The Detroit Free Press this weekend printed a bombshell report alleging that Ford “is working to re-inspect greater than a quarter-million automobiles after the corporate found flawed work and false billing by dealership technicians through the required alternative of harmful Takata air luggage.”

The Free Press, citing “inside firm paperwork, dealership memos, federal regulatory filings, and courtroom papers,” stories that Ford has “fined some dealerships whose restore techs billed the automaker for changing Takata airbags regardless of putting in the gadgets incorrectly or not doing the work in any respect.”

A lot of what the Free Press reported was already publicly recognized. Its fundamental conclusions are correct, and Ford doesn’t dispute them. However the story is barely much less alarming than it first appears after deeper examination.

The Free Press report combines two points.

One, public since a recall issued final spring, includes about 230,000 2004-2006 Ford Ranger pickups that might have had a recall restore carried out incorrectly.

The opposite includes 40,000 or fewer automobiles. On these, Ford desires to examine the work of technicians who might have misled the corporate previously.

Background: Historical past’s Largest Recall

The Takata airbag recall impacts “tens of hundreds of thousands of automobiles bought below no less than 34 model names on no less than 5 continents. Almost each automaker that sells automobiles within the U.S. has automobiles affected by the Takata recall.”

An airbag inflator is a small metallic capsule containing chemical compounds that mix to create a quickly increasing gasoline. In an accident, the inflator is meant to squirt that gasoline out of a nozzle, shortly inflating a folded airbag to cushion occupants from hitting collapsing automotive components.

Some inflators produced by the now-defunct Takata firm, nevertheless, can explode as an alternative. Their capsule generally bursts below the sudden stress of the chemical response. That may ship scorching metallic fragments flying into the cabin like shrapnel. The chemical compounds contained in the gadgets develop extra unstable with age, which means the chance grows over time.

Takata airbag inflators have reportedly claimed no less than 32 lives worldwide, 23 within the U.S.

BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Basic Motors, Honda, and Toyota have all issued “don’t drive orders” previously two years, asking drivers to park older automobiles instantly and never drive them in any respect till sellers can change their inflators.

The Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 67 million automobiles on American roads carried the faulty inflators once they had been constructed. As of late 2022, the company reported that about 50 million of them have been repaired or faraway from use.

Some Replacements Put in Backwards

Final spring, Ford recalled 230,000 Ranger pickups a second time over the Takata concern. The corporate had changed Takata inflators within the vans with non-Takata-built inflators. However Ford realized that some technicians might have put in them backward. A reversed installer would nonetheless inflate an airbag, Ford says, however won’t inflate it correctly.

So, the corporate organized to examine the alternative inflators and, if vital, reinstall them within the right orientation.

That recall, already printed final 12 months, makes up the majority of the automobiles within the Free Press report. These automobiles have had their inflators changed and are usually not prone to a Takata airbag rupture. However, some alternative inflators could also be put in backward, which might maintain them from performing correctly.

Ford Audits Some Dealerships’ Work After Previous Faux Repairs

Ford plans to examine about 40,000 different automobiles to make sure that technicians change airbag inflators once they say they did.

The Free Press stories that, since 2020, Ford has required some sellers to audit security repairs. That 12 months, the corporate discovered that “some technicians failed to finish door latch recall work for which they billed the automaker.” The corporate has not publicly recognized the dealerships. However, since that point, it has routinely audited their work.

Ford plans to re-inspect about 40,000 automobiles that had Takata inflators changed by these dealerships. 

“Nobody — not the drivers, Ford or the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration — is aware of precisely which automobiles weren’t repaired appropriately,” the Free Press Reviews. However Ford says it does know which automobiles had been repaired by dealerships whose work the corporate audits.

Ford says it has, up to now, inspected about 11% of the 40,000 automobiles in query. About 1.5% of that 11% have had incorrect or unrepaired inflators. These automobiles could also be prone to a Takata airbag rupture.

Notice: This text has been up to date for accuracy since its authentic posting.