Oakville, Ontario — Ford lost its appeal to the U.S. federal safety regulators this week resulting in the automaker having to dish out US$610 million to replace faulty Takata airbags in 3 million cars and trucks across North America.
In an attempt to avoid the airbag recall, the automaker filed the appeal and conducted its own study of the airbags in question and concluded that “the risks identified were so remote that they were inconsequential to safety.”
The faulty airbags can be found in models from the year 2006 through 2012 and have been tied to more than a dozen deaths due to shrapnel being propelled at drivers and passengers. The recalled vehicles include some of the automakers most popular from those years like the Edge sport-utility vehicle, and the Ranger pickup.
“We believe our extensive data demonstrated that a safety recall was not warranted for these driver-side airbags,” Ford said in a statement Thursday. “However, we respect NHTSA’s decision and will issue a recall.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rejected Ford’s appeal on January 19.
