The Takata airbag debacle is still affecting vehicles after all these years. Numerous automakers have issued warnings and recalls over the dangerous airbags. Now Stellantis is issuing a warning to owners of its vehicles. In a statement released Thursday, the company is voluntarily issuing a stop-drive warning campaign to owners of its first generation of LX platform cars.
The stop/drive warning affects some 276,000 vehicles, specifically the 2005-2010 Dodge Magnum, Dodge Charger, Challenger, and the Chrysler 300. Stellantis issued the statement after two people were killed by airbags in a 2010 Charger. Automotive News says a third death is suspected but hasn’t yet been confirmed.
From Stellantis:
Owners or custodians of these vehicles will be contacted directly, advised to stop driving their vehicles and urged to obtain the necessary service, which continues to be available free of charge at any certified FCA-brand dealer. FCA – the first automaker to migrate from Takata to an alternate source of replacement parts – has sufficient inventory of new air bags to meet demand.
The longer these particular vehicles remain unrepaired, the greater the risk of an air-bag rupture, in event of a crash. Free replacement driver-side air bags have been available for this population since 2015.
The NHTSA is aware of the situation. The agency is telling owners to use its recall checking tool on its site to obtain information and to check whether or not their vehicle has an open recall. Jalopnik also has a handy guide to finding recalls available and updated for 2022.