One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
Faulty air bags trigger a warning not to drive 276,000 older Dodge and Chrysler cars
Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, is warning owners of 276,000 older vehicles to stop driving them after Takata air bags apparently exploded, killing three more people.
(
Paul Sancya
/
AP
)
Updated November 3, 2022 at 1:45 PM ET
DETROIT — 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.
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 rupture a metal canister and hurl shrapnel into the passenger compartment.
Most of the deaths and injuries related to faulty air bags happened in warmer states
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.
Sponsored message
"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.
The agency said even minor crashes can cause air bags to inflate with the potential for explosions that can kill or hurt people.
In its statement, NHTSA said it's aware of other suspected Takata inflator ruptures in vehicles made by other automakers. The agency says it's working with manufacturers to confirm the ruptures, but it would not give further details.
Stellantis said any of its customers who aren't sure if their vehicles have been recalled can call (833) 585-0144. Owners can call the hotline to arrange to have their cars towed to a dealership, and for alternate transportation, the company said.
The repairs typically take less than an hour, the company said.
The company said it has made 210 million attempts to reach owners with recalled Takata air bag inflators, including letters, courier deliveries, emails, text messages, phone calls and home visits. The company has recalled nearly 2 million vehicles with Takata inflators.
Sponsored message
In the three recent cases in which people were killed, Stellantis said it made 153 attempts to reach owners.
The company "extends its sympathies to the families and friends of those affected by these incidents," Stellantis' statement said.
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.
Most of the deaths have been in the U.S., but they also have occurred in Australia and Malaysia.
The first death caused by a Takata inflator occurred in Oklahoma in 2009.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDA1OTI3MjQ5MDEyODUwMTE2MzM1YzNmZA004))
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
