The auto industry is still trying to fully recover from the Takata airbag debacle that saw millions of cars recalled worldwide due to potentially fatal airbags. Ford recently issued two additional recalls for older vehicles that may have obsolete Takata parts installed during repairs after the Takata recall was completed.
Ford has identified certain Takata airbag modules that are said to have not been removed from the service inventory after the parts became available for the permanent service fix. The automaker was “doing extensive research and tracing” and was unable to explain some of the outdated Takata service parts. Since they couldn’t account for the parts, the automaker says they may have been installed in vehicles as part of collision or theft repairs.
Ford says there is no knowledge of injuries or accidents related to this issue and the recall covers two different vehicle populations. The first vehicle population identified 1,117 vehicles with collision repairs that could be done with outdated service parts, involving 1,067 in the US and federal territories, and 49 in Canada and one in Mexico.
This group includes certain 2004-11 Ford Ranger, 2005-14 Ford Mustang, 2006 Ford GT, 2008-12 Ford Fusion, 2009-11 Mercury Milan, 2010-12 Lincoln MKZ, 2007-10 Ford Edge, and 2007-10 Lincoln MKX vehicles . Dealers will check the inflator or the driver or passenger airbag module and replace it if necessary.
The second population has to do with Ford being unable to find 45 single stage inflators compatible with Ford Ranger vehicles from 2004-2006. The automaker says it’s possible these parts were installed after collision or theft repairs. In this recall population, there is a potential that 144,340 Ranger trucks in the US and federal areas, 8762 in Canada, and five in Mexico have been repaired with the defective parts.
Ford also issued a safety recall for 1666 Bronco Sport vehicles. These vehicles were manufactured with rear suspension modules that may not be fully attached to the subframe. The problem is at an increased risk of an accident, but the automaker says it is not aware of any accidents or injuries. For this recall, 1,640 of the vehicles are in the United States and federal territory, including 24 in Canada and two in Mexico.
