Massive compulsory car recall to hit Australia

SOME four million cars on Australian roads are set to be part of a compulsory recall to protect drivers from exploding airbags.

NEARLY four million cars are to be compulsorily recalled, as the Turnbull government looks to protect drivers from a global issue of exploding airbags.

The federal government has announced it will require the recall of 2.3 million cars with the defective Takata airbags, which have caused dozens of deaths worldwide, including one death in Australia and another severe injury.

It may be Australia’s largest ever consumer recall, and comes after a voluntary recall late last year that saw 1.7 million cars affected.

Drivers are strongly urged to check whether their motor vehicle has been recalled to replace faulty Takata airbags.

Manufacturers Ford, Toyota, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Nissan and BMW among others, will be forced to replace the airbags for free and as soon as possible.

More than 100 million cars worldwide have been caught up in the safety issue.

This morning, the Assistant Minister to the Treasurer Michael Sukkar released the exact years and models of the cars impacted. Among those to be recalled include a large number of car makes and models as well as a small number of motorcycles.

“The previous voluntary recall has not been satisfactory overall and it’s the safety of all Australians which is the first priority of this government,” he said. The action comes after federal Labor called for a compulsory recall in August last year.

“The compulsory recall will force manufacturers, dealers, importers and other suppliers to ensure that all dangerous Takata airbags are located and replaced as quickly as possible,” Mr Sukkar said.

“The decision to issue a compulsory recall is based on a recommendation by the ACCC following an extensive and thorough safety investigation, which included, importantly, consultation with affected manufacturers, industry stakeholders, international experts and a range of other parties,” he added.

Given the scale of the task, suppliers have just shy of two years to progressively replace all defective airbags made by the Japanese group.

If your vehicle is recalled, contact your local dealer or manufacturer to book in a time to have the airbag replaced, the government said.

The compulsory recall requires suppliers of vehicles with defective Takata airbags to replace all defective Takata airbags in Australian vehicles by 31 December 2020.

The recall is due to a problem with airbags that can explode. Picture: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Mr Sukkar said priority would be given to vehicles assessed as high risk based on the car’s age, the location of the vehicle, particularly in areas of high heat and humidity. The location of the airbag within the vehicle would also be given priority.

Whether an airbag is dangerous depends completely on the age of the vehicle and the climatic conditions within which it’s driven, ACCC boss Rod Sims said.

A subset of Takata airbags called “alpha” are considered to pose the highest safety risk of all the recalled airbags. Currently, around 89,000 alpha airbags have been replaced and there are still around 25,000 yet to be replaced, according to the ACCC.

Previous Takata airbag recalls have involved components assembled in Mexico, Japan and Thailand, but the new round of recalls would take in certain Takata airbags made in Germany.

Some sections of the car industry are fighting the new round of recalls because they claim there is no evidence that the German-sourced Takata airbags are faulty.

However there have been reports of six German Takata airbags “rupturing” between August 2016 and May 2017 in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Turkey.

According to overseas reports, there have so far been 23 deaths and more than 230 serious injuries worldwide attributed to Takata airbags that can spray shrapnel when deployed in a crash.

The explosive material inside the faulty airbags can deteriorate and become unstable over time, particularly in humid climates.

Documents seen by News Corp Australia claim 1.7 million cars on Australia roads have been fixed so far, there are more than one million cars waiting for replacement parts to arrive, and a further 1.3 million — including the 800,000 to one million European cars — are expected to be added in the coming months.

Ahead of the government’s announcement today, the ACCC urged motorists to visit productsafety.gov.au to check if their car has been recalled and, if it has, to contact their dealer or manufacturer to have unsafe Takata airbags replaced free of charge.

The latest order affects vehicles made by BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ferrari, Ford, Honda, Jeep, Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota.

‘PRODUCT THAT CAN KILL’

Consumer advocacy Choice group today welcomed the mandatory recall.

Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey said the recall affects millions of the potentially lethal Takata airbags.

“We have been calling for a mandatory recall following our investigation last year which found car makers had been downplaying the risk to the public,” he said.

“We look forward to seeing the detail of the mandatory recall but hope it will finally mean consumers with these dodgy Takata airbags will be given as access to quick repairs, refunds and loan vehicles.”

Mr Godfrey said it was vital drivers checked via the product safety website to see whether their cars were caught up in the recall.

Last year, Choice warned Australian drivers they could be sitting behind the wheel of “ticking time bombs” because several car makers had refitted vehicles with Takata airbags, despite links to 18 deaths worldwide.

It also slammed the product and the companies which failed to disclose that the device could kill drivers.

During its annual award ceremony last year, Choice awarded a Shonky to Honda, Toyota, Lexus, BMW and Mazda for failing to let consumers know about the serious and deadly device.

Choice chief executive Alan Kirkland said out of all the awards handed out, this was by far the most serious.

“Takata is the worst (of the winners) because this is a product that can kill,” he said.

Choice said manufacturers had a duty of care to ensure their products were safe and refitting cars with like-for-like parts put lives at risk.

The ACCC launched an investigation after Choice raised the concerns.