Ford, Mazda expand warnings for trucks with Takata airbag inflators.

Reuters (2/12, Shepardson) reports Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corps. expanded earlier warnings to truck owners because of potentially defective Takata Corp airbag inflators. Ford warned an additional 33,000 owners of older pickup trucks in North America to stop driving them until potentially defective Takata Corp air bag inflators are repaired. Meanwhile, Mazda Motor Corp warned about 1,800 2006 Mazda B-Series trucks that were built by Ford. It had issued a warning for 160 trucks in January. Earlier, Ford said it expanded an earlier warning because of “additional testing.” In January, Ford told 2,900 owners of model year 2006 Ford Ranger trucks to stop driving immediately after a second death was linked to inflators built on the same day. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the vehicles pose “an immediate risk to safety.” Ford and Mazda said they have replacement air bag inflators now available and will tow vehicles to a dealership for repairs as well as provide loaner vehicles free of charge.

        The AP (2/12, Krisher) quotes Mazda spokeswoman Elizabeth Weigandt, saying test results revealed the trucks had inflators that ruptured or recorded high internal pressure readings. The AP says NHTSA said pickups not covered by the do-not-drive warning are being “scrutinized to see if they should get the same treatment.”