# More than one million Australian motorists at risk from exploding airbags



## Jack Malarkey (Jan 11, 2016)

https://www.google.com.au/amp/www.d...-risk-by-grenade-airbags-20170722-gxgjgw.html

First two paragraphs:

More than 1 million Australian drivers are at risk of exploding "grenade" airbags that killed a man in Sydney.

Police said a 58-year-old driver died when the airbag of his Honda CR-V ruptured following a crash in Cabramatta on July 13. Investigators said he was "struck in the neck by a small fragment" when the safety device deployed.

Additional comment by Jack Malarkey:

Here is a comprehensive list of potentially affected vehicle types: https://www.productsafety.gov.au/news/takata-airbag-recalls-affecting-australian-consumers.

These vehicles are subject to a recall but it is understood that there are about 717,000 vehicles still on Australian roads with the potential fatality-causing defect.


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

Wow, that's quite an extensive list. You'd think they'd put these things to the test rather than wait for consumers to die first??


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## tna (Jul 16, 2017)

I got a letter from the dealer several months ago and they replaced the part couple of weeks ago.


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## Jack Malarkey (Jan 11, 2016)

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp...th-faulty-takata-airbags-20170723-gxgt9q.html

First paragraph:

At least five car makers in Australia have recalled their vehicles over dangerous airbags, only to refit them with a similarly faulty product, an investigation by consumer group Choice has found.

Comment by Jack Malarkey:

The companies identified in the article by 'Choice' as refitting faulty airbags AS PART OF THE RECALL are Toyota, Mazda, BMW, Lexus, Subaru, Honda and Nissan. These companies (and perhaps others) will need to conduct a second recall.

(tna, please note: worth checking)


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## χ²(1) (Jun 1, 2016)

UberDriverAU said:


> Wow, that's quite an extensive list. You'd think they'd put these things to the test rather than wait for consumers to die first??


*Takata Airbag Failures Caused by Design, Chemistry, Climate*

Researchers hired by a coalition of automakers found that moisture - seeping from the environment into the inflator and not dried by a chemical - is the reason why Takata airbags rupture and spray shards of metal and plastic at motorists.

All three of the conditions outlined in the statement - poor design, lack of water-absorbing chemicals and high atmospheric temperatures with wide ranges - have to be present for the airbag inflators to be at risk for rupture, said David Kelly, a former acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Kelly, who commented on the findings in the statement, was hired by the automaker group known as the Independent Testing Coalition to run the tests last year.

"We are confident this is the root cause for these vehicles," he said in an interview.

The findings are specific to Takata inflators with ammonium nitrate that don't also include a moisture-reducing chemical. Those inflators need long-term exposure to high-humidity climates with big differences in daytime and night temperatures, like those found in Florida, Kelly said. And their design allows moisture from high humidity to build up inside the inflator assembly, he said.


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## Jack Malarkey (Jan 11, 2016)

Uber is doing the right thing by drawing attention to the recall via an in-app message to drivers.


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## Jack Malarkey (Jan 11, 2016)

Important announcement on Wednesday 28 February 2018 as summarised by Choice (https://www.choice.com.au/transport...-yet-issued-recalls-for-takata-airbags-210917):

*Mandatory recall of Takata airbags announced*

Nine car makers forced to recall cars, pushing the tally to 25 manufacturers replacing faulty airbags.










By *Tony Ibrahim*

*Last updated: 28 February 2018*


*Not all ACCC recommendations adopted, such as the right to a refund*
*Loan cars and tows will be made available*
*Death and injury tally continues to rise*
*The federal government has made the recall of Takata airbags compulsory, resulting in it overseeing the efforts of 25 manufacturers, as the total number of cars affected swells to four million.*

*The first-ever mandatory recall for vehicles in Australia will affect 2.3 million cars that are yet to have the faulty airbag replaced. Of those, 1.3 million had not been voluntarily recalled by nine companies, including Ford, GM Holden and Volkswagen.*

*The announcement comes seven months after a CHOICE investigation revealed that recall efforts had stalled, with some mainstream manufacturers having repaired as little as 11% and 12% of affected cars.*

*Is your car on the list? See the vehicles affected by the recall*
*A mandatory recall was needed after car makers failed to adequately deal with the voluntary recall, says Michael Sukkar, assistant minister to the Treasurer.*

*"While almost one in five passenger vehicles on Australian roads have now been recalled, the voluntary recall process has not been effective in some cases, and some manufacturers have not taken satisfactory action to address the serious safety risk which arises after the airbags are more than six years old," he says.*

*"To ensure a coordinated recall, over the next two years manufacturers will be required to progressively identify their recalls and replace airbags in affected vehicles."*

*Many of the formal recommendations made by the ACCC have been dismissed by the government, including the right to a refund in certain cases and the prescription to fix within one month any airbags that are older than six years.*

*But consumers will be given rights under the compulsory recall. These include a loan car or taxi fare for customers who have to leave their car at a dealership for more than 24 hours.*

*Special provisions have also been made for the remaining 25,000 cars that are fitted with early "alpha" Takata airbags. Owners can request these cars be towed to the dealership or have a technician fix them on site.*

*Manufacturers will have to follow a strict schedule to have cars repaired. Cars in areas of high heat and humidity - factors that make the airbags break down quicker - are of the highest priority, followed by cars that are older than six years, and then cars with affected driver airbags.*

*The government has given manufacturers until July 2018 to publish a recall schedule and a searchable database, and all affected airbags are expected to be fixed as per Takata's timeline, by December 2020.*

*Takata airbags contain a chemical that turns volatile over time. Approximately 1-in-400 deployments results in metal shards being shot at drivers (or passengers) as the airbags deploy.*

*The odds of explosion are significantly higher for early versions of the airbags, known as 'alpha' versions. An earlier CHOICE investigation revealed these have a failure rate as high as one-in-two.*

*Meanwhile, the tally of victims continues to rise. It is understood 23 people worldwide have been killed by the airbags to date, with 230 people sustaining injuries as severe as blinding, paralysis and severed vocal chords.*

*In Australia, a 21-year-old woman was hospitalised in serious condition for months, and a 58-year-old man was tragically killed.*


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## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

Jack Malarkey said:


> https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp...th-faulty-takata-airbags-20170723-gxgt9q.html
> 
> First paragraph:
> 
> ...


The part that explodes into shrapnel, does so after 4-5 years in a car slowly rusting. Manufacturers are playing a game of chance fitting parts that will be faulty in years to come, to replace parts over 5 years old.

They simply don't have enough new faultless parts to go around.

I wonder what the reaction will be if more that one person is killed by shrapnel in a car accident


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## Jack Malarkey (Jan 11, 2016)

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp...-to-takata-airbag-recall-20180527-p4zhrj.html

Extract:

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Sunday [27 May 2018] published a revised recall list which added a further 1.1 million vehicles targeted for future airbag replacement, including the Mercedes Benz C Class, Ford Mondeo and Toyota Yaris.

Drivers will be notified by email, phone or text message when it is time for their replacement to be completed, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer Michael Sukkar said.

[end of extract]

Updated recall list as at Sunday 27 May 2018:
https://www.productsafety.gov.au/re...ta-airbag-recall/future-takata-airbag-recalls


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## Still Standing (Nov 2, 2017)

Meanwhile whilst a deadly risk is acknowledged and known , everyone with the affected cars can drive legally .... a bit like the govt knowing speeding tailgating truck drivers kill or maim Australians by the thousands , but take donations .


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