airbags. This covers:

  • 2004-2006 Mitsubishi Lancer
  • 2004-2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback
  • 2004-2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
Also, according to NHTSA, Nissan found that "none of its vehicles are affected by the recall expansion issued by Takata last week." While there are no newly affected examples, the automaker does have some products that are already covered under the inflator recall.

To be clear, not all of the vehicles listed in these expansions are necessarily newly affected under the inflator recall. Some owners might already have had the repairs done. For example, in December 2014 FCA made some of its safety campaigns nationwide to cover 3.3 million models there were from 2004-2007, and these models have also been covered here. Research has shown the propellant in Takata's inflators could be damaged by long-term exposure to moisture, which could cause them to ignite too quickly.

NHTSA has only released the complete information about these recalls has PDFs. The full info on BMW's can be found here. The one for FCA's driver's side campaign is available, here, and the passenger side, here. Mitsubishi is here.

Honda's figures are not yet on NHTSA's website, but the automaker has a statement regarding its own expansion. The company is adding an additional 350,000 units of the 2005 Honda Civic and 2006-2007 Accord in the US to the campaign to replace their front, passenger's side airbags.

Before this expansion, the Honda had a total of around 5.5 million vehicles with Takata inflators to repair in the US. The company now claims that since 2013 it has replaced nearly 2 million of the parts, and many of those are from the last nine months.


Related Video:

Statement: Air-bag Inflators
May 28, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC has identified which vehicles will be affected by expansions of ongoing voluntary recalls to replace certain air-bag inflators produced by Takata Corporation.

Precipitated by disclosures made by Takata to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, FCA US is consolidating two campaigns with new actions affecting model years 2003-2011. These actions bring the Company's global Takata-related recall total to an estimated 5,224,845 vehicles.

FCA US is unaware of any related injuries or accidents involving the newly affected vehicles. All affected customers will be advised when they may schedule service.

One campaign involves an estimated global population of 4,747,202 vehicles equipped with certain driver's-side air-bag inflators. Affected are:

2004-2008 Dodge Ram 1500 pickups
2005-2009 Dodge Ram 2500 pickups
2006-2009 Dodge Ram 3500 pickups
2007-2009 Dodge Ram 3500 cab chassis vehicles
2008-2010 Dodge Ram 4500 and 5500 cab chassis vehicles
2008-2009 Sterling 4500 and 5500 cab chassis vehicles
2004-2008 Dodge Durango full-size SUVs
2005-2010 Chrysler 300, 300C and SRT8 full-size sedans
2005-2010 Dodge Charger full-size sedans
2005-2010 Dodge Magnum full-size station wagons
2005-2011 Dodge Dakota small pickups
2006-2011 Mitsubishi Raider small pickups

Of this population, it is estimated that 4,066,732 vehicles are in the U.S., while 374,508 are in Canada. The remaining vehicles are in Mexico and various markets outside the NAFTA region.

This action supersedes an ongoing NHTSA-approved recall involving the same vehicles and expands the affected global population by an estimated 1,407,942 with the addition of model years 2008-2011. Inflators replaced in connection with the previous campaign will again require service.

The second action to which FCA US has committed involves replacing certain front-passenger air-bag inflators in model-year 2003 Dodge Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups. An estimated 437,947 are in the U.S.; 38,835 in Canada and 360 are in markets outside the NAFTA region.

This recall supplements two ongoing campaigns involving some of the same vehicles in certain U.S. regions subject to high absolute humidity.

Certain Takata air-bag inflators may deploy with excessive force, sending debris into the vehicle cabin. Vehicle age and consistent exposure to high absolute humidity are believed to factor into such deployments.

The Company is aware of one related injury. It involved a 2006 Dodge Charger and occurred in southern Florida, where there is high absolute humidity.

FCA US vehicles are no longer produced with either suspect inflator. These components also are distinct from Takata inflators cited in fatalities involving other auto makers.

Customers with questions or concerns may call 1-800-853-1403.


FORD EXPANDS RECALL FOR VEHICLES CONTAINING CERTAIN TAKATA AIRBAG INFLATORS
MAY 28, 2015 | DEARBORN, MICH.

Ford is expanding its safety recalls on vehicles that have certain Takata airbag inflators after Takata declared that those inflators are defective, bringing the total number of Ford vehicles recalled for Takata airbag inflators to 1,509,535 vehicles to date.

This expanded recall follows Takata's notification to the U.S. NHTSA last week that certain of its airbag inflators are defective, affecting several automakers across the industry. For Ford, affected vehicles include:

2005-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles built at Flat Rock Assembly Plant for driver side airbag inflators;
2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles built at Wixom Assembly Plant for driver side airbag inflators;
2004 Ford Rangers built in North America at Edison Assembly Plant and
2004-2006 Ford Rangers built at Twin Cities Assembly for passenger side airbag inflators.

As disclosed in November 2014, Ford is aware of one airbag deployment that might be related to the issue, in which a driver's leg was injured by a metal fragment when the airbag deployed after a crash. Ford has not seen any other inflator ruptures on Ford vehicles in the field or in testing to date.

A total of 1,490,764 vehicles in North America are now affected by this expanded recall, including 1,380,604 in the United States and federalized territories, 93,207 in Canada and 16,953 in Mexico.

Dealers will replace the airbag inflator at no cost to the customer.

Customers who want to know if their vehicle is included in these recalls can visit www.ford.com and click on safety recalls at the bottom of the page. Customers can then enter their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to see any open safety, compliance or emissions recalls, as well as customer satisfaction programs.



Statement by American Honda Regarding Takata Airbag Inflator Recalls

May 28, 2015

Approximately 350,000 vehicles 1 to be added to the prior passenger airbag inflator recall
Vehicles previously covered by voluntary national driver airbag inflator Safety Improvement Campaigns (14V-351 and 15V-153) will transition into a formal recall with no new additional vehicles requiring repair

Honda will add approximately 350,000 vehicles to its recalls of Takata airbag inflators in the United States following a recently announced defect determination by Takata. However, most of the vehicles deemed at risk in Takata's defect determination report were already subject to previous voluntary actions taken by Honda, including a national Safety Improvement Campaign (SIC) for driver front airbag inflators and a passenger front airbag inflator recall that was focused on regions with specific environmental conditions.

It may take several weeks for Honda to determine the specific list and the final count of additional Honda and Acura vehicles included in the initial recall population of passenger side airbag inflators identified by Takata, but the mailed notification to registered owners will occur within 60 days, as required. Honda is announcing this action today to encourage owners to take their vehicles to an authorized Honda or Acura dealer for repair once they are able to confirm that their vehicle is included in one of these actions.

In a blog post on hondanews.com (http://bit.ly/1KpMivT), American Honda senior vice president of Parts, Service, Technical, Export & Auto Operations, Bruce Smith commented: "The vast majority of Honda and Acura vehicles impacted by last week's announcement were already covered by past recalls or safety improvement campaigns. In fact, many of these vehicles have already been repaired – we've replaced nearly two-million inflators since 2013, most of those in the last nine months alone."

Passenger Front Airbag Inflator Recall Expansion

Honda will expand the number of vehicles affected by the existing November 2014 passenger airbag inflator recall (NHTSA No. 14V-700) in the United States to include approximately 350,000 Civic vehicles from the 2005 model year and Accord vehicles from the 2006-2007 model years. While some 2005 Civic models were previously included, no Accord vehicles from the listed model years were included in the previous action. Honda has not received any claims of passenger airbag inflator rupture in these model year vehicles. The same free repair - replacement of the passenger front airbag inflator - will be completed on these additional vehicles.

The passenger front airbag inflator recall initially has been limited to areas 2 of the U.S. and its territories that experience consistent levels of high absolute humidity, based on the nature of Takata's defect determination. If Takata or the NHTSA later determine that a defect exists in additional vehicles or in other areas, Honda will expand this action as required to help ensure the safety of its customers.

Driver's Front Airbag Inflator Recall Transition

In December 2014, Honda initiated a voluntary national Safety Improvement Campaign (14V-351) to replace driver front airbag inflators in certain 2001 through 2011 Honda and Acura vehicles in the United States. That action was later expanded to include 2008 Pilot models (15V-153). As a result of the defect determination made by Takata, Honda will transition these same vehicles, already eligible for a free repair under the voluntary SICs, into a formal recall -- with no new additional vehicles requiring repair.

Honda expects to have specific vehicle information about the vehicles added to the passenger airbag inflator recall available online, through dealers and by phone through Honda and Acura customer service after June 15. We encourage any concerned owner to check their vehicle status now and again after that date. Consumer information about recalls can be obtained at www.recalls.honda.com and www.recalls.acura.com or by calling (800) 999-1009 for Honda owners or (800) 382-2238 for Acura owners, and selecting option 4.

Summary of models affected by one or more Takata airbag inflator recall or SIC (certain specific models only):

2001-2007 Honda Accord
2001-2005 Honda Civic
2002-2006 Honda CR-V
2003-2011 Honda Element
2002-2004 Honda Odyssey
2003-2008 Honda Pilot
2006 Honda Ridgeline
2003-2006 Acura MDX
2002-2003 Acura TL
2003 Acura CL
2005 Acura RL

1 Preliminary number of additional affected vehicles provided. The final number is pending review of vehicle registration records to determine all affected vehicles originally sold in or ever registered in the affected states and territories.

2 List of 13 U.S. states and territories with affected vehicles currently included by Honda and Acura in the passenger front airbag inflator recall: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saipan, Guam and American Samoa.

# # #
  • News Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, FCA, Honda, Ford
  • Image Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images
  • Recalls
  • BMW
  • Chrysler
  • Dodge
  • Ford
  • Honda
  • Mitsubishi
  • Nissan
  • Safety
  • FCA
  • Takata airbag recall
  • dodge ram 1500
  • dodge ram 2500
  • mitsubishi raider

By Chris Bruce


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