Ford Motor Co. has issued a recall on certain 2004 through 2006 Ranger vehicles regarding the possibility that the replacement front passenger airbag inflators may have been improperly installed.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in a letter that the recall includes 231,942 vehicles.
The vehicles had received replacement front passenger airbag inflators in a previous recall. The NHTSA noted that an improperly installed inflator may not properly inflate the passenger airbag, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
Dealers will inspect and reinstall the front passenger airbag inflator, if necessary, free of charge.
Notification letters are expected to be mailed to owners of affected vehicles on May 22.
A day earlier, BMW warned owners of about 90,000 older vehicles in the United States not to drive them because of the possibility of airbags exploding in a crash.
The warning covers vehicles from model years 2000 through 2006 that had previously been recalled to replace defective and dangerous air bag inflators made by Takata.
Since 2009, Takata-made explosive airbags have killed at least 33 people worldwide, including 24 in the United States. Most of the deaths and nearly 400 injuries occurred in the United States, but also in Australia and Malaysia.
