More than a million cars in Australia with potentially deadly Takata airbags have been added to a recall list by the consumer watchdog.
The defective airbags, which can shatter shards of metal upon activation, have caused 23 deaths worldwide, including one in Sydney last year, and about 230 injuries.
The ACCC published a revised recall list Sunday which added a further 1.1 million vehicles targeted for future airbag replacement, including the Mercedes Benz C Class, Ford Mondeo and Toyota Yaris.
More than a million cars in Australia with potentially deadly Takata airbags have been added to a recall list by the consumer watchdog
A spokesperson said about 2.8 million vehicles were under active recall, which meant car owners had been or were being contacted.
Airbags in 1.9 million cars had been replaced, however, 900,000 were yet to be completed.
A separate list included the 1.1 million cars that needed their airbags replaced onward from May 2018, leaving two million cars containing potentially fatal airbags.
Assistant Minister to the Treasurer Michael Sukkar said owners on the future list were to be notified by email, phone or text message when their replacement was due.
‘My message to all Australian drivers is do not ignore or delay responding to a letter from your vehicle manufacturer asking you to have airbags replaced,’ Mr Sukkar said in a statement to AAP.
Airbags in 1.9 million cars had been replaced, however 900,000 were yet to be completed (some affected vehicles pictured)
‘If you don’t have your car’s airbag replaced, you are taking a serious risk in terms of your safety.’
Impacted car models include Mercedes, Honda, Holden, Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Subaru, Land Cruiser, Tesla, Skoda, Volkswagon, Audi, Jaguar, McLaren, and Citron.
More than 300,000 Holdens have been affected, 102,000 Volkswagons, 40,000 Audis, and 17,000 Skoda, Yahoo7 reported.
Up until recently the replacement of the faulty airbags had been hampered by a worldwide shortage, but Paul Glover from motoring.com.au said that was no longer an excuse.
‘They’re on top of the supply issue, it’s now a case that they need to just knuckle down and get this done,’ he told Nine News.
Impacted car models include Mercedes, Honda, Holden, Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Subaru, Land Cruiser, Tesla, Skoda, Volkswagon, Audi, Jaguar, McLaren, and Citron