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DETROIT – The US government’s road safety agency rejected a request from Ford and Mazda to avoid recalling some 3 million vehicles with potentially dangerous Takata airbag inflators.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Tuesday that the ammonium nitrate propellant used to inflate the driver’s airbags is showing signs of decomposition and poses a safety risk.
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Companies now have 30 days to give the agency a timeline for notifying owners and starting recalls.
The vehicles included are the Ford Ranger from 2007 to 2011; the 2006 to 2012 Ford Fusion, Lincoln Zephyr and Lincoln MKZ; the Mercury Milan from 2006 to 2011; the 2007 to 2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX. Also covered are small Mazda pickups from 2007 to 2009 B-Series.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 10.02 | +0.19 | + 1.93% |
Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate airbags in an accident. But the chemical can deteriorate over time when exposed to high temperatures and humidity and can burn very quickly, blowing up a metal can and throwing shrapnel at drivers and passengers.
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Airbags have caused at least 27 deaths worldwide, including 18 in the USA. About 400 were injured.
The problem caused the largest series of auto recalls in the history of the United States, with at least 67 million inflators recalled by 19 automakers. A court-appointed monitor reports that, in early January, 50 million were either repaired or accounted for. About 100 million inflators have been collected worldwide.
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All vehicles covered by the recall announced on Tuesday have a chemical that absorbs moisture in the inflators that Ford and Mazda said make them safe. But the security agency disagreed and denied the automakers’ petition to avoid the recall.
The Ford and Mazda inflators are the first generation made by Takata that used calcium sulfate as a drying agent. In its decision denying Ford’s petition, NHTSA wrote that ammonium nitrate could degrade, a sign that it could explode very aggressively. “The evidence makes it clear that these inflators pose a significant safety risk,” wrote the agency.
NHTSA has determined that 56 million other inflators with different moisture-absorbing chemicals are safe and do not need to be recalled.
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The agency urges people to check their website for open recalls of their vehicles. Owners must enter the 17-digit vehicle identification number, which is usually printed on state registration documents.