Australian Watchdog Issues Urgent Safety Alert for ‘Critical’ Takata Airbags

This undated photo provided by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows a crash test of a 2002 Honda CR-V, one of the models subject to a recall to repair faulty air bags. In a letter delivered Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, US Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) are calling on regulators to issue a nationwide recall of cars with faulty air bags made by Takata Corp., questioning why automakers have been allowed to limit recalls to only certain locations with high humidity. (AP Photo/Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

Australia’s competition watchdog issued an urgent safety alert on Friday for “critical” Takata airbags following warnings from major car manufacturers including BMW and Honda Motor.

“The ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) is urging consumers not to drive these cars at all until the airbag has been replaced,” the regulator said in a statement.

Car makers including Mitsubishi Motors and Toyota Motor warned that 20,000 vehicles currently under recall for defective Takata airbags are now classified as “critical,” the ACCC said, adding that 425,971 vehicles are still to be rectified under the compulsory recall.

By Devika Syamnath