Stop using your 2006 Ford Ranger or risk to be killed by your airbag

2006 Ford Ranger

Check out if your vehicle is one of the ones affected

33,428 vehicles recalled by Ford for their defective Takata airbags, as risk of death still persists even after several other recalls for this model

Stop driving your 2006 Ford Ranger and immediately contact your dealer for repairs, says Ford, in a recall that shows the Takata drama is far from over. After recalling 391,000 Ford Rangers after Joel Knight's death in 2016, Ford issued a warning today for another 33,428 vehicles, all of which were previously under a separate Takata airbag inflator recall.

It seems there's an elevated risk to safety posed by airbag inflators that may have a higher risk of rupturing in the event of a crash than other recalled Takata inflators. In case you're wondering what a Takata airbag can do to your face and chest, see the video below (at the 1:50 mark).

Parts are available now, and dealers are prepared to get vehicles directly from customers, make permanent repairs that will resolve the safety risk and provide a free interim loaner vehicle, if necessary. Affected vehicles include certain 2006 Ford Rangers built at Twin Cities Assembly Plant from Aug. 10, 2005 to Dec. 15, 2005 and from August 5, 2005 to November 4, 2005.

This expanded recall involves approximately 33,428 additional 2006 Ford Rangers in North America with 30,603 located in the United States and federalized territories and 2,825 in Canada. The total number of vehicles included in this recall now is 36,330. The Ford reference number for this recall is 18S02.

Dealers will get vehicles directly from customers, make permanent repairs that will resolve the safety risk and provide a free interim loaner vehicle, if necessary. It’s important to note the driver and passenger airbag inflators in all 2004-06 Ford Rangers built in North America are already under a Takata airbag inflator recall. Final service parts are available now, and customers are encouraged to contact their dealers to get their vehicles serviced.

Ford has a VIN look-up tool at Ford.com that customers can use to determine if their vehicle is one of those involved in this action. You can find it here.