More than 150,000 deadly airbags still out there

Australia’s consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), has revealed that at least 155,000 vehicles are still on the road with potentially deadly Takata airbags.

That means that just five months before car-makers are due to complete Australia's first compusory safety recall, more than five per cent of the three million-plus vehicles that could have been ticking time bombs for their occupants remain in use.

The ACCC said more than 40,000 vehicles have had faulty airbags replaced in the last three months, despite the COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdowns, and is urging motorists to get their cars checked immediately.

Takata airbag recall: your rights

The world’s largest automotive recall affects around 100 million vehicles globally. Faulty Takata airbag inflators that have the potential to spray occupants with high-velocity shrapnel if they deploy have killed 29 motorists globally, including at least one in Australia.

“These airbags are extremely dangerous and have the potential to misdeploy, sending sharp metal fragments into the vehicle cabin at high speed, with the potential to kill or seriously injure the occupants,” ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said.

Rickard pleaded with car owners to take action.

“It is essential that you do not ignore or delay responding to notices about the recalls from your manufacturer. If your vehicle is under active recall, please act now to arrange for a free replacement,” she said.

According to the ACCC, that more than 6000 of the 155,000 vehicles still containing potentially deadly Takata airbags are "so dangerous that they should not be driven at all".

Takata airbag recall: FAQ

“If your vehicle contains a ‘critical’ airbag, you should stop driving it immediately and contact the manufacturer to arrange for it to be towed or a technician to be sent to you so the airbag can be replaced,” Rickard said.

The ACCC is also urging people who imported vehicles from overseas directly to contact the vehicle manufacturer’s head office to ensure they are not affected.

Rickard also said the heat will be on car-makers to pull their weight in getting deadly airbags in their cars off the road.

“There are only six months left for manufacturers to meet their replacement obligations, and while the compulsory recall is progressing well, it is important to get these remaining deadly airbags off our roads,” said Rickard.

“Checking ismyairbagsafe.com.au to see if your vehicle is affected, and getting the airbag replaced if it is, is an essential step to preventing more deaths and injuries.”

Deadly Takata data as of June 30, 2020:

In total about 3.66 million airbag inflators (89.2%) have now been rectified in about 2.68 million vehicles (87.8%). This leaves 180,869 airbag inflators (4.4%) in 155,351 vehicles (5.1%) remaining for replacement.

An additional 262,725 airbags (6.4%) in 218,393 vehicles (7.1%) were reported by suppliers as unrepairable (written off, unregistered for more than two years, exported, scrapped, stolen, or modified and unable to have the airbag replaced).

There are 1334 vehicles with critical-alpha airbags and 4718 vehicles with critical non-alpha airbags outstanding for replacement.

Vehicles with critical airbags should not be driven, and drivers are entitled to have their vehicles towed to the dealership (at the dealership’s expense) to have the airbag replaced for free.