2006 Ford Ranger Pickup Trucks Are Too Dangerous to Drive Warns Ford and the Federal Government
Ford Motor Company and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have both issued warnings that 2006 Ford Rangers are TOO DANGEROUS TO DRIVE.
The manufacturer and the federal safety agency advise that owners are to park their 2006 Ford Rangers. They are NOT TO DRIVE THEM. So if you own or operate a Ford Ranger pickup truck in the model year 2006, don’t drive it!
Read the Ford Motor Company announcement here.
Read the NHTSA press release here.
Why are 2006 Ford Rangers so Dangerous?
Not every Ford Ranger is included in this very serious warning. However, there are Ford Rangers in the model year 2006 that have been sold with Takata air bags which are considered “…an immediate risk to safety.”
Takata Air Bag Defects
Now, the dangers of Takata air bags aren’t new. Millions of defective Takata air bags have been installed on vehicles being driven on the roads of Indiana and Illinois (and the rest of the country). For details, read our earlier discussions including:
- Car Recall Crisis: Millions of Defective Recalled Vehicles On the Road What Happens After a Serious Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
- Air Bag Recalls Just Keep Coming: Is Your Car Dangerous?
- Were Your Car Crash Injuries (1990 – 2015) Caused By Defective Takata Air Bag?
There’s a big problem with these air bags being repaired right now. There are not enough replacement air bags to fix all the vehicles that are being driven today with a defective Takata air bag. As a result, the recalls are divided in “priority groups,” with the highest risk of fatality getting top priority (e.g., the Ford Ranger air bag recall).
How Dangerous Are These Ford Ranger Pickups? Consider What Ford Is Doing Here
Here’s a clue regarding how very dangerous and deadly these pickups are to drive. The manufacturer has not only issued a very scary warning to stop driving these trucks, but Ford is also spending lots of money and making a huge effort to get these Ranger pickups fixed.
Ford will be doing the following: (1) repairing the defective Takata air bags for free; (2) sending mobile repair teams to owners’ homes to make repairs for free; (3) towing some of these Ranger pickup trucks to a local Ford dealership for the repair with free tow; and (4) providing free loaner vehicles to the Ford Ranger owners to use while the air bag repairs are being done.
According to Ford in its announcement, these air bags are particularly dangerous because they have inflators with a “higher risk of rupturing in the event of a crash.” Ford explains that it is warning that all Ford Rangers within the recall are to be sidelined and not driven because of two deaths in Ford Ranger accidents where these Takata air bags ruptured. These particular air bags were manufactured on the same day.
Ford reports that the 2006 Ford Rangers which are too dangerous to drive because of these air bags were built at the Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant sometime between August and December 2005.
Does Your Vehicle Have a Recall? Dangerous Defects Aren’t Just in Ford Rangers
We’ve warned about dangerous products being sold here in Indiana and Illinois every day. Some are the subject of recalls; some are not. See:
- Recalls Don’t Solve the Problem of Defective Product Injuries
- Hurt by a Defective Product in Indiana or Illinois: Recalls and Failings
For dangerous defects in cars, trucks, minivans, SUVs, and other motor vehicles on the roadways here, the risk of a fatal crash involves not only the defective car or truck but other innocent third parties who were hit in the accident. It’s vital that these Ford Rangers be removed from the roads – and that we are all aware of the very real chance that there is a dangerous defect in our own vehicles, too.
How to Check for Defect Recalls in Your Vehicle
According to NHTSA, here is what all motor vehicle owners should do in order to make sure their vehicle is safe from a dangerous defect:
- Visit NHTSA.gov and search with the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to see if any recalls apply to your vehicle. You can find the VIN on your car insurance policy or any repair invoice (like the oil change you got last month at Firestone). It’s also on the vehicle itself, between the windshield and the dashboard.
- If you discover a recall, then call your local dealership and schedule the repair. Repairs of recalls are free.
- To get future recall alerts by email, sign up at NHTSA.gov/Alerts.
Senators Ask What’s Going on Here, and What About Mazda B-Series Pickups?
Over in Washington, a formal letter has been sent by two Senators to the Transportation Department asking for more details on this emergency notice regarding the Ford Ranger pickups.
Now only do they want to know why other air bag recalls have not received similar emergency warnings. The Senators want EVERY SINGLE VEHICLE that has a recall notice based upon a Takata air bag to get a “DO NOT DRIVE” warning.
Their letter brings up additional critical issues:
- How come the other air bag defects aren’t making those vehicles “too dangerous to drive” – why hasn’t any other air bag recall been labelled “high risk”?
- Regarding this specific warning, everyone knows that car manufacturers here in the United States will produce almost identical products under different make and model names. So, why aren’t the 2006 Mazda B-Series trucks being given the same treatment as the 2006 Ford Rangers?
Read the letter from Members of Congress here.
Please Tell Any Ford Ranger Owners You Know About This Warning
While there have been news stories about this warning, that may not be enough. The federal government (NHTSA) has asked the general public “to help spread the word” in its release, as “[i]t’s critical that this message reaches all affected owners.”
If you see someone driving a Ford Ranger, go over and ask them if they know about this warning. Maybe their truck is involved here, maybe not.
But you might just be saving their life as well as who knows who else who might be in a crash involving a defective air bag rupture in that vehicle. So, please let them know!
They can check their truck to see if it’s “too dangerous to drive” at the Ford.com site by inputting their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
Please check your vehicles at the NHTSA site for recall information. If you have an air bag recall, then please consider the dangers of driving that vehicle until the defect can be repaired. Let’s be careful out there!
