agent Entrepreneur logo
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

Mazda Adds 540,000 Vehicles to Takata Air Bag Recall

Japanese automaker Mazda Motor Co. said Friday it is recalling nearly 540,000 cars and pickups in North America for air bag inflators that can explode, adding to the massive recall of vehicles with potentially defective Takata Corp. air bags, reports The Detroit News. Recalled cars include the 2003-08 Mazda 6, 2006-07 MazdaSpeed 6 and the ... Read More »

June 9, 2015
3 min to read


Japanese automaker Mazda Motor Co. said Friday it is recalling nearly 540,000 cars and pickups in North America for air bag inflators that can explode, adding to the massive recall of vehicles with potentially defective Takata Corp. air bags, reports The Detroit News.

Recalled cars include the 2003-08 Mazda 6, 2006-07 MazdaSpeed 6 and the 2004-08 RX-8 for defective driver’s-side bags. Mazda’s recall also includes the 2004-06 B-Series pickups for defective passenger-side bags.

Ad Loading...

The latest recall includes 330,000 vehicles that Mazda said last year it would repair under a safety improvement campaign, that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration classified as a recall.

In total, 11 automakers are recalling nearly 34 million vehicles after Takata last month declared the vehicles defective. The decision effectively doubled the recall of vehicles with Takata vehicles that had already been called back. Worldwide, more than 50 million vehicles have been recalled for air bag inflators that can explode and fling metal shrapnel at drivers and passengers when the bags are activated.

The safety defect is linked to six deaths and 100 injuries, with all of the deaths reported in Hondas.

To date, eight of the 11 automakers have notified NHTSA about which new cars are part of the latest recalls. Just over 30.4 million vehicles have been named to the recall to date.

Takata may have to again replace the air bags of at least one-tenth of the 4 million vehicles that already have been repaired. But the company hasn’t identified which cars and trucks are covered by the need for a second repair.

Ad Loading...

NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind told The Detroit News on Thursday the agency plans to announce when all the automakers have submitted notifications. He told Congress this week it could still take a couple weeks before all vehicle identification numbers are on safercar.gov.

Takata came under criticism this week for saying it will continue to use ammonium nitrate in replacement air bags, even as it admits the propellant is a factor in the explosions. Although the exact cause of the problem is unknown, it is believed that high heat and humidity can cause the propellant to become unstable and ignite with more force than intended.

The company’s rivals don’t use that propellant, and Takata has said it will transition away from it. Rosekind said that decision is up to Takata. “We’re just pointing out there’s all these other solutions that work just fine,” he said.

Rosekind praised Takata for its cooperation after it signed a consent order with NHTSA on May 19. “There’s a dramatic difference,” he said. “We went 180 degrees from denial to not just acceptance… but now we have a path forward.”

It could take Takata two years to build enough replacement parts, but Rosekind hopes that process can be sped up. NHTSA is moving into “the driver’s seat” by using its authority under a 2000 law to oversee the massive recall, and Rosekind said he hopes in that position the agency can speed replacement parts to market. NHTSA will hold meetings with automakers and Takata.

More Industry

Group photo of men outside storefront.
Industryby Hannah MitchellMay 28, 2026

Pennsylvania Dealership Under New Retailers

The sale of the Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram store puts a family auto group on a leaner path as first-time dealers take the helm.

Read More →
Hallway with lockered wiring and computer
Industryby Lauren LawrenceMay 28, 2026

Battery Storage Takes Priority Over EVs

U.S. automakers are prioritizing battery energy stationary storage over electric-vehicle production as the consumer demand for EVs lags the rest of the world.

Read More →
Gray-scale photo of a line of Mini cars in a dealership parking lot
Industryby Hannah MitchellMay 27, 2026

Auto Dealers Feel Better But Not Great

A second-quarter Cox Automotive poll of franchised retailers and independents found better views of the current market after a good spring but anticipation of third-quarter storminess.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Closeup photo of the front of a white car
Industryby Hannah MitchellMay 21, 2026

New-Vehicle Sales Picture Relative

A May forecast is complicated by last spring’s trade tariff effects on auto retail. Despite continued hard realities, many consumers took advantage of ways to bite the bullet.

Read More →
Nissan logo on front of building
Industryby Lauren LawrenceMay 21, 2026

Auto Group Acquires Third Nissan Rooftop

Iowa-based Coleman Automotive Group recently acquired its seventh dealership, McGrath Nissan, which it renamed Nissan of Elgin.

Read More →
Couple talking with auto salesman next to new car inside dealership
Industryby Hannah MitchellMay 20, 2026

April Less Affordable

Based on prices, reduced incentives and slower household income growth, consumers found it more challenging to buy new last month, Cox Automotive reported.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Wooden people figures of different colors in a row, similar to board game pieces
IndustryMay 20, 2026

Building an Extraordinary F&I Agency

Work to determine your specialized talent, because that fact will determine everything about your agency’s future.

Read More →
Ingredient card, policies and procedures, fixed operations, variable operations, data security, audit
Industryby Jim GantherMay 19, 2026

Recipe for Compliance

The secret to both amazing barbecue and compliance is the same: understanding the basics and committing to a process.

Read More →
Photo of new Chevrolet Bolt parked on a beach
Industryby Hannah MitchellMay 14, 2026

EVs Getting More Attractive

A growing percentage of U.S. consumers are open to switching and fewer are adverse to the idea, according to a recently completed survey. That’s despite the end of a tax break.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Benchmark bar graph showing April 2026 EV Sales
Industryby Lauren LawrenceMay 14, 2026

EV Sales Drop in April Following Surge

North American electric-vehicle sales were down 28% year-over-year, a sharp contrast from global EV sales growth of 6%.

Read More →