Ford to spend $610 million to recall 3 million vehicles

January 22, 2021: Ford Motor will recall 3 million old vehicles due to potential issues regarding their airbag inflators that will cost the automaker an estimated $610 million.

The company confirmed the cost on Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission after the closing bell.

Ford stock fell into the red during post-trading around 2%. The shares ended Thursday up 6.2% at $11.53 a share.

In the filing, Ford said it would treat the expense as a particular item as part of its fourth-quarter earnings on February 4. Ford’s market cap is more than $45 billion.

On Tuesday, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration denied a petition of 2017 by Ford to avoid recalling the vehicles with the potentially deadly airbags produced by auto supplier Takata.

Takata airbag inflators have been an ongoing issue for automakers for years. The defect can cause airbag inflators to rupture, sending potentially deadly metal fragments flying in the vehicle.

The problem has caused the deaths of 27 people across the world and 18 in the U.S., according to Reuters. The issue involving the more than 67 million inflators is the largest automotive recall in U.S. history.

The impacted vehicles range from model years 2006 through 2012. They include Ford Ranger, Fusion, Edge, Lincoln MKZ/Zephyr, and Mercury Milan vehicles.

The recall will affect approximately 2.7 million vehicles in the U.S. and about 300,000 in Canada and other locations, the company said.