Car manufacturers admit to refitting vehicles with faulty Takata airbags
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At least five car makers in Australia have recalled their vehicles over dangerous airbags, only to refit them with a similarly faulty product, an investigation by consumer group Choice has found.
The manufacturers are among fourteen affected in Australia by a worldwide recall of Takata airbags, which have now killed eighteen people and injured more than one hundred eighty worldwide. The death of a man in Sydney last week was also likely caused by the faulty airbag.
The airbags have the potential to explode and send metal shrapnel and other material into the cabin of a vehicle, because the gas used to inflate the bag can become volatile over their lifespan of around six years.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched a further investigation into how the recall has been treated, “urgently seeking” information from the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, which is monitoring the recall.
Since April Choice has repeatedly contacted the fourteen manufacturers subject to the recall to confirm if they were refitting vehicles with airbags now found to have similar faults, and would therefore require a 2nd recall.
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Takata airbags have the potential to explode and send metal shrapnel and other material into the cabin of a vehicle. Photo: Getty Photos
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“Albeit Toyota, Mazda, BMW, Lexus and Subaru admitted to Choice they made identical replacements, perhaps more worrying are the other manufacturers who proceed to reject to share this information with the public,” Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey said.
Honda and Nissan were among manufacturers with recall-affected vehicles identified by Choice as “remaining silent” on the safety issue.
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The Takata airbag in a RAV4 SUV, responsible for injuring a 21-year-old in Darwin. Photo: NT Police
The investigation also highlighted reports that consumers responding to the recall were being told they would have to wait more than six months before their cars could be attended to.
On Friday, NSW Police said the death of 58-year-old petite business possessor Huy Neng Ngo on July thirteen was likely caused by a faulty airbag. Mr Ngo was killed when his Honda CRV was involved in a collision with a Toyota Celica in Cabramatta.
ACCC chairman Rod Sims said Mr Ngo’s death was “despairingly sad” and brought home the seriousness of the issue.
“We would have very serious concerns if manufacturers were found to be misleading consumers,” he said, adding that the ACCC would be speaking to the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development “urgently”.
“When this issue very first came to light, industry just did not have [capacity] to substitute them all. However we are advised that there is now sufficient stock, so we would question any advice that quotes a six-month wait.”
Mr Sims said that while it was originally thought fresh airbags did not have the same fault, “that view has switched”, so some vehicles now require a 2nd recall.
“Our advice to consumers is not to scare. and if consumers have already had their airbag substituted, they should contact their manufacturer for advice as to what kind of airbag it was substituted with and how long it is expected to last.”
The Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development was contacted for comment but did not react by deadline.
A Subaru Australia spokeswoman said seven thousand three hundred fifty nine vehicles had been repaired with airbags that will subsequently need switching again.
A spokesman for Toyota and Lexus said Takata-produced inflators “without desiccant” had acted as a safe replacement for a number of years, however they also need to be substituted again.
“For potential future recalls for certain models we will proceed to take deeds as necessary, keeping the safety and security of our customers in mind,” he said.
In a statement, a Nissan spokesman said it was conducting a number of voluntary product safety recalls to investigate airbag inflator modules in various Nissan models.
The ACCC will be closely examining the current recall strategies to ensure each manufacturer is conforming with its obligations.
Motorists who drive affected vehicles are advised to keep up to date with Product Safety Australia’s latest consumer updates.
Fairfax Media contacted Mazda, BMW and Honda for comment, but they did not react by deadline.
Choice’s investigation highlighted testing by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in June last year, in which six hundred sixty of 245,000 airbags ruptured.
“If you were to apply the same percentage of these failures to the 1.44 million cars in Australia yet to be recalled, the number of airbags that would deploy defectively would be 3889,” Choice found.