Drivers still at risk as more Ford cars recalled

Media Contacts
Tano Toussaint

U.S. PIRG

PHILADELPHIA — On Friday, Ford expanded a recall of its cars with Takata airbag inflators for the fourth time, broadening it by an additional 953,000 vehicles. The global Takata airbag inflator recall began in 2013, when it was found that the airbags could explode upon deployment. Instead of recalling all vehicles that could be impacted by the faulty airbags, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) chose to issue recalls in phases.

Tano Toussaint, Consumer Watchdog Associate at U.S. PIRG, responded to the latest recall:

“As we enter the sixth year of the Takata recall, thousands of car owners are only now learning that their vehicles — which many use every day to transport their friends and family — are subject to this recall. And many, we fear, have yet to find out. Since the Takata defect is even more dangerous as airbag inflators get older, each additional year this recall takes heightens the hazards to consumers.

The Takata defect has led to at least 23 deaths and 300 injuries, and the largest auto recall in U.S. history. When a defect is as life-threatening and as pervasive as this one, consumers deserve a more rapid response from our vehicle manufacturers and from our federal agencies.”

 

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U.S. PIRG is the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups. PIRGs are non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organizations that stand up to powerful interests whenever they threaten our health and safety, our financial security, or our right to fully participate in our democratic society.

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