The RACV has called for swift action to ensure faulty Takata airbags are replaced as quickly as possible.
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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is investigating the recall of the airbags manufactured by Japanese company Takata, which have been fitted in 60 makes of cars sold in Australia.
The airbags have the potential to explode and send metal shrapnel and other material into the cabin of a vehicle, because the gas used to inflate the bag can become volatile over time.
The RACV on Tuesday urged Victorians not to interfere with the safety features of their vehicles as tampering could pose a serious safety risk to motorists and other road users.
Vehicle engineering manager Michael Case said the RACV would work with manufacturers and the government to ensure procedures and policies were in place and more urgent action was taken to protect the safety of Victorians on the roads.
“We do not want Victorian’s losing confidence in the safety of their motor vehicles, or even worse, preventable injuries occurring due to long wait times in accessing replacement parts,” he said.
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“There is also a role for the federal government to place a greater emphasis on the recall, and to put pressure on manufacturers to speed up the process for replacing defective airbags.”
The RACV said in a statement it believed in many cases, replacement airbag waiting list times were too long and urged manufacturers to rapidly increase the supply of airbags to meet the recall demand.
The organisation also called for manufacturers to ensure impacted customers were notified of the potential defect as soon as possible.
To check if your vehicle is on the recall list, visit the Product Safety Australia website: www.productsafety.gov.au