Takata airbag trouble in Sydney

Honda Australia has released data showing western Sydney is proving the toughest nut to crack in its long-running Takata airbag recall.

The manufacturer released data today showing the top four postcodes with the largest number of Honda vehicles requiring repairs are all in Sydney’s west.

Australia’s biggest city also accounts for seven of the top 10 postcode ‘hotspots’, while western Melbourne fills the rest of the top 10.

The 2166 postcode encompassing Cabramatta, Cabramatta West, Canley Heights, Canley Vale and Lansvale is number one on the list, with more than 850 Honda owners affected.

Honda Australia is putting forward a number of reasons for the take-up rate issues in specific areas.

“Among them [the reasons] would be the age of the car, the vehicle not being known to our database and ultimately, in the case of some of these postcodes, where English is not the first language in the household,” said Honda Australia director Stephen Collins.

Takata airbags have been the subject of a voluntary recall since 2009 and, since February this year, the first ever mandatory vehicle recall in Australia.

More than four million vehicles from 25 manufacturers are now embroiled in the Takata recall in Australia.

In the event of an accident, Takata front airbag inflators may rupture (break apart), propelling metal fragments towards the driver and passenger, potentially causing injury and/or death.

So far in Australia, one person has been killed and one seriously injured because of a ruptured airbag. The fatality occurred in a 2007 Honda CR-V. Globally, 23 people have died and hundreds injured.

As of last Monday, Honda’s inflator replacement completion rate had reached 89.8 per cent, or 593,711 of 661,115 inflators recalled in 436,921 vehicles.

As of May 14, 2018 there were still 7006 of the oldest and most dangerous ‘Alpha’ airbags needing replacement. To date, Honda dealers have completed 85.6 per cent of all ‘Alpha’ airbag repairs.

“It doesn’t matter how old your Honda is. All Honda owners should check their vehicle and if it’s part of the Takata recall, then make arrangements to have the airbags replaced,” Collins said.

“It’s critical that we get the remaining outstanding customer cars into dealerships, as these vehicles still have potentially dangerous airbags in them that can cause serious injury or even death in an accident if the airbag deploys incorrectly.”

The top 10 Honda airbag hotspots are:

1. 2166 — Cabramatta, Cabramatta West, Canley Heights, Canley Vale, Lansvale (NSW)
2. 2170 — Casula, Casula Mall, Chipping Norton, Hammondville, Liverpool, Liverpool South, Liverpool Westfield, Lurnea, Moorebank, Mount Prichard, Prestons, Warwick Farm (NSW)
3. 2200 — Bankstown, Bankstown Aerodrome, Bankstown North, Bankstown Square, Condell Park, Manahan, Mount Lewis (NSW)
4. 2144 — Auburn (NSW)
5. 3021 — Albanville, Kealba, Kings Park, St Albans (Vic)
6. 2145 — Constitution Hill, Girraween, Greystanes, Mays Hill, Pemulwuy, Pendle Hill, South Wentworthville, Wentworthville, Westmead (NSW)
7. 2176 — Abbotsbury, Bossley Park, Edensor Park, Greenfield Park, Prairiewood, St Johns Park, Wakeley (NSW)
8. 3029 — Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit, Truganina (Vic)
9. 2165 — Fairfield, Fairfield East, Fairfield Heights, Fairfield West (NSW)
10. 3030 — Werribee, Werribee South, Cocoroc, Derrimut, Point Cook, Quandong (Vic)

Honda Australia continues to encourage all Honda vehicle owners to immediately check for outstanding recalls at either www.honda.com.au or at any authorised Honda dealer as soon as possible to schedule the free repair.

Any concerned customers can free call the Honda Recall Contact Centre on 1800 789 839 between 9:00am and 5:00pm weekdays and 8.30am and 5:00pm Saturday (AEST).