On Aug. 2, the ACCC released state-by-state data recall rates of the Takata airbags. The consumer watchdog is reminding drivers and manufacturers to replace the airbags as soon as possible.
The ACCC urges drivers of affected cars to have the airbags replaced as soon as possible.
Rickard warned about the “alpha” airbags that require urgent replacement because of the dangers associated with the airbags malfunctioning. But the consumer watchdog said potentially 19,500 of such cars may still be on the roads.
“Our greatest concern remains around the alpha airbags, which can still be found in almost 20,000 cars. 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,” Rickard said.
“I encourage everyone who owns a car to visit this site,” Rickard said.
Over the past 12 months, the ACCC says 1.1 million airbags have been replaced in some 930,000 vehicles.
Dangerous Design Defect
Certain types of Takata airbags use a chemical compound, called phase-stabilised ammonium nitrate (PSAN), to inflate. A design defect in these airbags causes the chemical compound to degrade when exposed to moisture, and this is more likely as the airbag ages.Due to the degradation, if the airbag is triggered and deployed in a collision, it may inflate with too much force and can shatter the canister that holds it, which is made of metal, and consequently shoot out metal fragments that could hit vehicle occupants—potentially injuring or killing them.
The defective airbags had been installed in more than a hundred million cars worldwide.
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