This recall is an unusual one in that it is for Takata airbag modules that were installed in trucks that were involved in collisions. So they were accidentally replaced with obsolete airbag modules after the recall of Takata airbags was already over. The other unusual part is that it is for Ford Ranger pickups built in 2004-2006.

There are 144,340 Ranger trucks in the US involved in the recall

There are 144,340 Ranger trucks in the US involved in the recall. But there are an additional 8,800 in Canada that are also being recalled. Ford says it can’t locate 45 Takata modules which means that they may have been installed in some of the recalled Rangers. So Ford is initiating the recall “at the request of the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.” 

But that’s not all. Ford is also recalling an additional 1,100 vehicles built between 2004-2011. These may also have had Takata components installed that could be obsolete according to Automotive News. And all of this is on top of the more than 3 million Ford vehicles recalled last month over defective Takata airbags. It is estimated that recall will cost Ford $610 million. 

Ford petitioned the NHTSA to avoid the recall but it declined the petition

Earlier, Ford had petitioned the NHTSA to avoid the recall but the organization declined the formal petition. The defect can lead to deadly metal fragments being forced out of the airbags in the event of being inflated. It is the largest recall in US history involving more than 67 million vehicles. Worldwide over 100 million Takata inflators have been recalled. 

In spite of the automaker’s efforts in recalling the affected vehicles, there are still an estimated 17 million vehicles that have yet to be repaired. There have been 27 people killed by Takata airbags around the world. In the US alone there have been 18 deaths and over 400 injuries. Of those two were killed in Ford Ranger pickups. So, unfortunately, Ford Ranger pickups have been at the center of the deadly issues surrounding the Takata airbag debacle. 

Besides Ford, GM also petitioned the NHTSA to avoid recalling Takata airbag vehicles. Almost six million vehicles are involved in that recall. The NHTSA rejected the petition last November. GM took a $1.1 billion charge from the recall. In all the Takata airbag recall has been the most far-reaching and expensive recall in history. 

All petitions in the Federal Register exempting the Takata recalls have been exhausted

Now all of the petitions in the Federal Register related to the Takata Airbag Recall have been exhausted. Delays were related to the descant additive that was used in later Takata airbags. The petitions claim these are safer than earlier versions of Takata’s airbags. The ammonium nitrate that Takata used increased the force of the exploding airbags as it aged. 

The older the airbags the more dangerous they become. With these last denied petitions every one of the Takata airbags will have been removed from the market. Hopefully, this is a lesson to companies that don’t follow the Title 49 Airbag Design Standard laws.