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Massive Takata Recall Ordered by Australian Government

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced on Wednesday the country’s biggest ever compulsory recall for vehicles, which will apply to all cars fitted with defective Takata airbags.
ACCC details Takata compulsory recall reasons 1 photo
Photo: ACCC
Following an investigation it has conducted, the ACCC decided to make the recall compulsory for over 1.3 million cars. Adding to the already voluntarily recalled 2.7 million, that would mean nearly 30 percent of all vehicle in circulation Down Under are affected by the issue.

The decision to make the recall compulsory has been made, says the ACCC, after carmakers have delayed doing so for a long time.

It’s not clear yet what effects would the decision have on the drivers, but officials warn that the danger is extremely serious, as 23 deaths (one in Australia) and some 230 injuries have already been reported worldwide as a result of defective Takata airbags deploying.

The ACCC advises drivers to check whether their vehicles are affected by the recall on the organization’s website, and then contact their dealers for details. There are in all 14 car brands affected, with the most serious ones hit being Honda, with 20 models recalled, and Nissan, with 12.

"As not all vehicles may be recalled straight away, consumers should also subscribe to receive updates about future recalls on our website and check the supplier’s recall initiation schedule on the supplier’s website, when available," says the ACCC.

All recalled vehicles are to be repaired by December 31, 2020, and owners will be scheduled based on various factors, including relative safety risk. A subset of Takata airbags, called “alpha” are considered to pose the highest safety risk of all. All vehicles fitted with the alpha airbags are highlighted on the ACCC website.

Takata, one of the world's biggest manufacturer of airbag systems, first identified and reported the problem in 2013, saying the issue affected six car makes. It soon became clear however that Takata had no idea how many other vehicles and brands were affected.

In the U.S., some 42 million vehicles reportedly have this problem, making the recall the largest in the country’s history.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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