Latest Takata airbag recall: Your rights

A vehicle component intended as a life-saving safety device has instead become the very thing that may kill or injure you.

This scenario has resulted in the Takata airbag recall, and with more than 100 million vehicles affected worldwide, it is by far the biggest vehicle recall ever.

The latest instalment of the Takata recall involves about 80,000 Australian vehicles fitted with a Takata airbag inflator that uses NADI-5AT propellant.

Here are your rights if you have or want to buy an affected vehicle.

First exposed in 2013, the Takata airbag scandal has involved the recall of vehicles fitted with a number of different faulty Takata airbag inflator types.

Despite some differences, all such faulty airbag inflators are susceptible to moisture ingress – most evident in high humidity conditions – that alters the stability of the inflator propellant after about six years after they’re made.

The result is that when triggered in a crash, the inflator may explode into shrapnel-like metal fragments. Manufacturers have also found it may instead not inflate the airbag enough, or not at all.

Not every Takata airbag inflator was designed the same; vehicle manufacturers have had to investigate whether their sometimes subtly different Takata inflator either was or would become as susceptible to problems as the dangerous early Alpha types discovered eight years ago.

The result of those investigations has led to the numerous subsequent Takata recalls. In Australia, about 3.56 million airbags in 2.59 million vehicles in the compulsory Alpha airbag recall were rectified as at the end of December 2019, with around 300,000 airbags in 256,000 vehicles still outstanding.

The NADI-5AT airbag inflator was only used for the driver’s airbag, and has a non-azide driver inflator (hence NADI).

While the NADI-5AT inflator uses a different propellant to the Alpha Takata airbags (which use phase-stabilised ammonium nitrate, or PSAN, propellant) when triggered they can be equally harmful. There are 2611 critical-Alpha vehicles and 8585 critical non-Alpha vehicles remaining for airbag replacement in Australia.

Alpha and NADI 5-AT airbags are both on the critical list, meaning both types have a high chance of injuring or killing you when deployed, and the vehicle should not be driven. The Alpha airbag recall became mandatory in 2018 while the NADI-5AT recall is voluntary.

About 80,000 vehicles manufactured by eight manufacturers: Audi, BMW, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Toyota between 1996 and 2000.

Despite being between 20 and24 years old, according to the ACCC a substantial number of these cars are likely to be still registered and on the road.

Not every vehicle manufactured within the years noted in the affected vehicles list has a faulty Takata NADI-5AT airbag fitted. If your vehicle – or one you want to buy – is on the list below, check the Product Safety Australia and How Safe Is My Airbag? websites.

Or confirm directly with your vehicle manufacturer’s website or call centre. You will need your vehicle’s 17-digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to clarify its recall status.

Vehicles in all states except Victoria fitted with an Alpha Takata airbag under compulsory recall can either be automatically de-registered or deemed unroadworthy (if the owner takes no action on the recall despite numerous prompts to do so by manufacturer and relevant state registration authority).

But as the NADI-5AT recall is voluntary, these vehicles are not considered unroadworthy on that basis alone – yet. The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (DITRDC) says: “The effectiveness of the voluntary recalls will be monitored... If further options also include considering de-registration, the Australian Government will work with state and territory governments in order to ensure the safety of all road users”.

It is not illegal to drive a vehicle fitted with a NADI-5AT airbag, only incredibly risky. The figurative term ‘death trap’ for an unsafe or unreliable vehicle has literal meaning here.

By driving a car with a faulty airbag, you significantly increase your chances of becoming a road death or injury statistic. It is just not worth it.

Manufacturers design and engineer vehicle crashworthiness with all safety systems in mind, so the theory is if you remove the driver’s airbag and have a frontal collision, you’ll be worse off.

How much more worse off than with a faulty Takata airbag is debatable, but it is not worth the risk. You’re very likely to have other problems driving the airbag-less vehicle on the road.

DITRDC says: “If airbags are disconnected then the vehicle may be considered by road safety authorities as unroadworthy, which may compromise eligibility for registration or insurance.”

The ACCC says that “any critical airbag recall (such as the NADI-5AT recall) that the supplier should offer to arrange for your vehicle to be towed to the place of replacement or for a qualified technician to travel to you (or some similar arrangement) so that you do not have to drive your vehicle if you do not wish to do so.”

What if I need transport while my vehicle is either awaiting a replacement airbag or it is being replaced – or I’m waiting on an answer on the buy-back offer?

Manufacturers are suitably vague when it comes to giving out substitute vehicles. For example, Audi says it will provide customers with a no-cost ‘mobility option’.

Given the extraordinary nature of this voluntary recall, the offer of a free rental car should be on the table where you rely on the vehicle to get to work or transport children to school and so on.

If you are genuinely stuck without a vehicle and can easily prove it, don’t take no for an answer. A rental car is only a short-term answer in a buy-back situation: you still need to buy a car ASAP, as the rental is only available until the buy-back is settled.

There’s nothing stopping you from selling your NADI-equipped vehicle, although it is morally questionable if you do not divulge to potential buyers that it is affected by the recall.

Businesses must not sell cars that are under the compulsory Alpha airbag recall, and the ACCC is on the lookout for them.

Beyond that proviso, business are allowed to sell a vehicle under recall. The ACCC says: “While other ACL [Australian Consumer Law] provisions such as consumer guarantees may apply, it is not an offence under the ACL for a business to supply a vehicle subject to a voluntary recall [such as the NADI-5AT airbag recall]”.

For private sellers, the ACCC says: “The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) regulates transactions that occur in ‘trade or commerce’, and an individual who privately sells their car is outside this scope. Therefore, it is not an offence under the ACL for an individual to sell a vehicle under recall. A voluntary recall also does not prohibit the private sale of a vehicle”.

As for online sales platforms such as carsales, the content of an advertisement is the seller’s responsibility.

While a Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) check will note if a vehicle is subject to a compulsory Alpha airbag recall, the register does not include vehicles on the voluntary NADI-5AT airbag recall list.

The best you can do is first check Product Safety Australia and Is My Airbag Safe? website (see links above), then obtain the vehicle’s VIN and check with the relevant manufacturer to see if it is affected.

The vehicle must be currently registered to take up the buy-back offer. All manufacturers who have models fitted with the NADI-5AT airbag have buy-back offers in place.

Most manufacturers use independent valuations as the basis of their buy-back offers, but it’s a good idea to benchmark their offer for your car against an independent valuer such as RedBook.com.au.

If you are not able to negotiate a satisfactory buy-back amount with the dealer, then contact the ACCC.

What if I want to keep my car because it is still in very good condition or has sentimental value?

The only vehicle manufacturer offering a NADI-5AT airbag replacement is BMW for the E46 3 Series.

Replacements are not expected until at least August. There is no reason why you can’t hold onto your car while waiting for the airbag replacement (if you’re concerned that your BMW might not be stored undercover if sent to a dealer to await replacement), but you should not drive the car.

As no NADI-5AT airbag replacement is being offered by other manufacturers, if you want to keep your vehicle you have a rather large garden ornament.

Authorities may in the future step in to block registration or roadworthy approval due to the NADI 5AT airbag, as they already have with vehicles fitted with Alpha airbags.

Audi
A4 (8D) 1997-2000
A6 (4B) 1998-2000
A8 (4D) 1998-2000
TT (8N) 1998-2000
Cabriolet (8G) 1998-1999

BMW
3 Series (E46) 1997-2000

Ford
Courier 1998-2000

Honda
Accord 1998-2000
CR-V 1998-2000
Legend 1998-2000

Mazda
Eunos 800 1996-1999

Mitsubishi
Lancer, Mirage (CE) 1997-2000
Pajero (NL) 1997-2000
Express (WA) 1997-2000
Starwagon (WA) 1997-2000

Suzuki
Grand Vitara 2.5 V6 (SQ625) 1998-1999

Toyota
Celica 1997-1999
Paseo 1997-1999
RAV4 (3- and 5-door) 1997-1999
Starlet (3- and 5-door) 1997-1999