U.S. Ford, Mazda issue do-not-drive warning for vehicles with Takata airbags

NEW YORK, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Ford and Mazda have issued do-not-drive warnings for more than 457,000 vehicles equipped with recalled Takata airbags, U.S. federal safety regulators said on Tuesday.

"The defective airbags can explode when deployed, hurling metal fragments at the driver and passengers," said The Washington Post in its report about the move. "It's the latest in a line of advisories and recalls over the Takata devices spanning more than a decade."

The advisory covers about 374,000 Ford vehicles from the 2004 through 2014 model years, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), including certain Ranger, Edge, Mustang and Fusion models.

It also covers about 83,000 Mazdas from the 2003 to 2015 model years, including older B-Series and Mazda6 models. The vehicles have all been subject to earlier recalls but have been repaired, NHTSA said.

Owners can check whether their vehicle is included in the advisory on the NHTSA website. If the vehicle is listed, owners should not drive it and should contact their dealership to schedule a free repair. Ford and Mazda are offering free towing, mobile repair and loaner vehicles, NHTSA noted.