The Takata airbag inflator fiasco has been rumbling on for a decade now, and in these 10 years, automakers throughout America have been compelled to recall greater than 67 million vehicles fitted with the defective inflators, and greater than 100 million worldwide. Now, Stellantis is including one other 29,000 vehicles to that depend after somebody was killed when the airbag went off of their Dodge Ram truck.
According to Reuters, a driver was killed in May when the Takata passenger-side bag inflated following a collision. The 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 was one in every of 385,686 vehicles recalled by guardian firm Stellantis again in 2015. However, the corporate estimates that 29,000 affected fashions are nonetheless on U.S. roads. Reuters studies:
“More than 30 deaths worldwide, including 26 U.S. deaths, and hundreds of injuries in various automakers’ vehicles since 2009 are linked to Takata air bag inflators that can explode, unleashing metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks.
“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday confirmed the Takata fatality, which was the first in a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500, was one of 385,686 recalled in 2015.”
Stellantis says it despatched six recall notices to the proprietor of the truck concerned within the collision, however every went unanswered.
Following the incident, the automaker has issued a do-not-drive order masking the affected pickup vans, which had been produced and offered when the 1500 truck was nonetheless often known as a Dodge Ram, and never simply the Ram 1500 we all know in the present day.
Affected vans are eligible for a free alternative of the defective Takata airbag inflators, which have been accessible to homeowners for a number of years. The inflators have to be switched out as they include chemical compounds that may deteriorate as they age – particularly if they’re uncovered to sizzling, humid climates. These sorts of environments could cause these inflators to rupture on airbag deployment, scattering razor-sharp particles across the cabin.
In a press release, the NHTSA informed homeowners “DO NOT DRIVE” till the recall and repairs are accomplished and the faulty airbags have been changed.
If you might be fearful that your automotive could be affected by a recall, there are just a few straightforward methods to test if it’s the case. First up, the NHTSA has a brilliant useful app that you should use to see in case your automobile is impacted by a recall, or you’ll be able to head to the regulator’s web site and plug your VIN into its recall search instrument.
Source: jalopnik.com