Here’s what you should know about the Ford Airbag Recall

Ford has determined that the vehicles listed below may be at risk due to a faulty airbag made by Takata. The problem stems from a defective inflator on the driver’s or passenger’s side. The Ford airbag recall applies mostly to vehicles made from 2002 to 2015. Drivers should take action immediately and avoid models with Takata airbags*.

What exactly is the problem with the Ford airbags?

The airbag’s inflator can have a potentially explosive and hazardous reaction to environmental moisture, high temperatures, and age. Vehicles equipped with these airbags are dangerous and owners should make arrangements to have the inflators replaced as soon as possible as they are very dangerous.

Vehicles affected by the Ford airbag recall

2004-11 Ford Ranger
2005-14 Ford Mustang
2006 Ford GT
2007-10 Ford Edge
2008-12 Ford Fusion
2010-12 Lincoln MKZ
2007-10 Lincoln MKX
2009-11 Mercury Milan

How to get your airbags inflators replaced

Contact the nearest Ford dealer an make an appointment. Tell the service writer that your vehicle needs the airbag inflator fix. The repair takes less than an hour. The technician will power down the airbag system, carefully remove the defective inflator and install a safer replacement. Then they will reconnect power to the airbag system.

Who is Takata?

Takata was a major Japanese auto parts supplier that produced airbag inflators using ammonium nitrate as the propellant. They are most well known for their defective and dangerous airbag inflators that caused the largest automotive recall in history. Here are some key facts about Takata airbags:

• Takata started producing airbags in 1987 and became one of the top airbag suppliers in the world.
• In the early 2000s, Takata began using ammonium nitrate in their inflator propellant because it was cheaper than the safer tetrazole compound. This decision would later prove disastrous.
• Manufacturing defects caused Takata’s ammonium nitrate propellant to become unstable over time, especially when exposed to humidity and temperature fluctuations. This unstable propellant could ignite violently upon airbag deployment, rupturing the inflator and sending shrapnel through the airbag at passengers.
• By 2014, defects in Takata airbags were linked to injuries and deaths, spurring the massive recall of over 100 million vehicles containing their inflators.
• The recalls deeply damaged Takata’s reputation and finances. After pleading guilty to fraud, the company went bankrupt in 2017 and was acquired by Key Safety Systems.
• It is considered one of the largest product safety failures in modern history. Thousands of injuries and over 20 deaths have been attributed to defective Takata airbags.
• Replacement parts are still being produced to service recalled vehicles, as the dangerous inflators have a long service life.

©, 2020 Rick Muscoplat

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Rick Muscoplat