Two more automakers have expanded their Takata airbag recalls. BMW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced major expansions to their campaigns, which affect cars with faulty airbag inflators that could rupture when they deploy and send shrapnel into occupants. Inflators have been reportedly linked to at least five deaths and dozens of injuries, but Takata maintains that the problem only occurs in high-humidity areas.
Related: NHTSA Urges Automakers to Issue National Recall for Takata Airbags
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration remains skeptical, issuing a Nov. 18 recommendation that all 10 automakers involved expand their recalls nationwide. Honda, Mazda and Ford have done so, and last week saw two more players follow suit.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
For FCA, the expansion encompasses 2.89 million U.S. vehicles, adding mostly to FCA's regional list, which numbered fewer than 400,000 cars on Oct. 22. The latest list covers the driver's-side airbag — distinct from the passenger-side inflators scrutinized early on in the Takata saga. FCA's expansion effectively takes the geographical boundaries off certain 2004-2007 Dodge Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks; 2004-2007 Dodge Ram 3500 Chassis Cabs; 2004-2007 Dodge Durango and related Chrysler Aspen SUVs; 2004-2007 Chrysler 300 and related Dodge Charger sedans; 2004-2007 Dodge Magnum wagons; and 2004-2007 Dodge Dakota and related Mitsubishi Raider pickup trucks. Outside the U.S., the expansion adds another 424,052 cars to the tally for a global total of 3.67 million cars, according to a company statement released Dec. 19. Customers will receive free airbag inflator replacements, but the initial priority will be in high-humidity areas.
FCA calls the latest move a "field action," not a recall, "because only defects compel recalls, and there is no established defect," spokesman Eric Mayne told Cars.com, though owners would receive something "identical to recall communication." The automaker insisted in its statement that neither itself nor Takata has identified a defect in this particular population of inflators, which are distinct from the inflators linked to the five fatalities. More than 1,000 tests have been performed on these components without incident, FCA says, but one Florida injury in "an older-model sedan" has been linked.
BMW
Separately, BMW — initially responsible for even more cars with faulty inflators than FCA — today expanded its recall. The expansion, which also stems from driver's-side Takata airbags, covers the 2004-2006 3 Series cars, with some 140,000 cars included, according to The Detroit News.
BMW spokesman Dave Buchko told the newspaper the expansion satisfied NHTSA's requests. BMW had earlier recalled just 11,000 cars with driver's-side Takata airbags, but the automaker's recalls for faulty passenger-side airbags is a much larger pool.
Cars.com photo by Chase Agnello-Dean
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