'Do not drive these cars': Urgent recall issued for 20,000 Aussie vehicles
The ACCC has issued an urgent safety alert for “critical” Takata airbags following warnings from major car manufacturers including BMW and Honda.
"The ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) is urging consumers not to drive these cars at all until the airbag has been replaced," the regulator said in a statement on Friday.
Car makers including Mitsubishi Motors and Toyota Motors warned that 20,000 vehicles currently under recall for defective Takata airbags are now classified as “critical”.
The ACCC added that 425,971 vehicles are still to be rectified under the compulsory recall.
People with Takata airbags in their vehicles are entitled to have their cars towed to the dealership by the manufacturer to have them replaced for free, and could be entitled to a loan vehicle while it’s being replaced.
“Classification as ‘critical’ means manufacturers have assessed these airbags as being particularly unsafe. A Takata airbag misdeployment can result in death or serious injury, even in a minor collision,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.
“We encourage all drivers to check if their vehicle is affected, even if they have checked before, and to act immediately to have their airbag replaced.”
The number of airbags that require replacing might increase as manufacturers continue to review the safety risks, the regulator said.
“This recall is a rolling recall, which means that more vehicles can be added to the critical category at any time, and we’re urging consumers not to ignore recall messages from manufacturers to get their airbag replaced,” Ms Rickard said.
There are 1,843 Holden Cruze cars still yet to have Takata airbags replaced, 6,043 across several Honda models made between 2001 and 2014, and 582 Toyota models including the Echo and Rav4 made in 2003 to 2005.
More than 7,900 BMWs across multiple ranges still needed to have their Takata airbags replaced, along with 3,254 Mitsubishi vehicles including the ML and MN Triton.
About 3.36 million airbags - 82.4 per cent of total airbags supplied - have been replaced in 2.41 million vehicles since the recall was announced in 2014.
- with AAP
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