As per the latest Takata recall initiated by car manufacturers, owners of the affected vehicles who fail to heed the warning will put to risk not only their lives, but also their vehicle’s registration.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) encourages vehicle owners in Australia to get their Takata airbag car parts quickly repaired/replaced for their protection.
According to FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber the campaign leverages newer themes that have been promoted on social media since May. Now, the campaign is being expanded to include more media channels, including television and radio.
So far, over 2.64 million vehicles using Takata airbags have received replacements from auto manufacturers in the country. However, 195,000 units continue to use faulty Takata airbags in the country, posing a serious risk to the lives of their users.
Weber has encouraged vehicle owners to verify the safety of their airbags on the website www.ismyairbagsafe.com.au. If they have the faulty airbags, they must quickly request rectification, which is being offered free of charge.
Specific warnings have also been issued for certain areas within Australia that have thousands of vehicles with faulty airbag car parts. As of 11th May, Victoria had 2,716 critically defective airbags and around 68,000 faulty airbags still installed in vehicles. Approximately 925,000 airbags or 93% of the total defective airbags were already replaced.
South Australia had been issued a similar warning. As of 11th May, 315 critically faulty airbags and around 11,200 faulty airbags remained installed in vehicles, while approximately 238,000 or 95% had already been replaced.
In Queensland, the number of critically faulty airbags stands at 1,798. Around 39,200 high-risk faulty airbags remained uncorrected till 11th May, even after vehicle manufacturers had replaced around 743,000 or 95% airbags in the region.
For New South Wales, the number of critically-faulty airbags still in operation was 2,146, and for high-risk faulty airbags, it was around 70,000. Around 1.08 million or approximately 94% of all faulty airbags were already replaced.
The same warning was issued for the Northern Territory. As of 11th May, the region had 85 critical-risk airbags with around 1,820 high-risk airbags installed in vehicles operating in the area. These figures came after 93% of faulty airbags had already been replaced for free by manufacturers. For Tasmania, these numbers stood at 63 critical-risk airbags and around 4,350 high-risk airbags, after having replaced 95%, or approx. 87,000, faulty airbags.
Reported figures were also high for the ACT, with 195 critical-risk faulty airbags and around 4,420 high-risk airbags, as of 11th May. Manufacturers had replaced 94% or about 70,000 faulty airbags in the region.
The campaign for free airbag replacements has been ongoing for months now, and the FCAI has been urging people for months to get their faulty Takata airbag car parts replaced. Although manufacturers have replaced more than 90% of all faulty Takata airbags in all regions of Australia, the fact remains that hundreds of thousands of vehicles are still on the streets with defective airbags that can be potentially fatal for their drivers.
The FCAI hopes that, by expanding its awareness campaign and spreading the message through additional channels, it can convince the remaining vehicle owners to take the initiative and get the faulty airbags in their vehicles replaced. Since the procedure is free of charge, there is no plausible reason for not getting the replacement.
If your car is affected by this faulty car part and safety device, waste no more time and head to your car’s nearest authorised dealership or service centre. Further delays can cost you your car’s registration, or worse, your life.
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By Muhammad A. Lashari