OVER 350,000 HAVE NOT CHANGED AIRBAGS
Fines of between RM300 and RM2,000 if car owners fail to heed RTD notices
THE Road Transport Department (RTD) will issue notices to 358,233 vehicle owners to change their defective Takata airbags beginning next week.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the notices made it mandatory for the owners of 49 vehicle models to change the airbags within 14 days.
He said a second 14-day notice would be issued should the owners ignore the first one, and if they still failed to do so, they would be taken to court where they face fines of between RM300 and RM2,000.
“If they still refuse to change the airbags after being fined, then these owners will be blacklisted and will not be able to renew their road tax.
“But the fines are something that I view as a last resort. It is not my intention to go around issuing fines to anyone, but to emphasise that this is an issue that involves their own safety,” he said.
“This is not something that we are doing just to make things difficult for people. Changing these airbags at service centres is free of charge as costs are borne by the manufacturers, and it only takes around two hours.
“Airbags are meant to protect us. But these airbags do not protect, and they can kill. We want everyone to love their lives.”
Loke was clarifying his statement on Saturday that 71,315 vehicle owners, mostly Hondas, would not be able to renew their road tax if they did not get their Takata airbags changed.
The recall was initiated after investigations found at least eight deaths caused by the airbags since 2014.
Earlier, Loke met representatives of Toyota, Nissan, Honda, BMW, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Mazda and Lexus, which were recalling their vehicles.
In the meeting, he said he learned that the number of vehicles using the faulty Takata airbags was much higher than the initial data.
He said 799,963 vehicles had been issued recall notices since 2014, but only 441,730 owners, or 55 per cent of these vehicles, had responded.
“My target is for the remainder of the Honda vehicles to have their airbags changed by Dec 31, and vehicles of other makes in 12 months from now,” said Loke.
UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd, the local distributor of Toyota and Lexus vehicles, backed the government’s seriousness in handling the Takata airbag issue.
“Since 2013, Toyota Motor Corp has been addressing this issue. The affected vehicles have been identified and distributors worldwide have been informed to initiate special service campaigns.
“During these campaigns, the airbag inflator modules have been replaced at no charge,” said UMW Toyota deputy chairman Akio Takeyama.
Replacing the airbag system’s inflator module was important because degradation of the module’s propellant could cause the airbag to rupture when activated.
This could send sharp metal pieces flying towards the driver and/or front passenger, causing injury or death.
The defect affected millions of vehicles worldwide made over the past 15 years.
The company urged owners of older Toyota and Lexus vehicles to have the affected airbag inflator modules replaced quickly.
UMW Toyota also created a vehicle identification number database at www.toyota.com.my for owners to check if their vehicles were involved in any special service campaigns.