Ford Expands Takata Recall

Ford Motor Co. has added another 816,000 vehicles to those being recalled worldwide to have their Takata Corp. airbag inflators replaced. The campaign targets the frontal airbag system for the front-seat passenger position.

The total include 654,700 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models in the U.S. and its territories and 161,200 units in Canada. Ford says the recall broadens the geographic reach of earlier campaigns and brings the company’s Takata recall total to about 3 million vehicles.

The affected inflators contain a propellant that may deteriorate, then misfire when triggered in a crash. The defect has been blamed for 11 fatalities in the U.S. Ford reports no such incidents.

Initial recalls by Ford and others focused on devices in older cars located in hot and humid climates. Carmakers have been expanding the campaigns, which involve Takata inflators that don’t use a desiccant to help stabilize their propellant, to include vehicles located in other climates too.

Vehicles in the wider recall are:

• 2005-2006 Ford GT supercar
• 2005-2009 and 2012 Ford Mustang sport coupe
• 2006-2009 and 2012 Ford Fusion sedan
• 2007-2009 Ford Ranger compact pickup truck and Ford Edge small crossover
• 2006-2009 and 2012 Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ midsize sedans
• 2007-2009 Lincoln MKX large crossover
• 2006-2009 Mercury Milan midsize sedan

Owners can determine whether they are affected by visiting the federal government's safercar.gov website and entering their vehicle's identification number.