Happy Thursday! 2.5 million more vehicles recalled for faulty Takata airbag inflators
This is getting quite expensive...for Roadshow. I'm wasting half our Getty Images subscription on Takata photos.
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 returned 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:
BMW: 2007-2011 X5 xDrive30i/xDrive35i/xDrive48i/xDrive50i/X5M, 2008-2011 X6 xDrive35i/xDrive50i/X6M, 2009-2011 X5 xDrive35d, 2010-2011 X6 ActiveHybrid
Daimler Vans: 2009 Dodge Sprinter, 2009-2011 Freightliner Sprinter, 2010-2011 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
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
Mercedes-Benz: 2008-2011 C300 Sedan/C300 4Matic Sedan/C350 Sedan/C63 AMG Sedan, 2010-2011 GLK350/GLK350 4Matic, E350 Coupe, 2011 SLS AMG, E350 Convertible, E550 Coupe/Convertible
Volkswagen Group: 2004-2008 Audi A4, 2005-2011 Audi A6