Nissan, Toyota Recall Car Models In Australia And New Zealand For Possible Fatal Airbag Defect

Toyota and Nissan in Australia are recalling about 280,000 vehicles over fears of shrapnel from airbags. The potentially deadly airbag fault has forced the two car manufacturers to announce a recall as a safety precaution.

Nissan has confirmed that 102,000 vehicles in the country are part of the 30 million cars in the world with an airbag problem, reports news.com.au. If not addressed, the problem could possibly see drivers get pierced with shrapnel in the event the vehicle’s airbag is released. Previous reports have indicated that five deaths have been linked with the airbag problem with one incident tagged as a potential murder case due to severe injuries.

Toyota Australia has also announced a recall of 181,000 vehicles with the same problem. A spokesperson for Toyota, Beck Angel, said the recall was in line with industry practice around the world.

However, motorist advocacy group NRMA said a recall was not good enough. “The problem with that is it is such a safety risk. It’s alarming – we can’t have people driving around with airbags that could kill them,” said NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury. He added that the safety of vehicle owners should be a priority and a solution should be brought to the table.

Angel said customers who were concerned about their safety can call the company’s hotline. For those who want a quick fix, Toyota has a “small number of parts” available.

The Toyota vehicles included in the recall were manufactured between 2003 and 2007 including popular models like the Corolla, Yaris, RAV4, Echo and Avensis. The issue may be more complicated since some of the cars included in the recall are more than 10 years old and might have changed owners several times.

Meanwhile, Nissan Australia has not released any details about the particular models affected with the airbag issue but only said the vehicles were made between 2004 and 2007. A Nissan spokesperson told AFP that the defective airbags will affect the company’s markets around the world including Japan, Europe and North America.

In New Zealand, Toyota is recalling 26,000 vehicles including models like Corolla, Picnic, Yaris and Rav4, reports Stuff. Spencer Morris, general manager of customer services, said Toyota New Zealand was not aware of any incident involving an airbag defect. The company is currently investigating the possible number of second-hand imported vehicles affected by the recall.

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