As one Kelley Blue Book analyst still questioned how the entire Takata faulty airbag saga will culminate, Chrysler Group joined American Honda in expanding an ongoing regional recall to replace front passenger-side air-bag inflators.

Chrysler’s newest campaign covers estimated 208,783 older-model vehicles originally purchased or ever registered in seven U.S. states and five territories.

Affected by this recall are the following vehicles, provided they were purchased, ever registered or still registered in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan and the U.S. Virgin Islands:

— 2003-2005 Dodge Ram 1500

— 2003-2005 Dodge Ram 2500

— 2003-2005 Dodge Ram 3500

— 2004-2005 Dodge Durango

— 2005 Chrysler 300, 300C, SRT8

— 2005 Dodge Magnum

— 2005 Dodge Dakota

OEM officials explained the vehicles are equipped with front passenger-side air-bag inflators from a product family code-named PSPI.

“Chrysler Group is unaware of any injuries or accidents involving PSPI inflators of the type covered by this campaign, nor has a Chrysler Group investigation identified a defect in these components,” the automaker said. “Further, laboratory tests on nearly 600 such inflators did not result in any failures.

“The inflators affected by this campaign differ in design and construction from PSPI inflators used by other auto makers. They also benefited from a more robust manufacturing process,” Chrysler added.

However, at the request of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Chrysler indicated it is expanding its replacement action beyond its original scope of Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In compliance with regulations governing recalls, affected customers will be notified beginning Feb. 8. Service will be performed free of charge.

This recall covers an estimated 69,668 vehicles also affected by the initial regional recall. The additional five states and three territories accounts for an incremental gain of approximately 139,115 vehicles.

The regional recall, which remains under way, affects 371,309 older-model vehicles in Florida, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Chrysler also mentioned a third similar recall also is ongoing. Chrysler is replacing passenger-side air-bag inflators from a product-family code-named SPI, in an estimated 149,150 model-year 2003 pickup trucks registered, ever registered or originally purchased in seven U.S. states and five U.S. territories.

The third action covers 39,409 vehicles also affected by the initial regional recall, according to the OEM, which added affected customers will be notified beginning on Jan. 19.

“Chrysler Group has not identified an inflator defect in any of its vehicles,” officials said.

“However, the company is committed — out of an abundance of caution — to replacing these components,” they went on to say about an estimated total of 617,573 older-model cars, trucks and SUVs.

Customers with questions or concerns can call Chrysler at (800) 853-1403.

The moves in Michigan come after Honda expanded its campaigns involving vehicles with these Takata airbags, pushing its overall total to above 5 million.

Despite the efforts by Chrysler, Honda and the other automakers who installed these faulty airbags in their vehicles, Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Karl Brauer remains unsure of how the entire situation will evolve.

“The expanded recall still focuses on high humidity areas, while confirmed fatalities related to these airbags have occurred outside these recall regions,” Brauer said. “The real question is: How confident can consumers really be if their vehicles are equipped with Takata airbags but are located outside of the recall areas? Is the potential for defective inflators in non-humid regions eliminated, or just delayed or reduced? And by how much?

“There are still far too many unanswered questions on this issue,” he concluded.