Stellantis, US government warn 276K vehicle owners to park older models after Takata air bags killed 3 drivers

Stellantis and the U.S. government are warning owners of 276,000 older vehicles to stop driving them after Takata air bags apparently exploded in three more vehicles, killing the drivers.

The company, formerly Fiat Chrysler, is telling people to stop driving Dodge Magnum wagons, Dodge Challenger and Charger muscle cars and Chrysler 300 sedans from the 2005 through 2010 model years.

Stellantis says it confirmed the driver's air bag inflators blew apart in two cases, killing two drivers. The company suspects an inflator rupture in another case that also killed a driver. All three deaths were in warm-weather U.S. states and happened in the past seven months in 2010 model year vehicles, the company said.

The fatalities bring the death toll from exploding Takata air bags to at least 32 worldwide, including 23 in the United States.

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Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate air bags in a crash. But the chemical can become more volatile over time when exposed to moisture in the air and repeated high temperatures. The explosion can blow apart a metal canister and hurl shrapnel into the passenger compartment.

Most of the deaths and about 400 injuries have happened in U.S. states with warmer weather.

The Stellantis vehicles under the "Do Not Drive" warning were all recalled in 2015, and free repairs were available since then. Stellantis said it made numerous attempts to reach owners but the repairs were not made. The recalls affect vehicles in which the air bag inflators have not been replaced as part of the recall.

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"Left unrepaired, recalled Takata air bags are increasingly dangerous as the risk of an explosion rises as vehicles age," Ann Carlson, acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said in a statement. "Every day that passes when you don't get a recalled air bag replaced puts you and your family at greater risk of injury or death."

On Thursday, NHTSA urged all owners to check to see if their vehicles have an unrepaired Takata air bag recall. Drivers can go to https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls and key in their 17-digit vehicle identification number to see if they have any open recalls.

Potential for the dangerous malfunction led to the largest series of auto recalls in U.S. history, with at least 67 million Takata inflators recalled. The U.S. government says that millions have not been repaired. About 100 million inflators have been recalled worldwide. The exploding air bags sent Takata Corp. of Japan into bankruptcy.

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Most of the deaths have been in the U.S., but they also have occurred in Australia and Malaysia.