225,000 Vehicles Get “Do Not Drive” Order, Is Yours One Of Them?

This falls under the category of serious safety risks, and it's been going on for quite a while at this point. Illinois drivers should be taking this very seriously.

Stellantis, the global automotive group that includes Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram, has issued an urgent “Do Not Drive” advisory for roughly 225,000 vehicles still on the road with unrepaired Takata airbag inflators. The warning comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and applies right now to vehicles with older Takata airbags that are now considered especially dangerous.

The bottom line to all of this is if you own one of these affected vehicles, don’t drive it until the airbag has been replaced.

That’s not a scare tactic, either. The airbags involved can rupture explosively in a collision, potentially sending metal fragments into the cabin, with deadly consequences. The original Takata airbag recall has been ongoing for more than a decade, but a sizeable number of vehicles remain unrepaired, and this new warning is designed to finally get them off the roads until they’re made safe.

Let's Get Into The Vehicles That Are Included In This Latest "Do Not Drive" Warning

Keep in mind that this advisory affects older models built between the early 2000s and mid-2010s, including:

• 2007-2009 Chrysler Aspen

• 2005-2015 Chrysler 300

• 2008-2014 Dodge Challenger

• 2006-2015 Dodge Charger

• 2003-2016 Dodge Ram pickups & Sprinter vans

• 2004-2009 Dodge Durango

• 2005-2012 Dodge Dakota

• 2005-2008 Dodge Magnum

• 2007-2016 Jeep Wrangler

• 2006–2009 Mitsubishi Raider

This list covers the most recent models that the NHTSA and Stellantis have flagged. If your car is on that list and hasn’t been fixed, their guidance is pretty simple: park it and get it repaired.

Here's What Illinois Drivers Should Do Now

It's not a very lengthy to-do list, but it's still important.

• Check your vehicle now. Go to the NHTSA Recall Lookup tool and enter your VIN (vehicle identification number).

• Schedule a repair ASAP. If your car is part of this recall, dealerships will replace the defective airbag for free.

• Don’t drive the vehicle until the fix is done. This is truly a life-or-death warning, not a suggestion.

This recall is the result of long-standing recalls of Takata airbags, which have already been linked to 28 deaths and hundreds of injuries in the US, and is one of the most extensive automotive safety actions in history.