Citroen, McLaren and Opel caught in Takata airbag saga

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has published a revised Takata airbag recall list that includes an additional 1.1 million vehicles, with Citroen, McLaren and Opel now implicated.

This puts the total number of vehicles called back for faulty Takata airbag inflators at well over five million in Australia, and towards 100 million worldwide.

Importantly, the latest round of Takata airbag call backs include vehicles from Citroen, McLaren and Opel for the first time, with the three European brands joining the 25 other carmakers currently involved.

The revised list includes models – many of which were previously un-impacted – from manufacturers including Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Chrysler, Jeep, Ford, Holden, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Skoda and Subaru, Tesla, Toyota and Volkswagen.

According to the ACCC website, the aforementioned vehicles are not yet under active recall, but will be subject to the compulsory call back that require manufacturers to replace all defective airbag inflators by the end of 2020.

Some of the newly-implicated vehicles do not yet have Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) lists published, though many are expected to appear on the ACCC's consumer website in the coming months.

ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard told ABC News that even more models are expected to join the compulsory recall.

“We know there will be a few further recalls in the coming month, which we are just in the process of negotiating,” she said.

“When people visit productsafety.gov.au, they should sign up for the free recall notifications, and that way they will see whether their vehicle is added to the list.”

Ms Rickard stressed that owners of affected vehicles need to take action.

“The alpha airbags really are incredibly worrying,” she said. 

“There was a fault in the manufacturing of some airbags in the early 2000s, and there is a much greater chance that they will deploy and harm or kill people than the other airbags.

“If you have an alpha bag, what you need to do is stop driving immediately, contact your manufacturer or dealer, arrange for them to come and tow it away. Do not drive.”

As previously reported, drivers and passengers of vehicles affected by the Takata airbag recall run the risk of being impaled by shards of metal propelled from the airbag when deployed. 

At least 22 people have been killed as a result of defective Takata airbag inflators, including an Australian man who lost his life in Sydney last year.

“This is a really serious recall. Take it seriously. Commit right now to check the website and take action this week.” Ms Rickards added.

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