After confirming a second death related to a ruptured Takata airbag in a 2006 Ranger, Ford is telling owners of 2902 affected pickup trucks to stop driving them immediately. The automaker said Thursday that parts are available now for fixes, and it’s contacting the vehicles’ owners. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Ford will also send mobile repair teams to owners’ homes, tow vehicles to a local dealership for repair, and/or provide loaner vehicles.
Ford said it was notified on December 22 about a fatal crash involving a 2006 Ranger that happened last July in West Virginia and confirmed that it linked the death to a ruptured driver’s-side Takata airbag inflator. The automaker inspected the vehicle and found that the inflator was made by the Japanese supplier on the same day as another such part that was blamed for a fatal crash. That one was also in a 2006 Ford Ranger and occurred in South Carolina in December 2015. The affected pickups were built at Ford’s Twin Cities Assembly Plant from August 10, 2005, to December 15, 2005. There are 2712 such trucks in the United States and its territories and 190 in Canada, Ford said. Globally to date, there have been 21 deaths (including 19 in Honda vehicles) and hundreds of injuries related to the faulty Takata part. Its inflators can explode on airbag deployment, sending metal pieces flying through the vehicle’s cabin. Although the unprecedented safety recall cur...