Takata airbags: VW, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan lag rivals on recall

Mercedes-Benz is removing life-threatening Takata airbags twice as fast as VW but both still have thousands to go as the end date for the massive recall looms.

Mitsubishi has only one potentially deadly Takata airbag out of 158,000 left to remove but VW, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan still have more than 40,000 between them and could face ACCC enforcement action for failing to complete the recall on time in just two months.

Analysis by The Daily Telegraph of new data from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission shows Mercedes-Benz rectified more than 5600 cars in the three months to the end of September, leaving 9300 still to fix, which is 8.2 per cent of all the vehicles identified as having a risky Takata airbag in 2018.

VW repaired fewer than 2500 over the same period and has nearly 12,500 problem cars to correct, or 12.6 per cent of the tally it started with.

Nissan cleared 7000 in the quarter but has 19,323 (7.1 per cent) to go.

More than 500,000 Sydney cars had Takata airbags.

Like Mitsubishi, GM Holden is almost done, with only 72 left out of nearly 293,000.

Manufacturers that miss the deadline could face enforcement action by the ACCC.

They can apply for an extension, but it’s understood none intends to.

A VW spokesman said it would not.

“We may, however, request extra time to complete the list of non-respondents requested by the ACCC; that is those customers who have proven uncontactable or who have not responded,” the spokesman said.

He also said that VW started the recall later than nearly all others.

A Mercedes-Benz spokesman said “based on current conditions, we are confident that we will complete the recall in accordance with the deadline and obligations under the recall notice.”

Nissan said it was “ahead of the ACCC documented completion rate ... and will complete the recall before the end of this year.”

Nissan suggested the ACCC was behind on the paperwork.

“There have been delays with the processing of section 5 (3) applications – in addition to the timely reporting of last quarter’s progress results,” a spokeswoman said. “This delay has impacted reported completion rates, which are significantly higher than currently published.”

Section 5 (3) of the Takata airbag recall notice says “a supplier will be taken to have complied with its recall obligations if it satisfies the ACCC that a vehicle was not presented for replacement despite adequate notification of the owner, the owner could not be notified, the vehicle was not registered for two consecutive years or the vehicle was scrapped (including statutory write-off), exported or stolen.”

Many of the owners VW termed “non-respondents” live in areas where English is not the first language, other ACCC data shows.

Liverpool has the greatest number of unrepaired vehicles in the nation – 600 out of more than 11,500 identified as having dangerous airbags.

Bankstown still has more than 350 while both Greystanes and Cabramatta have over 320 outstanding.

Technicians work to replace Takata airbags.

Baulkham Hills has had one of the highest clear-up rates, at 97 per cent. Auburn has the lowest – 91 per cent.

More than five years after rectifications began, more than 17,500 cars with problem Takata airbags remain on Sydney’s roads. There were 508,000 to begin with.

ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said: “These airbags are very dangerous and have the potential to explode with too much force, even in low speed accidents, sending sharp metal fragments into the vehicle at high speed, potentially killing or seriously injuring its occupants.”

There have been more than 330 injuries and 30 deaths reported worldwide, with one death and three injuries in Australia, including one serious injury.

Under the recall, owners are entitled to have their faulty Takata airbags replaced free of charge.

The ACCC said owners should check if their airbag is affected by entering their number plate and state or territory at ismyairbagsafe.com.au, or by texting ‘TAKATA’ to 0487 AIRBAG (247 224).

Originally published as Takata airbags: VW, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan lag rivals on recall