Takata Flack II – Mazda Issues Do Not Drive Alert

Mazda North American Operations today issued an urgent “Do Not Drive” warning about its vehicles equipped with non-desiccated Takata air bags that were recalled, buts still are unrepaired.  NHTSA made the documents public. Mazda apparently did not bother to alert media outlets about this life threatening safety defect. Ford Motor to its credit did. (Read AutoInformed on More Takata Flack – Ford Issues Do-Not-Drive Advisory )

“If you have one of these vehicles, do not drive it until the repair is completed and the defective air bag is replaced,” The National Highway Traffic safety administration said in a relatively rare Consumer Alert. To date, NHTSA has confirmed 27 people in the U.S. have been killed by defective Takata air bags that exploded. In addition, at least 400 people in the U.S. reportedly have been injured by exploding Takata air bag inflators. “Even minor crashes can result in exploding Takata air bags that can kill or produce life-altering, gruesome injuries. Older model year vehicles put their occupants at higher risk, as the age of the air bag is one of the contributing factors,” NHTSA said. 

NHTSA is urging all vehicle owners to immediately check to see if their vehicle has an open Takata air bag recall by visiting NHTSA.gov/recalls and entering the license plate or VIN. If it does, owners should contact their dealership to schedule a free repair as soon as possible and follow any warnings from the vehicle manufacturer. Ford and Mazda are offering free towing, mobile repair and, if necessary, loaner vehicles. For the complete list of affected vehicles and more information, read the full consumer advisory.

Mazda’s warning covers 82,893 model year 2003-2015 vehicles previously recalled under the following campaigns:

17V806, 17V807

• 2004-2006 B-Series

16V499, 17V013, 18V016

• 2007-2009 B-Series

17V474, 18V402, 18V403, 18V404, 19V488, 19V781

• 2003-2008 Mazda6
• 2006-2007 MazdaSpeed6
• 2004-2011 RX-8
• 2004-2006 MPV

17V429, 17V457, 18V018, 18V717, 19V782

• 2009-2013 Mazda6
• 2007-2012 CX-7
• 2007-2015 CX-9