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Chrysler follows other automakers, expands airbag recall

By Danielle Haynes
Chrysler has expanded its airbag recall nationally under federal pressure. The recall includes 2004-07 Dodge Ram 3500 pickup trucks like the one pictured. File photo by Kamenko Pajic/UPI
Chrysler has expanded its airbag recall nationally under federal pressure. The recall includes 2004-07 Dodge Ram 3500 pickup trucks like the one pictured. File photo by Kamenko Pajic/UPI | License Photo

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Following in the footsteps of multiple other automakers, Chrysler on Friday gave in to federal pressure and announced a nationwide expansion of a faulty airbag recall to include 3.3 million vehicles.

The Auburn Hills automaker expanded the recall to include vehicles in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico and other regions. The first safety recall included only vehicles in humid climates like Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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The problem was with airbags manufactured by Japanese supplier Takata Corp. The airbags can rupture into fragments and injure or kill passengers.

Officials with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last month called on automakers to expand the recall to all states after an airbag incident was reported in North Carolina, a state not within the recall area.

Both Chrysler -- which is now called FCA US -- and Takata maintain that the defects found in the faulty airbag infiltrators "are distinct" from the infiltrators in Chrysler vehicles.

"More than 1,000 laboratory tests have been performed on these components," a Chrysler news release said. "All deployed as intended, but FCA US continues to study the suspect inflators, which are not used in the company's current production vehicles.

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"Outside of Florida, one of the areas covered by the original action, no FCA US vehicle has been linked to an airbag deployment of the type that has raised public concern. Nevertheless, the company is replacing the Takata components tied to that concern."

Chrysler's recall includes the 2004-07 models of Dodge Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups; Dodge Ram 3500 chassis cabs; Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen full-size SUVs; Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger full-size sedans; Dodge Magnum full-size station wagons; and Mitsubishi Raider and Dodge Dakota small pickups.

The Chrysler announcement comes one day after Ford expanded its recall, and two weeks after Honda did the same.

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