Australian drivers urged to check their car for potentially fatal defect
<p>Australian drivers are being urged to check whether their car contains potentially faulty airbags, after a defective model was blamed for killing a man in a crash in Sydney.</p>
<p>Consumer advocate Choice said the July 13 accident was a “terrible reminder” for drivers to check whether their car contains the faulty Takata airbag.</p>
<p>The Takata airbags have been found to explode and shoot metal shards. They have been linked to 18 deaths and 180 injuries worldwide.</p>
<p>NSW Police found that a faulty airbag was likely the cause of the death of a 58-year-old man whose Honda CRV collided with another vehicle at an intersection in Sydney’s southwest. He was “struck in the neck by a small fragment”.</p>
<p>“Further investigations revealed the vehicle in the incident was subject of a worldwide recall for a faulty airbag,” they said in a statement.</p>
<p>Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey urged in a statement for Aussies to check to see if their cars contain the faulty airbags, which have been fitted in 2.1 million cars in Australia.</p>
<p>“Toyota, Mazda, BMW, Subaru, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, FCA (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep), Lexus, and Ford all have vehicles impacted by the recall,” he said.</p>
<p>“These potentially lethal products have already sparked the largest automotive recall in history and have killed more than a dozen people worldwide.”</p>
<p>“So if you own one of these makes, please check <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.productsafety.gov.au/" target="_blank">productsafety.gov.au</a></strong></span> to see if your model has been affected.”</p>
<p>This has been the first fatality involving Takata airbags in Australia.</p>
