Chrysler Expands Airbag Recalls; NHTSA Wants More

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV has extended regional airbag recalls to cover several more states and U.S. territories where high humidity is normal. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration insists the campaign must go national.

2003 Dodge Ram

The recall is to replace Takata Corp. passenger-side airbag inflators that could absorb moisture and explode when activated.

The widened Chrysler recall targets 149,200 of the company's 2003 model Ram pickup trucks. The vehicles are registered in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Puerto Rico, Samoa, Guam, Saipan and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Chrysler says it has no report of any problems with the inflators in its vehicles. But NHTSA declares the expanded recall "insufficient" because it doesn't cover all devices Takata has reported as defective.

NHTSA is threatening to force Chrysler to extend the Ram recall to include models regardless of where the trucks are registered.