Ford to recall 3 million cars at a cost of $610M

Ford announced on Thursday it was recalling 3 million cars due to potential issues with airbag inflators.

The measure is expected to cost the automaker $610 million, and affects vehicles from the 2006 through 2012 model years.

The airbag inflators in question were produced by auto parts supplier Takata.

In rare instances, a defect in them can lead to a rupture in the bag, sending potentially deadly metal fragments flying.

Worldwide, there have been 27 deaths and at least 400 injuries from the inflators.

It's prompted the largest automotive recall in U.S. history of more than 67 million inflators, and a further 33 million worldwide.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rejected on Tuesday a 2017 petition by Ford and Mazda, which sought to avoid recalling the cars with the potentially dangerous airbags.

The regulator said the evidence was clear that these inflators posed a significant safety risk.

Mazda will be required to recall and repair driver air bags in approximately 5,800 vehicles.