The Department of Transport (DoT) plans to cancel the licences of the 740 vehicles still fitted in the State with defective Takata airbags in a final bid to take the dangerous vehicles off the roads.
The licence cancellations will take effect from 31 January.
Minister for Transport, Rita Saffioti said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) updated the compulsory Takata airbag recall list in December 2020, advising that the airbags had the potential to explode, even in minor accidents, sending sharp metal fragments into the vehicle at high speed.
“At that time the DoT identified 4,480 affected vehicles registered in Western Australia and, as with previous recalls, contacted owners to inform them of the need to replace these dangerous airbags urgently,” Ms Saffioti said.
“Overall, the response from the community has been swift, with 3,740 airbags successfully replaced at no cost to the owner,” she said.
The Minister said that, in August last year, the Department issued owners that had an outstanding recall status remaining on their vehicles with a notice of intention to cancel their vehicle licences.
“Another cancellation notice will be issued shortly and this will be the final opportunity to have the defective airbags replaced free of charge by the car’s manufacturer,” she said.
“If the airbag isn’t replaced before the 31 January deadline, the vehicle’s licence will be cancelled.”
Ms Saffioti said while every effort had been made to contact all affected owners, drivers were urged to check if their vehicle was affected by visiting the Takata airbag recall list on the ACCC’s Product Safety Australia website, which can be accessed at this PS News link.
