Brand new year, brand new recall campaign for American manufacturers affected by the now infamous Takata airbag inflator issue. After Toyota announced on Thursday the recall of some 1.3 million cars in the U.S., FCA made a similar announcement later the same day.
Just as was the case with Toyota, some – read a lot – of FCA cars have been fitted over the years with Takata airbag systems. Since 2013, the now-bankrupt Japanese company has been responsible for the largest safety issue in the history of motoring, with tens of millions of vehicles affected in the U.S. alone, not including these latest announcements.
In FCA’s case, the recall affects 1.4 million vehicles manufactured between 2010 and 2016. The cars in question are as follows: 2010 Ram 3500, 2010 Ram 4500/5500 chassis cab, 2010-2011 Dodge Dakota, 2010-2014 Dodge Challenger, 2011-2015 Dodge Charger, 2010-2015 Chrysler 300 and 2010-2016 Jeep Wrangler.
In addition to these cars, 88,830 other vehicles will be recalled in Canada, 12,821 in Mexico and 118,084 outside the NAFTA region.
All these models – as did the other over 4 million FCA cars already fixed – are fitted with faulty airbag inflators on the passenger side. These airbags usually are triggered with the help of an ammonium nitrate propellant.
Over time, due to prolonged exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high-temperature cycling, the propellant gets degraded and can explode, sending sharp metal fragments could through the cabin, directly at the driver and passengers.
“We strongly urge our customers to respond to their recall notices by contacting an authorized Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram dealer,” said in a statement Mark Chernoby, FCA’s Head of North American Safety and Regulatory Compliance.
“Recall service is free, we have replacement parts and dealers are ready to help.”
FCA did not say when owners will begin getting their official notifications. Those in need of further information can call the FCA US Recall Information Center at 1-800-853-1403.
In FCA’s case, the recall affects 1.4 million vehicles manufactured between 2010 and 2016. The cars in question are as follows: 2010 Ram 3500, 2010 Ram 4500/5500 chassis cab, 2010-2011 Dodge Dakota, 2010-2014 Dodge Challenger, 2011-2015 Dodge Charger, 2010-2015 Chrysler 300 and 2010-2016 Jeep Wrangler.
In addition to these cars, 88,830 other vehicles will be recalled in Canada, 12,821 in Mexico and 118,084 outside the NAFTA region.
All these models – as did the other over 4 million FCA cars already fixed – are fitted with faulty airbag inflators on the passenger side. These airbags usually are triggered with the help of an ammonium nitrate propellant.
Over time, due to prolonged exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high-temperature cycling, the propellant gets degraded and can explode, sending sharp metal fragments could through the cabin, directly at the driver and passengers.
“We strongly urge our customers to respond to their recall notices by contacting an authorized Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram dealer,” said in a statement Mark Chernoby, FCA’s Head of North American Safety and Regulatory Compliance.
“Recall service is free, we have replacement parts and dealers are ready to help.”
FCA did not say when owners will begin getting their official notifications. Those in need of further information can call the FCA US Recall Information Center at 1-800-853-1403.