The auto companies warned about the risk of Takata air bag inflators in older vehicles.
Ford and Mazda on Tuesday issued “do not drive” warnings to owners of more than 457,000 older vehicles across the United States due to a severe safety threat posed by defective Takata air bag inflators.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which announced the car manufacturers warning, the warning affects all unrepaired, recalled Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles, as well as all Mazda vehicles that are equipped with unrepaired Takata air bags. The advisories cover more than 374,000 vehicles from Ford spanning model years from 2004 through 2014 and nearly 83,000 Mazda vehicles from 2003 through 2015 model years.
Consumers are urged to not drive the vehicles until repairs are made on the air bags.
“If you have one of these vehicles, do not drive it until the repair is completed and the defective air bag is replaced.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 in a statement.
Newsweek reached out to Ford and Mazda via email on Tuesday for comment.
The models at risk include Ford’s 2004-2011 Ranger pickups; 2005-2014 Mustangs; 2005-2006 Ford GTs; 2006-2012 Fusions; and 2007-2010 Edge SUVs.
