Ford expands recall of older Rangers for Takata air bag do-over

Ford is expanding its follow-up campaign for 2004-2006 Ranger pickups previously recalled to have their Takata air bag inflators replaced. Per Ford, some trucks left service departments with their replacement inflators installed incorrectly, rendering the air bags inoperable in the event of a collision. The company first announced the issue back in March, recalling roughly 100,000 of the old baby pickups for a second look. Now, the number is north of 230,000.

Per Ford's defect report, if a previously remedied vehicle has a passenger airbag inflator that was "misinstalled" and is in a crash event necessitating deployment of the passenger airbag, the airbag may not deploy as intended, increasing the risk of injury. When Ford announced the recall in March, it said seven trucks had been identified with incorrectly installed replacement parts. Since, Ford expanded the scope of its investigation and has identified an additional vehicle that left a service department with the repair improperly conducted.

"On April 21, 2023, Ford’s Field Review Committee reviewed the concern and approved a field action to inspect and repair (if necessary) all previously replaced passenger frontal airbag inflators for all 2004-2006 Ford Rangers," the company's official chronology said. No accidents or injuries have reportedly resulted from the issue as of the time of publication.