BMW: Don’t Drive Older Models With Takata Air Bag Inflators

DETROIT (AP) — BMW is warning the owners of about 90,000 older vehicles in the U.S. not to drive them due to an increasing threat that the air bags can explode in a crash.

The warning covers vehicles from the 2000 through 2006 model years that previously had been recalled to replace faulty and dangerous air bag inflators made by Takata.

The company used volatile ammonium nitrate to inflate the air bags in a crash.

But the chemical can deteriorate over time and blow apart a metal canister, hurling shrapnel that can injure or kill drivers and passengers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says drivers should park their vehicles and contact BMW for more information.