Consumer Alert: 2003 Dodge Ram 1500
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A Consumer Alert for drivers of 2003 Dodge Ram 1500s. The national highway traffic safety administration has issued a DO NOT DRIVE warning, due to defective air bags that can send shrapnel flying in a crash.
About 30,000 trucks are believed to be affected. 26 people across the country have died because of the bad Takata air bags since 2009.
According to Consumer Reports, if you (or someone you know) have a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck, do not drive it until you’ve checked at nhtsa.gov/recalls or checktoprotect.org to make sure a potentially deadly airbag defect has already been fixed.
Consumer Reports say if it has not been fixed, you should immediately contact a dealership for a free repair that could save your life.
Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, says the person was killed in a May 13 crash that caused the air bags to inflate. Neither Stellantis nor the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would say where the crash happened or identify the victim. The person ”succumbed to a serious injury consistent with those observed in previous Takata inflator failures,” Stellantis said in a prepared statement Tuesday.
FILE - TK Holdings Inc. headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., is pictured on June 25, 2017. In a statement issued Tuesday, July 11, 2023, Stellantis is urging the owners of about 29,000 older Dodge Ram pickups to stop driving them after a passenger was killed by an exploding Takata air bag inflator. The company says owners of the 2003 model year pickups should contact a dealer or the company to find out if their trucks are part of the massive Takata recall. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
The death is the 26th in the U.S. since May of 2009, and more than 30 people have been killed worldwide. NHTSA said the death was the first due to an exploding front passenger air bag inflator. The rest of the deaths were drivers.
Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate air bags in a crash. But the chemical can become more volatile over time when exposed to moisture in the air and repeated high temperatures. The explosion can rupture a metal canister and hurl sharp shrapnel into the passenger compartment.
Most of the deaths and about 400 injuries have happened in U.S., but they also have occurred in Australia and Malaysia.
Potential for the dangerous malfunction led to the largest series of auto recalls in U.S. history, with at least 67 million Takata inflators involved. The U.S. government says that millions have not been repaired. About 100 million inflators have been recalled worldwide. The exploding air bags sent Takata Corp. of Japan into bankruptcy.
Stellantis says it will provide free transportation to help people and their vehicles get to and from dealerships.
The warning issued on June 11 comes after Stellantis reported that a passenger of a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 was killed by a faulty Takata airbag in a crash on May 13. The victim has not been identified. The person ”succumbed to a serious injury consistent with those observed in previous Takata inflator failures,” Stellantis said in a prepared statement Tuesday.
The death is the 26th in the U.S. since May of 2009, and more than 30 people have been killed worldwide. NHTSA said the death was the first due to an exploding front passenger air bag inflator. The rest of the deaths were drivers.
Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate air bags in a crash. But the chemical can become more volatile over time when exposed to moisture in the air and repeated high temperatures. The explosion can rupture a metal canister and hurl sharp shrapnel into the passenger compartment.
Most of the deaths and about 400 injuries have happened in U.S., but they also have occurred in Australia and Malaysia.
Potential for the dangerous malfunction led to the largest series of auto recalls in U.S. history, with at least 67 million Takata inflators involved. The U.S. government says that millions have not been repaired. About 100 million inflators have been recalled worldwide. The exploding air bags sent Takata Corp. of Japan into bankruptcy.
Stellantis says it will provide free transportation to help people and their vehicles get to and from dealerships.
The company says 29,000 of the recalled pickups are still on the road but haven’t been repaired. However NHTSA estimates that there are 84,000. In 2015 the company recalled more than 385,000 of the trucks.
“The older a defective Takata air bag inflator gets, the more dangerous it becomes,” Acting NHTSA Administrator Ann Carlson said in a written statement. “Please get your air bag replaced now for your sake, and for the sake of those who love you.”
The agency says even minor crashes can make the air bags explode and kill people or cause serious injuries.