More than two million cars in Australia are fitted with dangerous Takata airbags that are known to have caused at least twenty-three deaths worldwide, including one death and one serious injury in Australia.
The Federal Government on Wednesday announced a compulsory recall of vehicles fitted with these airbags after Australia’s consumer watchdog found evidence of their potential to cause injury to the vehicle users. According to the ACCC, 2 in 7 vehicles in Australia are affected by the faulty airbags.
Last year, a voluntary recall was announced for 2.3 million vehicles but that wasn’t effective as just half of those vehicles had the airbags replaced.
The ACCC says the airbags degrade with time and due to the defects in it the airbag may deploy with too much “explosive force, rupturing the airbag inflator housing so that sharp metal fragments shoot out and hit vehicle occupants, potentially injuring or killing them”.
Globally, ruptures of defective Takata airbags have been associated with at least 23 deaths and 230 injuries. In Australia, one person has been killed and another seriously injured in separate incidents involving defective Takata airbags.
All the airbags must be replaced by December 31, 2020.
Does your vehicle need airbag replacement?
The compulsory recall affects a wide range of cars including some of the most luxurious and best-known vehicle brands. In Australia, BMW, Ferrari, Lexus, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Jeep, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Performax, Subaru, Toyota and Honda Motorcycles. Check the complete list .
The car or motorcycle models marked with the word 'Alpha' require an immediate replacement of the airbag.
The ACCC says those vehicles that have alpha airbags need to act “immediately” to have them replaced as they are a higher risk subset of Takata airbags are under Active recall. .
Source: ACCC
Source: ACCC
Source: ACCC
Source: ACCC
Source: ACCC
Active recall means that you should contact your vehicle manufacturer as soon as possible to have the airbags replaced.
The vehicle manufacturers will bear the cost of replacing the faulty airbags.
"The compulsory recall will force manufacturers, dealers, importers and other suppliers to ensure that all dangerous Takata airbags are located and replaced as quickly as possible," Assistant Minister to the Treasurer Michael Sukkar said Wednesday.
