Govt slams Nats over airbag risk

The Government has announced a major compulsory recall of 50,000 vehicles across the country with faulty Alpha-type Takata airbags.

It comes after the Australian Government made the move, which affected more than 2 million vehicles, in February.

In addition to the compulsory recall, Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi said intensive monitoring of a further 257,000 vehicles with non-alpha Takata airbags would be needed and the New Zealand Transport Agency is also introducing new measures to stop vehicles with affected airbags from being imported.

The recall has been voluntary in New Zealand since it was discovered a global recall of Takata airbags could affect up to 100 million vehicles worldwide, across 12 different vehicle manufacturers.

There have been no injuries or fatalities in New Zealand related to the faulty product but across the Tasman there has been one death and one serious injury as a result of the deployment of the airbags.

Unprecedented

The scale of the recall is unprecedented and is only the second one in New Zealand to be enacted.

Vehicle owners are encouraged to check the status of their vehicle airbags on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website and within days there will be specific information detailing all affected cars.

All Alpha-type airbags have to be replaced by December 2019 – the compulsory recall comes into effect from Wednesday.

Consumers shouldn’t have to pay for their vehicle being fixed under the recall – that cost should be borne by the vehicle supplier.

‘‘These airbags have been known to be a risk since 2013 yet the previous government clearly did not place any importance on keeping New Zealanders safe,’’ Faafoi said.

When he became aware of the issue after the Australian recall, he said he was ‘‘surprised to find there was no Government-held information on the scale of the problem in New Zealand, nor on possible remedies’’.

As a result it had taken four weeks for the Government to quantify the size of the problem.

‘‘We’re still in a position where 307,000 vehicles are still on the road in New Zealand, being used by everyday families with safety risks known to the previous government since 2013, which have not been sufficiently addressed,’’ he said.

‘‘Further, because I am not satisfied that enough progress has been made on other non-alpha Takata airbag recalls, I have set up a monitoring group that will report monthly on this.

‘‘If enough progress isn’t made, I will enact a compulsory recall across the board because I am not willing to compromise on the safety of New Zealanders,’’ he said.

‘‘While I have been reassured by officials that the risk in New Zealand is comparably low – airbags are more of a concern in humid countries with extremes of temperature – I am not willing to allow any risk to remain while we can remove it.’’

More than 450,000 vehicles are affected by the issue in New Zealand – those at highest risk are the 50,000 undergoing a compulsory recall.

Small explosion

Millions of airbags supplied by Japanese automotive parts manufacturer Takata Corporation were built with inflators containing ammonium nitrate, a chemical which causes a small explosion that inflates the airbags.

These inflators have a flaw that, particularly after long-term exposure to hot and humid conditions, means they might rupture during airbag deployment, sending shards of metal flying through the airbags and into drivers and passengers.

Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford said the issue had been ‘‘exacerbated by importers of used vehicles who have continued to import vehicles which have not had recalls closed out in the country they are sourcing their vehicles from’’.

Consumer NZ head of testing Paul Smith said not all Takata airbags would explode on deployment but the older Alpha-type airbags were ‘‘more dangerous’’.

‘‘The compulsory recall makes manufacturers and importers responsible for the fix, and sets a timeline of 18 months to close out repairs on all vehicles fitted with Alpha airbags.’’

He said the compulsory recall would provide clarity for consumers over whether their car was affected.