Aussie consumer watchdog recalls thousands of cars over lethal Japanese airbags

Source: Xinhua | 2019-12-18

Australia's consumer watchdog has issued a recall for more than 70,000 vehicles over potentially lethal airbags.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Tuesday flagged a new airbag safety risk for 78,000 vehicles manufactured by Toyota, Audi, BMW, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Suzuki between 1996 and 2000.

The vehicles were fitted with a faulty airbag manufactured by Japanese company Takata that could fire metal fragments after being inflated. The ACCC said it has received three reports of incidents involving the airbags not deploying correctly, one of which ended in a fatality.

It is the second time the ACCC has issued a vehicle recall because of faults with Takata airbags. The commission warned in October that more than 420,000 vehicles that were subject to the first compulsory recall have still not been fixed.

Rod Sims, the chairman of the ACCC, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that owners of vehicles subject to the second recall should consider alternative transport until they are fixed.

"Even though full details and appropriate remedies are still being worked out by the manufacturers, we are issuing this warning now to urge people not to use their car if it is affected by this potentially deadly airbag," he said.

"The fastest way to deal with these issues is via a voluntary recall. A compulsory recall is a lengthy process but it will be considered if manufacturers do not take appropriate steps."

The airbags that were the subject of the first recall have been linked to 20 deaths worldwide.