Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury cars recalled due to faulty Takata airbags

By Imad Khan Published January 12, 2017

If you’re one of the lucky owners for a 2005-2006 Ford GT — or certain other Ford vehicles — you may want to start making plans to visit your local dealership soon.

Ford has just announced that an additional 816,309 of its vehicles have been recalled due to faulty Takata airbags. The airbags can expel bits of shrapnel, potentially causing injury or death.

Recommended Videos

This development follows last summer’s massive recall that affected 1.9 million cars. This recall specifically pertains to passenger front airbags in Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury branded vehicles. Of the total number of vehicles, more than 75 percent were made in the U.S., with the rest built in Canada. And it’s not just exotic supercars that were affected — cars, trucks and SUVs are also being recalled.

The vehicles include:

2005-09 and 2012 Ford Mustang
2005-06 Ford GT
2006-09 and 2012 Ford Fusion
2007-09 Ford Ranger
2007-09 Ford Edge
2006-09 and 2012 Lincoln Zephyr and Lincoln MKZ
2007-09 Lincoln MKX
2006-09 Mercury Milan

Owners should be receiving a call from Ford soon, and will then be able to go to a dealership to get their airbags replaced at no additional cost. Owners can also enter their VIN number on its Safety and Recalls page to see if their vehicles were affected. The reference number for the recall is 17S01.

The Takata recall turned the automotive world upside-down when the company announced in 2013 that 3.6 million vehicles were being recalled for faulty airbags. Fast-forward to 2015, and that number mushroomed to more than 40 million. As of now, regulators believe there are 85 million vehicles out there with potentially defective Takata airbags. While the Takata recall came to light in 2013, estimates show that the problem could have started as early as 2001. There were blips of this issue popping up between 2001 and 2013, with at least 20 recalls being made due to faulty Takata airbags. To date, 11 deaths and 180 injuries have been linked to Takata airbags.

If you, or anyone you know, own a potentially affected vehicle, direct them to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website immediately.

Former Contributor

Imad has been a gamer all his life. He started blogging about games in college and quickly started moving up to various…

Topics

Cars

Modern cars love to collect data. Their companion apps appear to be even worse

Think your connected car tracks too much? Take a look at its phone app

Transportation, Vehicle, Car

We've known for years that modern cars aren't particularly shy about collecting data. It turns out the little app you install alongside one is apparently another cause for concern. Researchers at Northeastern University (via Vucense), working with Consumer Reports, tested 21 late-model vehicles from 19 brands and 30 manufacturer companion apps to see where their network traffic went. Nineteen of the 21 cars contacted at least one third party over Wi-Fi, while 11 reached domains classified as advertising, tracking, or analytics services.

For most of the vehicles tested, adding the manufacturer's companion app at least doubled the number of advertising, tracking, and analytics companies contacted. Seventy percent of the apps reached more than five such domains, compared with 29% of the cars.

Cars

Citroën promised us a cheap electric 2CV. The charming concept is finally here, with egg holders and turtle pedals

Citroën’s electric 2CV concept is smaller, lighter, and costs just 15,000 Euros

Citroen 2CV Concept Featured

A few months ago, Citroën told us one of France's most recognizable cars was coming back as a cheap EV. Now we finally know what that actually means. The Citroën 2CV Concept has made its debut at the 2026 Paris Motor Show, previewing the production model Citroën intends to put on European roads by 2028.

Just as promised, it is a fully electric car that is built to be simple and small enough to slot between the tiny Ami and C3 in Citroën's lineup. And sticking true to its legacy, it keeps some of that unique strangeness of the original 2CV.

Cars

Your next ‘cheap’ new EV isn’t coming – unless you buy used

Representative image of EVs charging

The global electric-car market is in a weird pricing flux. In Britain, Hyundai has opened orders for the Ioniq 3, a compact electric hatchback that starts at £22,245, or £18,495 after the country's £3,750 Electric Car Grant. The 61kWh version can travel up to 308 miles (WLTP range), while higher-end trims add features such as Matrix LED headlights and Hyundai's new Pleos Connect infotainment system, based on Android Automotive OS.

Cross the Atlantic, however, and that particular proposition disappears. Hyundai has no current plans to bring the Ioniq 3 to the U.S. Meanwhile, Cox Automotive put the average U.S. new-EV transaction price at $54,754 in August 2026. The gap is not simply about one car. It highlights a broader problem: while other markets are producing increasingly affordable electric cars, the U.S. still has remarkably few mainstream EVs around the 20,000-25,000 mark.