Get your vehicle checked

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi is urging consumers in the Wellington region to check if their vehicle is affected by the compulsory recall of Takata Alpha type airbags.

The compulsory recall came into effect in April and the latest regional data shows there are still 3355 affected vehicles yet to be repaired, including 327 in Ka¯ piti.

“To date, nationwide there are around 35,000 vehicles which need to be repaired. This means almost 60 per cent of vehicles have already had their airbags replaced.

“We know many Wellington residents will be planning their summer road trips now and with unfortunately higher crash rates than we have seen before, it’s more important than ever that all airbags in vehicles are safe.

“Consumers can easily check whether their vehicle has been affected by visiting rightcar.govt.nz, selecting the Takata alpha airbag recall page, and keying in their registration number.

RightCar tells consumers if their vehicle has the airbag that needs replacing and exactly what to do if that is the case.

“If a vehicle is affected, consumers are entitled to have their Alpha airbags replaced at no cost, no matter if the vehicle was purchased privately, through a dealer, new or secondhand.

“I urge anyone who has received a letter from their car’s distributor to act on it immediately and get their airbags replaced.

“Overseas there have been 23 known fatal cases of airbags exploding and sending fragments into the vehicle. While the risk of that happening in New Zealand is low due to less humidity in the air, which the airbags are more susceptible to, we need consumers to get on board to bring risk levels down, and keep our people safe.

“I’d also like to acknowledge the ongoing work of the motor vehicle industry who remain committed to ensuring all Alpha airbags are replaced by December 2019 and while I’m pleased with progress to date, we can’t afford to become complacent.”