Ford, Mazda issue 'do not drive' advisory for 457,000 vehicles

Ford and Mazda on Tuesday instructed owners of some vehicles not to drive their cars due to them still having potentially-dangerous airbags installed.

The roughly 457,300 total vehicles in the U.S. subject to the "do not drive" advisories have Takata non-desiccated airbag inflators that urgently need repairs under past recalls, according to the automakers. 

Of those hundreds of thousands of vehicles, roughly 83,000 were Mazda, while 374,300 fell under the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands.

"The DO NOT DRIVE impacts all customers that have not completed 1317F, 1417G, 1817L, 1917L, 2118A, and 2618F [recalls]," Mazda North American Operations said in a press release. "This includes driver and passenger air bag inflators in the following models and model years (MY): 2004-2006MY B-series, 2003-2008MY Mazda6, 2006-2007MY Mazdaspeed6, and 2004-2008MY RX8 vehicles. Also included are passenger air bag inflators in the following models and model years (MY): 2007-2009MY B-Series, 2007-2012MY CX-7, 2007-2015MY CX-9, 2009-2013MY Mazda6, 2004-2006MY MPV, and 2009-2011MY RX8 vehicles."

TOYOTA ISSUES ‘DO NOT DRIVE’ ADVISORY TO 50,000 CAR OWNERS OVER POTENTIALLY DEADLY AIR BAG ISSUE

Ford, meanwhile, identified certain 2004-2006 Ford Ranger trucks; 2005-2014 Ford Mustangs; 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles; 2006-2012 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln MKZ / Zephyr vehicles; 2007-2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles; and 2007-2011 Ford Ranger trucks as unsafe to drive until their already-recalled airbags get fixed.

In the U.S., numerous auto companies have been affected by recalled Takata air bags over the years, with the number of recalled air bags totaling around 67 million, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Twenty-seven fatalities and at least 400 injuries in America have stemmed from the defective inflators.

The NHTSA noted "some" of the Ford and Mazda vehicles under Tuesday’s "do not drive" advisories "are now more than 20 years old, which increases the risk of an air bag rupturing in a crash," adding, "If an explosion occurs, it can severely injure or kill vehicle occupants."

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Ford and Mazda both said they have the parts "available now" to do the necessary repairs on the affected vehicles.

Owners can get the repair done by their local dealership, with mobile service, towing and loaners being made available at both Ford and Mazda, their respective press releases said.

The service will be free at each company, according to the NHTSA.

OVER 6M VEHICLES ON ROAD WITH TAKATA AIRBAGS, 10 YEARS AFTER RECALL

Ford said on its website that the dealer "will be able to tell you approximately how long the recall repair will take" for vehicles with defective Takata airbags.

Mazda pegged its installation of a new airbag inflator at roughly an hour.

Both of the automakers are reaching out to customers who have the affected vehicles through multiple methods on a monthly basis.