If you or someone you know owns one of these Mopars, stop driving it immediately!
Airbags are supposed to keep us safe, however certain Takatas used in brands ranging from Honda to BMW have proven to be potentially fatal. We were hoping these issues were well in the rearview mirror, however Dodge’s parent company Stellantis recently issued an urgent warning to owners/drivers of 2005 to 2010 Dodge Magnums, Challengers, and Chargers along with Chrysler 300s of the same model year range to immediately stop driving them until the Takata airbag recall has been addressed on their vehicle.
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For review, in the past it was discovered that some Takata airbag inflators would shrapnel when the airbag deployed, the sharp metal ripping through the airbag and into the driver/passenger. One person in particular who was found after a minor crashed was thought to have been the victim of a vicious stabbing. This is not the kind of stuff you should just brush off.
Because of the potentially fatal consequences, Stellantis wants people to know they should stop driving these cars immediately. The auto giant stressed in an official press release that it’s undertaking the campaign to drive awareness about the seriousness of the situation voluntarily, so in other words NHTSA or some other government agency hasn’t forced the move.
Stellantis is contacting owners of the above-mentioned vehicles and will provide information on how to get the Takata airbags properly serviced at a dealership. To combat rumors that dealers don’t have enough replacement airbags, Stellantis insists the opposite is true. In other words, you shouldn’t have to wait for weeks on end, keeping your Dodge or Chrysler parked in the meantime.
Since 2015, free replacement driver-side airbags have been made available for 2005 to 2010 Dodge Magnums, Challengers, and Chargers as well as Chrysler 300s. If you aren’t sure whether or not your car needs a new airbag, you can always search by your VIN on NHTSA’s site here.
Images via Stellantis
