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.” 

Takata airbag death toll reaches 22.

MLive (MI) (2/1, 912K) reports that the death toll of Takata’s airbag inflator recall has reached 22 following a crash in Malaysia on New Year’s Day. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s timeline will continue to announce the growing recall. The NHTSA said, “The recalls are phased by the location of the vehicles and their age. Generally, the vehicles in the highest danger zones and that are the oldest, are in the first priority group.” The NHTSA also said that Takata is facing a December 31, 2019 deadline to show that the “desiccated PSAN inflators (inflators that contain a drying agent) are safe.” MLive states that “nearly 10 months later on Sept. 20, 2020, the NHTSA says this is the last deadline for manufacturers to have the needed parts available for the repairs.” 

Toyota, Lexus issue recall since airbags may not inflate in crash.

The AP (1/31) reports that Toyota is recalling roughly 645,000 vehicles that were produced between May 2015 and March 2016 due to electrical issues that may not allow the air bags to inflate in a collision. Dealers will inspect and replace affected vehicles at no cost to the vehicle’s owner. The company will begin notifying owners in late March.

        Consumer Reports (1/31, Olsen, 3.63M) reports that owners of “2016 Toyota Prius hybrids, 2016 Lexus RX SUVs, and 2015-2016 Lexus NX SUVs” and other potentially affected Toyota manufactured vehicles can find out more information about the recall from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

Takata, others place profits above safety.

The Detroit Free Press (1/4, Witsil, 1.15M) reports, “Takata’s cover-up that as many as 70 million of its airbags were potentially lethal was among the worst cases of corporate misconduct in last year, according to the American Association for Justice.” According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, new testing has led Takata to issue recalls on another 2.7 million air bag inflators. The AAJ also reported other companies that exhibited egregious conduct such as United Airlines, Monsanto, Wells Fargo, Fox News, Equifax, McKesson, Wall Street banks, and Johnson & Johnson

Ram issues recall on 1.5 million trucks over shifter issues.

The New York Daily News (1/3, Tavares, 3.34M) reports, “Ram issued a recall of almost 1.5 million trucks in the U.S. due to a faulty interlock in the transmission.” The issue can cause the vehicle to shift from park without using the key, or applying the brake. Owners can contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for more information on the recall. 

Audi issues recalls over fuel-line leaks.

The AP (12/19) reports, “Audi is recalling more than 52,000 luxury cars in the U.S. and Canada to fix fuel lines that can leak and increase the risk of a fire.” The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration posted documents on Tuesday that said the affect vehicles were built from January 25, 2011 to Sept. 13, 2013. The recall includes the A6 and A7 with model year 2012, 2013, and 2014. The company did not report any fires or injuries related to the recall.

        MLive (MI) (12/19, 912K) reports that NHTSA documents stated, “The fuel line was designed with a compression point to assist in installation. Due to manufacturing tolerance issues, this part of the fuel line may weaken and leak over time.” Audi said it will start notifying owners on February 5, 2018. MLive states, “Affected owners are advised to look out for a fuel odor when the fuel line’s compression point begins to weaken.” The NHTSA said the issue first started being discussed in June of 2014.

        The Automotive Fleet (12/19, 62K) reports that “to address the problem, Audi dealers will replace the fuel line at no charge to the customer.” 

Pennsylvania jury orders Bayer, J&J to pay $27.8 million in damages for Xarelto.

Reuters (12/5, Lin) reports a Pennsylvania jury in Philadelphia ordered Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson to pay $1.8 million in compensatory damages and $26 million in punitive damages for Xarelto to Lynn Hartman and her husband. Hartman claims that she was hospitalized with severe gastrointestinal bleeding in June 2014, because she had taken Xarelto for about a year.

        Bloomberg News (12/5, Feeley, Fisk, 3.74M) reports that the two companies have previously won three federal lawsuits concerning Xarelto, but they “still face more than 21,000” lawsuits over the drug, “which has been linked to at least 370 deaths.”