Ford released a statement advising that they are having issues with thousands of their vehicles. Specifically, they advised that over 300,000 vehicles (an estimated 374,290 cars) have faulty airbags. They issued a “Do Not Drive advisory” for many models, stating they have issues in roughly six models of vehicles. Most predominantly, the models range in manufacturing year from 2004 to 2014. Ford Motors advised that the models that are on the recall list are at high risk of the issue and should not be driven, unless the owner has previously gone through the recall process and had the issue repaired.
The danger lies in the fact that the issue in the airbag causes it to be at risk of explosion.
Should the airbag be deployed and explode, the bag could spread around shrapnel and/or other sharp metal objects. This quite obviously puts drivers, as well as other passengers, at high risk. Furthermore, the company expressed concerns that the airbag could deploy from this issue essentially at any time, meaning even without an impact causing the airbag to release, it could be released and explode shrapnel. This raises the risk of serious injury or death for anyone in the car tenfold.
The models that are connected to the recall are:
- 2004-2006 Ford Ranger trucks
- 2005-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles
- 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles
- 2006-2012 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln MKZ / Zephyr vehicles
- 2007-2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles
- 2007-2011 Ford Ranger trucks
Across the entire globe, Ford recalled around 765,000 vehicles.
Ford has been contacting their affected customers as quickly as possible. They have made a reported 121 million outreach attempts in the United States alone. Per their released information, approximately 95% of their U.S. owners have already followed through on the recall process and have completed them.
Due to the severity of the issue behind the recall, Ford has made the parts that need to be replaced readily available to those affected. They have stated that customers can request mobile services or have dealers tow their vehicles to the dealership for repairs. This will allow people to get their vehicle fixed without having to drive the car again, avoiding risk as much as possible.
