Feds Urge Drivers to Stop Buying Certain Automobiles With Airbag Issues

When cars have defects, they can be dangerous to drivers and passengers. If a vehicle owner experiences problems with a new car, a Los Angeles lemon law attorney can provide insight regarding remedies and can help those affected by defects to avoid financial damage by exercising their legal rights.

Unfortunately, there are many circumstances in which car owners will have their vehicles for a long time, only to discover their cars contain a defect that makes the vehicles hazardous to drive. While car recalls should provide an option for vehicle owners to get defects fixed, recalls don't always work very well. Car owners could find themselves waiting months or even years to get serious defects fixed. This is occurring now for car owners with defective Takata airbags and NHTSA has issued a warning to drivers of certain vehicles that they should stop driving their cars until repairs are made.

NHTSA Warns Drivers to Stop Driving Certain Cars Until Airbags are Repaired

According to Consumer Reports, federal regulators are urging drivers of Mazda B series pickup trucks and Ford Ranger pickup trucks not to drive their vehicles if they have the 2006 model. The NHTSA has told drivers to stop operating these particular pickup trucks because they contain Takata airbag inflators that are “dangerously defective.”

Around 49 percent of 2006 Ford Rangers and 58 percent of 2006 Mazda B-Series trucks that were equipped with defective Takata airbags have not yet been repaired, and NHTSA has raised concerns about why the process is taking so long and how many parts are available to facilitate airbag replacement. 

NHTSA has also suggested motorists should stop driving their vehicles immediately because the trucks present an “immediate risk” to safety. This warning comes after two people were killed in motor vehicle accidents in trucks containing airbags with Takata airbag inflators. The trucks were built on the same day and were among millions of vehicles containing defective airbags that have a tendency to explode and send shrapnel flying through the car in the event of a collision. 

It is very rare for NHTSA to issue a do not drive warning but has done so in this case and is alerting consumers to the fact that both Ford and Mazda will pay to tow the trucks to a dealership for repairs with no charge to consumers.  Ford has also indicated that it has a sufficient number of parts available to take care of all of the necessary repairs and has said it will send mobile repair teams to truck owner's homes or will offer loaner cars to drivers at no charge.  A spokesperson for Mazda also indicated dealers are ready to make repairs.

Unfortunately, the problem is that these cars are older now and many are no longer owned by their original owner, so many drivers are unaware that they will need to take action to get their airbags fixed in order to avoid a potentially serious threat to safety.

Making sure consumers know about and act on recalls is always very complicated. Consumers should know their rights when a car is recalled and should know their rights in other situations as well if their vehicles have unexpected defects. A Los Angeles lemon law attorney can provide help and advice to motorists in understanding what their options are when they own a car that has serious issues.