Queensland defects 'alpha' Takata airbag vehicles

Following the announcement in September that the South Australian government will refuse to re-register vehicles fitted with ‘alpha’ Takata airbags, the Queensland government has now issued defect notices to owners of more than 2000 vehicles fitted with the high-risk inflators.

The defect notice means that if their vehicles are not brought in for repair work, registration will be cancelled in 21 days.

‘Alpha’ airbags have a much greater risk of shooting metal fragments into a vehicle’s cabin in the event of an airbag deployment, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) warning that “these vehicles should not be driven”.

As such, carmakers will be required to tow affected vehicles to a destination to conduct repairs.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) boss Tony Weber praised the Queensland government for the move and called on other states and territories to follow suit.

“We applaud the Palaszczuk government for acting so decisively on this important public safety issue,” he said.

“The industry has been doing its absolute utmost to raise awareness of this serious public safety issue across Australia, urging people to take action and check whether their vehicle’s airbags are affected.

“For ‘alpha’ the Queensland government has now issued defect notices to owners of more than 2000 vehicles fitted with the high-risk inflators Takata airbags, which pose the greatest risk, state and territory registration agencies can greatly assist the industry’s efforts to remove these vehicles from the road for rectification.

“This is another example of courage and leadership that should also be adopted by other states and territories. Preventing people from simply re-registering these vehicles enormously reduces the risk to the community.”

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