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Ford and BMW are the latest automakers to issue warnings or recalls related to problems with airbags on the now-defunct Takata.
BMW this week issued a “do not drive” warning for 90,000 vehicles built from 2000 to 2006 already affected by the Takata recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has urged consumers to check whether their vehicles have coverage, stressing that there is an “imminent” risk to drivers of BMWs.
That followed last week an announcement by the agency of another recall for more than 230,000 Ford Rangers built from 2004 to 2006. These vehicles may have replacement airbags that were installed incorrectly during the original Ranger recall, NHTSA said.
Owners can enter their vehicle identification numbers on the NHTSA website to see if their vehicles fall under the warning.
“If you have a 2000-2006 model year BMW with a recalled Takata airbag, have it repaired immediately — free of charge,” NHTSA Assistant Administrator Sophie Shulman said in a statement. “These gas generators are now two decades old and are becoming more dangerous with each passing day as they can rupture even in a small accident.”
The airbags have defective inflators that may explode or fail to inflate properly when deployed, NHTSA said.
In November, Dodge and Chrysler announced “do not drive” orders because of the problem with inflating airbags.
Separately, tens of millions of vehicles are affected by an ongoing recall that poses a risk of Takata airbags exploding, but more problems with the airbags continue to be discovered. Takata was forced into bankruptcy in 2017 because of all the scandals, troubles and resulting lawsuits and pleaded guilty to criminal misconduct. NHTSA has forced the recall of at least 67 million Takata airbags since 2013. Takata agreed in 2018 to pay $650 million to settle lawsuits from dozens of states over the airbags.
Joyson Safety Systems, which acquired most of Takata’s assets in 2018, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.