ACCESS Canberra has written to all motor vehicle dealers in the ACT reminding them of the urgent need to check any vehicle affected by the Takata airbag recall, following fatal and serious injuries caused by the faulty airbags.
There are 60 makes of cars sold in Australia impacted by this recall including models of BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Honda, Jeep, Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota.
Access Canberra director of Community, Business and Transport Regulation, Craig Simmons says Access Canberra had provided warnings to the community about this important recall on a number of occasions as had manufacturers.
These warning are now being extended to motor vehicle dealers, repairers and wreckers.
“This is a significant recall with the faulty airbags leading to catastrophic injury and death globally,” he says.
“The Australian Consumer Law requires dealers to sell vehicles that are safe and fit for purpose. Dealers need to keep records of what replacement action may have been undertaken in relation to affected vehicles and ensure that they disclose this information to consumers when they purchase a second hand vehicle.
“This is a significant consumer issue and we need the vehicle industry to be proactive and transparent on replacing these airbags as well as disclosing this issue to consumers.”
Since 2009, more than 2.3 million vehicles in Australia have been subject to the recall of airbags made by Japanese manufacturer, Takata. It is unclear how many affected vehicles may be in the ACT.
Owners of vehicles which may the more dangerous subset of the airbags – known as “alpha airbags” need to ensure replacement as a matter of urgency.
The higher risk alpha airbags were installed in certain Honda, Toyota, Nissan, BMW and Lexus cars, with models sold between 1999 and 2006.
“It is critical that owners of cars with alpha airbags installed take immediate steps to have the airbags replaced,” Mr Simmons says.
A list of vehicles that have been affected can be viewed via productsafety.gov.
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