Older Mazda6 sedans are the latest vehicles to be affected by the ongoing Takata recall campaigns.
The Japanese supplier has continued to perform internal testing of airbag inflators recovered from vehicles in the field. The investigations recently resulted in a ruptured inflator from a Mazda6.
After consulting with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in December, the company decided to recall all vehicles that were built with the same components that experienced a failure. The expansion includes passenger-side airbags for the 2003-2008 model years, including the 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6. A small batch of 2004 RX-8 vehicles is also included, limited to a single production week in late June 2003.
Like millions of other vehicles recalled for defective Takata airbags, the affected Mazda sedans could increase the chance of occupant injuries from flying shrapnel or airbag failure if the inflator is activated in a crash.
Service technicians will replace the passenger airbag in the affected vehicles. The campaign appears to be implemented on a nationwide basis, rather than focusing on states with high absolute humidity. Moisture has been identified as a likely factor contributing to field failures and deaths.
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