Compulsory recall triggered by Takata airbag scandal

If the voluntary recall of exploding Takata airbags hasn’t got your attention, it should now.

Issuing its first compulsory automotive safety recall today, the Australian government has decreed that about 2.3 million cars in Australia must be compulsorily recalled, following lengthy consultation between car-makers and the national consumer watchdog, ACCC.

About 1.7 vehicles have already been fixed, but cars on the compulsory recall list now include a range from various brands that have already issued voluntary recalls -- Ford, Holden, Mazda, Honda and even Ferrari, among others -- totalling about a million vehicles.

Is your car affected by the deadly Takata airbag recall?

The federal government recall applies to another 1.3 million vehicles not previously identified -- including 875,000 German-made vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Audi, plus others from Jaguar, Land Rover, Tesla, Skoda, Holden and Ford -- meaning about four million vehicles are now involved in the Takata airbag debacle.

The ACCC has ordered manufacturers to provide VINs of those additional affected vehicles by April 3, so they can be added to the compulsory recall list.

The Assistant Minister to the Treasurer, Michael Sukkar, made the announcement this morning, stating: "I have today issued a compulsory recall notice for vehicles fitted with defective Takata airbags, following an extensive safety investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission."

FAQs: Takata airbag recall

One of the world's largest automotive suppliers, Japanese company Takata, supplied car-makers with faulty airbags in which the explosive inflators can deteriorate over time. In the event that faulty airbags are set off, they can blast shrapnel at occupants.

Affected cars have been called ticking time bombs and vehicles with 'alpha' Takata airbags, which may have a 50 per cent failure rate, currently remain in 25,000 Australian vehicles. Therefore even a minor low-speed shunt in those vehicles can set off an airbag that kills.

This fault has already claimed the lives of 23 people globally thus far, and caused 230 serious injuries. Police have blamed the deadly airbags for at least one Australian death, a Sydney man driving a Honda CR-V in NSW last July.

According to Honda, the death happened after the man was sent five separate recall notices, while a Northern Territory woman suffered serious head injuries from an airbag in her Toyota RAV4 last April.

The implications for car brands in Australia are significant.

Vehicles affected will include a high number of second-hand cars whose owners may have changed, and whose current owners may not be aware of the issue.

The government's recall statement released today asserts that cars affected  "…will need to be replaced by 31 December 2020."

It remains unclear what fines will apply at a federal level, if any, and what action the state governments can or will take such as de-registering affected vehicles.

An automotive industry source told motoring.com.au that "some car makers have been proactive in finding all affected customers, such as Honda, Mazda and Mitsubishi," which are three of the most-affected brands.

"But others haven't, including some luxury brands and Ford," said the source.

"This is more about targeting the chain-draggers and putting in place mechanisms such as compulsory action reporting."

Vehicles fitted with the lethal airbags date back to 2009 and include the following brands:

Ford
Holden
Mercedes-Benz
Tesla
Jaguar
Land Rover
Volkswagen
Audi
Skoda
BMW
Chevrolet
Chrysler
Dodge
Ferrari
GMC
Honda
Jeep
Lexus
Mazda
Mitsubishi
Nissan
Subaru
Toyota
Volvo Trucks
Hino Trucks

Thus far, a total of four million vehicles have been affected in Australia. Around 2.7 million of those have been voluntarily recalled but due to the slow pace of replacement airbags being installed – just 1.7 million thus far in Australia – the government has acted to make the recall compulsory for the remaining 2.3 million vehicles affected.

The government recall statement observes that "…some manufacturers have not taken satisfactory action to address the serious safety risk which arises after the airbags are more than six years old".

You can check whether your car is affected by the potentially deadly airbag at the Product Safety Takata airbag recall government website. Affected vehicles must be fixed for free by the car brands.

Beyond contacting owners of affected vehicles directly, car companies have attempted to raise awareness of the issue with consumers by advertising online and is social media. Early this week Mitsubishi made the unprecedented move of placing full-page adverts in national newspapers.

Now the recall is compulsory, not voluntary, the onus will be on car manufacturers to ensure owners of cars affected by the lethal airbags are notified.

The Labor party issued a released that "welcomes the announcement today of a compulsory recall" but attacked the Turnbull government for "more than 6 months of dithering and delay".

Stay tuned for more.