Airbag scandal answers demanded

SYDNEY: The Australian Government is demanding urgent updates from car makers undertaking a massive recall programme after it was revealed some were refitting cars with the same brand of potentially faulty airbags linked to 18 deaths around the world.

Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher has written to all manufacturers implicated in the ongoing Takata airbag saga seeking a ‘‘comprehensive status update on the progress of their recall programme’’.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched an investigation after consumer group Choice warned Australian drivers could be sitting behind the wheel of ‘‘ticking time bombs’’.

A 58yearold man killed in a crash in Sydney last Friday is suspected of being the 18th person globally, and the first in Australia, to have died as a result of a Takata airbag, after police said he was struck in the neck by a small fragment.

More than 2.3 million vehicles in Australia were subject to the recall originally issued in 2009, but only 850,000 have had their Takata airbags replaced after some were found to explode and eject dangerous metal shards.

Fletcher yesterday said he had asked for updates after speaking to ACCC chairman Rod Sims and Minister for Small Business Michael McCormack.

Toyota and Lexus have confirmed they used Takata airbags as temporary replacements in some cases and would have to again refit those vehicles.

‘‘This action provided safety for a number of years, however, due to exposure to the environment over time, these airbags will need to be replaced again,’’ they said.

Choice said Mazda, Lexus, BMW and Subaru had also refitted Takata airbags.

However, rivals Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi, which also had vehicles affected by the recall, declined to tell Choice about their replacement airbags.

A Honda spokesman said the car maker had ‘‘not refitted Takata inflators ‘like for like’ on Honda vehicles’’. Comment was sought from the other manufacturers. — AAP