Australia’s Largest Ever Car Recall: Check If Your Car Is On The List

With a massive car recall underway, owners of some Honda, Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Mazda and Lexus cars sold between 2001 and 2004 (and there’s about 50,000 of them) should know their vehicles pose the “most severe risk”.

If you haven’t already heard, the largest car recall in Australian automotive history is underway – an estimated 2.7 million cars are affected, and more models are expected to be added to the list in April.

The recall is the result of a faulty Takata airbag, which has already been responsible for at least one death in Australia – during a collision, the airbag fired a metal object into the 58-year-old man’s neck in Sydney in July last year.

But some model cars are more dangerous than others.

From the Australian Competition And Consumer Commission:

“Consumers need to take immediate steps to have their airbags replaced if their car has a Takata ‘alpha’ airbag installed. Alpha bags are a higher risk subset of the Takata bags being recalled.

“The higher risk alpha airbags were installed in certain Honda, Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Mazda and Lexus cars, with models sold between 2001 and 2004.

“It is critical that owners of cars with alpha airbags installed take immediate steps to have the airbags replaced because of the significant risk of injury or death involved in using cars with these airbags. All other consumers whose vehicles are on the full recall list are urged to arrange for the replacement of Takata airbags in their vehicles as soon as possible due to the safety risks involved in the use of these vehicles.

“The ACCC believes that the Takata alpha airbags have a manufacturing flaw, as they were not produced according to design standards and do not deploy as intended. These airbags pose the most severe risk of misdeployment and have a substantially higher risk of incident rate according to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). There is a risk of metal fragments and shrapnel propelling out of the airbag and into vehicle occupants causing serious injuries or deaths.”

Vehicles currently under recall are listed below and at this link. Vehicles with an Alpha airbag are listed in bold. Additional vehicles and their recall details will be added to the list by April 2018.

You should contact your nearest dealer of your model vehicle to arrange the recall. You cannot be charged for the service, and yes, if you have to leave your vehicle with them for more than 24 hours, you are entitled to a car hire for the period your vehicle is not accessible.

BMW

Make & model           Year Range             PRA No.

Chrysler

Dodge

Ferrari

Ford

Honda

Jeep

Lexus

Mazda

Mitsubishi

Nissan

Peformax

Subaru

Toyota

MOTORCYCLES

Make & model           Year Range    PRA No.