Mazda recalls 540,000 older vehicles and pickup truck in US and Canada

Mazda has issued a recall for around 540,000 older vehicles and pickup trucks in the US and Canada, representing the latest addition to the lengthening list of vehicles being recalled by automobile manufacturers on account of defective airbags from Japanese supplier Takata.

The defective airbags, posed the threat of exploding upon inflating due the inflator's high force, which could send metal shrapnels from the airbag system's components into the cabin of the car.

This meant the airbag posed a threat to the lives of the driver and  passengers of the vehicle rather than ensuring their safety.

According to the documents that the Japan-based Mazda sent to safety regulators in the US and Canada, the recall order involved around 503,000 cars, for airbag replacement in driver's side, and 35,000 small pickup trucks, to replace the airbags in the passenger's side.

The car models covered under the recall order to replace the possibly fatal Takata airbags are the Mazda 6, with model years 2003 to 2008, the MazdaSpeed 6, with model years 2006 and 2007, and the RX-8, with model years 2004 to 2008, while the pickup trucks are the B-Series pickup trucks, with model years 2004 to 2006.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the B-Series recall covers approximately 27,000 model-year 2004-06 trucks manufactured from 17 April, 2003, through 2 May, 2006 in which only passenger-side airbags are affected.

Earlier, the 2004-2008 Mazda6 and RX-8 had been recalled on account of faulty driver-side airbags; the expansion now includes model-year 2003 Mazda6 vehicles.

Mazda would start owner notification next month. Mazda could be spoken to on numbers 800-222-5500 or owners could contact NHTSA at 888-327-4236 for more information.