Ford has announced plans to recall 953,000 vehicles worldwide—including 782,000 in the United States—amid fears that the passenger air bag inflator could explode and injure riders.
The recall is part of a larger recall of Takata airbag inflators, which can hurl shrapnel if they explode after deteriorating over time due to heat and humidity. Ford says it has not received any reports of injuries due to the defect, but worldwide 23 people have been killed by the inflators in other brands.
Ford is urging owners of the 2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX, the 2010 and 2011 Ford Ranger, the 2010 to 2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ, the 2010 and 2011 Mercury Milan, and the 2010 to 2014 Ford Mustang to set up appointments with dealers, who will replace the recalled part for free.
The Takata recall is one of the largest in U.S. history. Last September, Honda and Acura recalled 1.4 million vehicles for the issue and in December, Toyota and Lexus recalled 65,000 vehicles. Ford has previously agreed to pay $300 million to settle consumers’ economic loss claims connected to the Takata recall.
The issue with the airbags was discovered last August, with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration sounding an urgent warning.
“Tens of millions of vehicles with Takata air bags are under recall,” an NHTSA site devoted to the recalls says. “Long-term exposure to high heat and humidity can cause these air bags to explode when deployed. Such explosions have caused injuries and deaths.”
According to the NHTSA, there are 50 million defective Takata airbags in 37 million U.S. vehicles.