Ford Won't Equip Cars with Takata Air Bag Inflaters

Ford Motor Co. is the latest auto maker to say it will no longer equip its vehicles with Takata Corp. air bag inflaters that use ammonium nitrate, the chemical propellant that has been linked to deaths and injuries around the world.

Ford in a statement Monday said it has recalled about 1.5 million vehicles to date that have the defective Takata air bag inflaters, including certain older model-year Ford Mustangs, Ford GTs and North American-built Ford Rangers. Ford says it isn't putting the inflaters in the vehicles it now has under development. The defect in some air bag inflaters can cause them to explode with too much force and spray shrapnel into the vehicle cabin, the National Highway Traffic Administration has said.

Japanese auto makers Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. have already said they won't use the inflaters in their future models, representing yet another blow to the embattled Japanese supplier whose faulty air bags have forced 12 auto makers to recall 19 million vehicles in the U.S.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 23, 2015 11:25 ET (16:25 GMT)

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