Australian drivers urged to check their car for potentially fatal defect
Australian drivers are being urged to check whether their car contains potentially faulty airbags, after a defective model was blamed for killing a man in a crash in Sydney.
Consumer advocate Choice said the July 13 accident was a “terrible reminder” for drivers to check whether their car contains the faulty Takata airbag.
The Takata airbags have been found to explode and shoot metal shards. They have been linked to 18 deaths and 180 injuries worldwide.
NSW Police found that a faulty airbag was likely the cause of the death of a 58-year-old man whose Honda CRV collided with another vehicle at an intersection in Sydney’s southwest. He was “struck in the neck by a small fragment”.
“Further investigations revealed the vehicle in the incident was subject of a worldwide recall for a faulty airbag,” they said in a statement.
Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey urged in a statement for Aussies to check to see if their cars contain the faulty airbags, which have been fitted in 2.1 million cars in Australia.
“Toyota, Mazda, BMW, Subaru, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, FCA (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep), Lexus, and Ford all have vehicles impacted by the recall,” he said.
“These potentially lethal products have already sparked the largest automotive recall in history and have killed more than a dozen people worldwide.”
“So if you own one of these makes, please check productsafety.gov.au to see if your model has been affected.”
This has been the first fatality involving Takata airbags in Australia.