FCA US, a subsidiary of Stellantis (STLA), and federal regulators issued a "Do Not Drive" warning for about 276,000 vehicles following the deaths of two people in crashes where the Takata driver’s-side air bags exploded.
The defective airbags are suspected in the death of a third person.
The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration said the recall covers roughly 276,000 model year 2005 to 2010 Dodge Magnums, Chargers, and Challengers, as well as 2005 to 2010 Chrysler 300s.
NHTSA said it was aware of several other suspected inflator ruptures in vehicles from other automakers potentially due to exploding Takata air bags.
FCA urged owners and custodians who have not yet addressed Takata driver-side air-bag recalls "to immediately stop driving their vehicles."
Defective Takata airbags have been linked to a series of deaths and injuries, leading to the recall of millions of cars beginning in 2013. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2013.
Death and Injuries From Takata Air Bags
Stellantis said it confirmed the driver's air bag inflators blew apart in two cases, killing two drivers of 2010 Dodge Chargers, according to the Associated Press.
The company said it suspected an inflator rupture in another case that killed a driver of an unspecified 2010 Dodge.
All three deaths were in warm-weather U.S. states and happened in the past seven months, the company said.
The fatalities bring the death toll from exploding Takata air bags to at least 32 worldwide, including 23 in the U.S.. The airbags have also caused about 400 injuries.
"The longer these particular vehicles remain unrepaired, the greater the risk of an air-bag rupture, in event of a crash," FCA said in a statement. "Many owners say they don’t have time to obtain the remedy. However, the repair procedure takes well under one hour."
Age of Air Bags Is a Factor
Older model year vehicles, such as these 2010 sedans, put their occupants at higher risk as the age of the air bag is one of the contributing factors, NHTSA said.
"Left unrepaired, recalled Takata air bags are increasingly dangerous as the risk of an explosion rises as vehicles age," NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson said in a statement. "Every day that passes when you don’t get a recalled airbag replaced puts you and your family at greater risk of injury or death.“
Carlson said an exploding Takata air bag "can send metal fragments toward the driver or passengers, and this shrapnel can kill – and has – killed or maimed people.”
The Stellantis vehicles under the “Do Not Drive” warning were all recalled in 2015, and free repairs have been available since then, the company said.
NHTSA urged all owners to check to see if their vehicles have an unrepaired Takata air bag.
Drivers can go to https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls and key in their 17-digit vehicle identification number to see if they have any open recalls.
Stellantis said any of its customers who aren’t sure if their vehicles have been recalled can call (833) 585-0144.
The company is parent to Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, Peugeot, Ram and many more popular brands.
