Mazda announced earlier in the week that it is expanding its current recall involving cars with defective Takata airbag inflators, allowing the Japanese company to join Chrysler, Ford, and Honda in adding Gulf Coast states to the recall coverage.
According to Mazda, it will be expanding its Takata-related recall to all Gulf Coast states, and not just select high-humidity regions including Florida, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The new states to be covered include Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, while the total number of vehicles covered by the recall now numbers about 86,773. That’s more than twice the number of units (close to 35,000) covered by the initial Takata recall announced in the summer.
Affected vehicles include the 2003-2007 Mazda6, the 2004-08 RX8, the 2006-07 Mazdaspeed6, and the 2004 MPV, though Mazda has yet to announce an exact date for the new recalls to start, and had confirmed that it will still be using Takata parts as replacements for defective inflators.
Separately, Mazda also announced that it will be joining forces with Toyota and conducting its own research into the how and why of the Takata airbag saga. Previously, Toyota told owners of affected vehicles that a joint effort with other carmakers would make it easier and more accurate to spot vehicles with defective Takata airbag inflators. Prior to Mazda agreeing to collaborate with Toyota, Honda had also expressed interest in assisting Toyota in this endeavor.