The last few years have been full of news about the massive, worldwide recall of vehicles that have Takata airbags installed inside of them. Millions of cars have been recalled because of these deadly airbags, which have exploded inside vehicles and killed people throughout the world. You might believe that all of the cars that contain these airbags have already been recalled — and hopefully most of them repaired — but some unrecalled vehicles still contain these defective Takata products.
Ford Motor Company’s announcement that it will be recalling around 365,000 more cars and trucks — all of which were manufactured in North America — comes as a surprise this late in the game. The recalled vehicles all have problematic airbag inflators in the front, passenger sides of the affected cars.
So far, 18 people have died globally as a result of defective Takata airbags, so it’s certainly a positive thing that Ford has taken the right choice to recall these additional vehicles that — if left unrecalled — could result in more deaths of passengers or drivers in the United States.
In addition to the Takata airbag recall, Ford has also recalled several vehicles manufactured in 2017 and 2018 — certain Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators — which have problems with their automatic windows. Apparently, the windows’s safety feature that causes the window to auto-reverse if someone leaves his or her arm, finger or hand in the path of the window is faulty and might not function, which could result in serious injuries.
If you have suffered a serious injury — or have a loved one who died — because of a faulty or defective vehicle, you may want to learn about your legal rights under Maryland personal injury law. In some cases, you might be able to pursue financial compensation related to your injuries.
Source: New York Daily News, “Ford expands Takata airbag recall, calls back 2018 Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator SUVs,” Amanda Silvestri, Jan. 19, 2018