Stellantis, guardian firm of Ram and different automotive manufacturers, is urging house owners of unrepaired 2003 Dodge Ram pickups “to instantly cease driving these automobiles and speak to a vendor or the corporate to find out their recall standing” after a latest accident.

On Could 13, a truck proprietor died of accidents according to a Takata airbag inflator explosion, the corporate says. The proprietor sat within the passenger’s seat on the time and was probably hit by fragments from an exploding passenger-side airbag inflator constructed by the now-defunct Takata firm.

Final yr, Stellantis equally requested house owners of Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger, and Dodge Magnum fashions from the 2005 to 2010 mannequin years to cease driving their vehicles till the automaker might full recall repairs.

Historical past’s Largest Recall

The warning is the newest within the ongoing story of the most important recall in automotive historical past.

The Takata airbag recall began in 2013 and included vehicles made by 34 producers and offered on not less than 5 continents. The federal authorities’s Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) says not less than 67 million vehicles on American roads carried the lethal components when sellers first offered them.

Exploding Inflators

An airbag inflator is a small metallic capsule containing chemical compounds that mix to create a quickly increasing gasoline. In an accident, the inflator is meant to squirt that gasoline out of a nozzle. That gasoline rapidly inflates a folded airbag in order that it could actually cushion occupants from hitting collapsing automotive components.

Some Takata inflators, nevertheless, can explode as an alternative. Their capsule generally bursts beneath the sudden strain of the chemical response. That may ship sizzling metallic fragments flying into the cabin like shrapnel.

Recall May Embody Your Automotive

NHTSA believes that of the 67 million vehicles on American roads that carried the faulty inflators, about 50 million have been repaired or faraway from use.

Meaning as many as 17 million vehicles on American roads have a probably lethal defect eligible without cost restore.

Proprietor Allegedly Ignored Notices

Ram says it had despatched the sufferer of the newest crash not less than six recall notices. “All went unheeded,” the corporate says.

“Free replacements for sure Takata airbag inflators have been obtainable for almost ten years,” Stellantis notes. The corporate “will present different transportation, additionally free, to assist folks get to and from dealerships” for the restore.

Test whether or not your automotive has any excellent recollects with the straightforward VIN instrument at our recall middle.

Car house owners preferring speaking on to the producer can name the Fiat Chrysler Vehicles Takata Name Middle at 833-585-0144 or go to its web site. To search out out Takata-specific data from different automobile producers, please test right here.