Happy Thursday! 2.5 million more vehicles recalled for faulty Takata airbag inflators
Stop me if this sounds familiar: Auto parts supplier Takata has recalled tens of millions of its airbag inflators, because exposure to moisture and high temperatures can cause the inflators to explode in clouds of shrapnel. It's up to each individual automaker to recall cars with affected parts, though, so half the news stories you're seeing right now are related to Takata recalls. And you'll never guess what's just happened.
After Ford announced its latest Takata recall, six more groups have issued their own recalls. There's no rhyme or reason to the announcements -- affected vehicles cover all segments, from cargo vans to supercars. All six of the new recalls cover only the passenger-side airbag inflator. Any issues with driver-side inflators will be dealt with separately, if they haven't already been recalled.
General Motors doesn't appear to be pleased about all these recalls, and for good reason. In a statement, it made sure to note that its latest recall was done in accordance with the law (Takata recalled its parts, thus automakers must recall the vehicles that include those parts).
"GM believes that its 2007-2011 trucks and SUVs do not pose an unreasonable safety risk at this time," the company said in a statement. "This is based on no inflator ruptures during an estimated 44,000 crash deployments as well as analysis of parts retued from the field, and can be explained by the unique Takata inflator made for GM's vehicles and features unique to GM trucks and SUVs."
The full list of newly recalled vehicles is as follows:
General Motors: 2007-2011 Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV/Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, GMC Yukon/Yukon XL, 2009-2011 Chevrolet Silverado 2500/3500, GMC Sierra 2500/3500
Jaguar Land Rover: 2007-2011 Land Rover Range Roger, 2009-2011 Jaguar XF