Regulator data records show which brands were ahead on replacing Takata airbag inflators.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has revealed prior to July 1 when the recall became mandatory, Holden, Nissan, Toyota, BMW and Subaru had more than 150,000 inflators waiting to be rectified.
Holden has 328,445 Takata airbags needing rectification work carried out by its dealer network, followed by over 345,000 Nissans, over 192,000 Toyotas, 184,000 BMWs and more than 161,000 Subarus.
Mercedes-Benz has nearly 117,000 cars on the waiting list, Honda Australia still has 112,000 airbags also awaiting replacement, while Volkswagen (102,000), Ford (89,000), Mitsubishi (69,300), Audi (40,100), Mazda (46,700), Skoda (17,600), Jaguar Land Rover (17,400), 3000 Citroens and 1200 Teslas (and 331 McLarens) are still on Australian roads with Takata airbags.
New South Wales has replaced the most at over half a million, while Victoria has swapped over 448,300 of the deadly Takata inflators.
Queensland has replaced over 326,000, Western and South Australia has rectified over 162,000 and 103,000 respectively, while Tasmania has just 39,200 to go, the ACT has 30,100 remaining, and the Northern Territory has 11,452 left to remove.
Over 14,580 high-priority ‘Alpha’ inflators have been replaced, but 19,500 remain in circulation.
ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard says the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries has launched an effective easy-to-use website to identify vehicles, warning motorists not to be complacent about having airbags replaced.
“The website provides an easy place to enter your car’s number plate to check if it’s affected and I encourage everyone who owns a car to visit this site,” she says.
“Our greatest concern remains around the alpha airbags, which can still be found in almost 20,000 cars,” Rickard explains.
“Make no mistake, these airbags can kill and our advice is for consumers to check our website to see if their car is affected by this recall. If your car contains an alpha airbag, it should not be driven.”
“Don’t ignore or delay responding to a letter or call from your car’s manufacturer asking you to have your airbag replaced.”
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