Forced recall of 50,000 airbags

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 two 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 (NZTA) 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 ditch there’s been one death and one serious injury as a result of the deployment of the airbags.

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 today.

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

As a result it’s 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.’’

‘‘These airbags have been known to be a risk since 2013 . . .’’

Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi

National Party leader Simon Bridges said when he was Transport Minister his understanding was this was something that could be ‘‘staged and done voluntarily, but there’s obviously new facts that have come through here that mean the Government has decided it’s something that needs to be more than voluntary’’.

‘‘It sounds like the Government’s done the right thing here.’’

In total 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.

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, 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.

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

The scale of the recall is unprecedented and is only the second one in New Zealand to be enacted. We’ve got the answers to your questions about the recall.

What’s the recall for?

The compulsory recall applies to vehicles fitted with older ‘‘Alpha’’ generation airbags. Consumer NZ head of testing Dr Paul Smith said: ‘‘Making the recall compulsory will provide clarity for consumers over whether their car is affected and reassure them that the riskiest airbags are being prioritised.

‘‘Not all Takata airbags will explode on deployment, in fact it’s unlikely – a one in 400 risk is reported globally. But the older ‘Alpha’ airbags, fitted to cars manufactured between 2001 and 2006, are more dangerous – tests show there’s a chance every other deployment could be explosive.’’

What’s the issue?

The airbag inflator can be adversely affected by moisture, with the result being it could deploy with explosive force when in a crash. In the worst cases they have sent metal shards flying into the passenger cabin. Faulty Takata airbags have caused a reported 23 deaths and more than 230 injuries worldwide. No explosive deployments, injuries or fatalities have been reported here.

They 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.

Don’t ignore the risk

New Zealand has a temperate climate, so failure here is less likely, even for the oldest airbags.

But we have an old vehicle fleet by international standards – the average car on our roads was manufactured in 2004. That explains why we have twice as many Alpha airbags on our roads awaiting repair than the Australians do – despite their recall covering 10 times as many Takataequipped cars. So the risk shouldn’t be ignored.

How long do I have?

Smith said the compulsory recall made manufacturers and importers responsible for the fix and set a timeline of 18 months to close out repairs on all vehicles fitted with Alpha airbags.

All Alpha-type airbags have to be replaced by December 2019 – the compulsory recall comes into effect 40 working days from yesterday.

Who pays?

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

How do I know if it’s me?

Drivers affected by the compulsory recall will get a letter from the manufacturer or importer when parts are available to fix their car. Smith said: ‘‘If you get a letter – you need to act. Take your car to be fixed, it’ll cost you nothing.’’

What should I do?

Check to see if your vehicle has been recalled. You can look for New Zealand-new models at recalls.govt.nz/airbags or find a list of used-import models recalled in Japan at rightcar.govt.nz/ airbagrecall.

Consumer NZ said the lists were always being updated as more makes and models are implicated, so keep checking.

NZTA advises people to contact their vehicle supplier as soon as possible to make an appointment to get the airbags replaced.

Don’t wait

Consumer NZ advised owners of cars manufactured between 2001 and 2006 to contact the manufacturer (for NZ-new cars) or importer (for used-imports) – don’t wait for a letter to arrive.

It could be difficult to track down the importer, so go to the dealer you bought the car from.