Air Bags. The story is not over yet.

[Bird]

The last fatality that was in the news wasn't actually the impact of the head into the steering wheel that caused the fatality, it was the piece of metal that was fired by the airbag mechanism that severed his caratoid artery and spinal cord... That was the fatal deployment of the airbag that led to death, and yes, not having an airbag would have been safer.in that collision.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-23/faulty-takata-airbag-coroner-inquiry-death-cabramatta-man/11538628

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/man-who-died-in-airbag-malfunction-would-have-been-quadriplegic-if-he-survived-inquest-told-20190924-p52ucy.html (use private browsing to open)

Yep.. but some people seem to think that airbags will save the world, stop deaths all around... it may come as a shock to them - they wont.
I laugh when I see people saying 'oh i wouldnt buy that car it doesnt have 45 airbags and Shit.. ex bought a car the other week, couldnt tell you how many airbags it has, 100% DILLIGAF. If the car suits, buy it.

[Paddler Ed]

Yep.. but some people seem to think that airbags will save the world, stop deaths all around... it may come as a shock to them - they wont.
I laugh when I see people saying 'oh i wouldnt buy that car it doesnt have 45 airbags and Shit.. ex bought a car the other week, couldnt tell you how many airbags it has, 100% DILLIGAF. If the car suits, buy it.

Yep, none of my vehicles have air bags (1978 HJ45, 1994 FZJ80, 1992 XT600, 2007 WR250 and 3x pushys) - instead they rely on being defensive and planning ahead because for each one in turn:
1) The brakes are ordinary (drums all round - but will lock if stamped on)
2) It's a slow moving thing
3) It's a motorbike... you're vulnerable as
4) It's another motorbike... see 3)
5) They're 2 wheelers that some people don't think should be on the road, and see 3) again.

Having had an airbag go off on me, there's a few things people need to be aware of driving with them; the main one is that driving with your hands at quarter to 3 is a good plan - but expect burns on the inside of your arms after the bag deploys. It means your arms don't get you in the face.

[Bird]

BMW has taken the unprecedented step of asking owners of 12,663 of its 3 Series models made from 1997 to 2000 to stop driving immediately because their cars may have faulty airbags linked to a fatality and a serious injury in two separate crashes in Australia.

A safety bulletin issued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Thursday afternoon says: "Owners of affected vehicles should stop driving their vehicle immediately and urgently contact their local BMW dealership or call BMW Australia’s Takata hotline directly on 1800 243 675 to organise their free vehicle inspection.

"Vehicles will be either towed to the place of inspection or a mobile technician will come to inspect the vehicle at the [owner’s] home or the vehicle’s location," the notice says.

If the vehicle does contain a suspected faulty airbag, BMW will offer to arrange a loan or rental car or "reimbursement for alternative transport costs" until parts are available for an airbag replacement, or until other arrangements can be made.

https://www.theage.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/12-663-bmws-with-new-takata-airbags-recalled-immediately-after-fatality-20191107-p538h6.html

[Jeepers Creepers]

Someone is Shitting themselves they're gunna get sued going by that.

[Fizzie]

I'd be counter-arguing that these warnings have been out for 3 (?) years now, you'd have to be living under a rock on Mars not to have heard about the problem, & if you're to damn stupid to do something, free of charge,  to protect yourself & your family, then it's your problem

[glenm64]

I'd be counter-arguing that these warnings have been out for 3 (?) years now, you'd have to be living under a rock on Mars not to have heard about the problem, & if you're to damn stupid to do something, free of charge,  to protect yourself & your family, then it's your problem

The ACCC statement says: "Transport safety authorities in Australia, US and Japan have identified a different type of Takata airbag that poses a critical risk of death or serious injury to vehicle occupants, prompting an urgent recall of around 12 000 BMW vehicles which may still be in use on Australian roads."

[Pete79]

BMW has taken the unprecedented step of asking owners of 12,663 of its 3 Series models made from 1997 to 2000 to stop driving immediately because their cars may have faulty airbags linked to a fatality and a serious injury in two separate crashes in Australia.

Pretty sure the faulty airbags only have an issue if you have an accident with the indicators are turned on.
So 12,658 of those BMW owners are perfectly safe to continue driving.

[Hoyks]

The ACCC statement says: "Transport safety authorities in Australia, US and Japan have identified a different type of Takata airbag that poses a critical risk of death or serious injury to vehicle occupants, prompting an urgent recall of around 12 000 BMW vehicles which may still be in use on Australian roads."

I'm sure that over time there are going to be a lot more.

At work we maintain cartridge actuated egress systems (ejection seats) that work off a collection of cartridges that look like 410, 12g and 40mm shotgun shell that produce a lot of gas to push a seat and 100kg of occupant through a canopy and clear of the tail.

Over time they adsorb moisture, break down and go from being a propellant that produces a lot of gas to an explosive, so they have a very strict installed life.

These are a primary emergency escape system and air bags are a only a supplementary restraint system, but I find it astounding that they think that that they can be installed for the life of the vehicle with no maintenance or scheduled component replacement. It goes against everything I understand about explosive ordnance management.

[Paddler Ed]

These are a primary emergency escape system and air bags are a only a supplementary restraint system, but I find it astounding that they think that that they can be installed for the life of the vehicle with no maintenance or scheduled component replacement. It goes against everything I understand about explosive ordnance management.

I'm pretty sure when they were first introduced, they were expected to have a life span of 10 years before they needed attention; in a lot of Europe that timeframe is pretty close to the end of the vehicle's life, but over here things last a bit longer (a combination of high depreciation in Europe, legislation changes (UK) and Rust keeps the fleet younger over there) so are going to be more of a problem.

[Bird]

Question: can you sell a car (EG: the bmw's they ar talkin about) legally with faulty airbags?

[Fizzie]

Question: can you sell a car (EG: the bmw's they ar talkin about) legally with faulty airbags?

Hmmm

https://www.productsafety.gov.au/recalls/compulsory-takata-airbag-recall/faq-for-takata-airbag-recalls#can-a-new-or-demonstration-vehicle-be-sold-with-a-defective-takata-airbag-installed-

https://mtaofsa.com.au/news/selling-vehicles-takata-airbags

New cars - no

Second hand from a dealer - no (at least in SA)

Second hand privately -

[#jonesy]

The airbags are being replaced in stages.  They simply don't have enough to do all at once, so they are selecting the most at risk ones first.

The fault with the airbags isn't the propellant, but the casing. They are rising and when the airbag goes off the case becomes shrapnel

[Bird]

Nutha questions: are airbags checked as part of Roadworthy inspections when selling cars?

[Bird]

Cancelling rego? I'd read that supply was not meeting demand....

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries is urgently appealing to all car owners to check if their vehicle has a faulty Takata airbag. Failure to do so may result in more owners having their vehicle deregistered.

FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said state and territory government traffic authorities were considering the deregistration of more vehicles fitted with faulty Alpha and critical airbags where owners had ignored repeated requests to have their vehicle airbags replaced.

Car owners can avoid the potential deregistration of these vehicles by having the faulty airbags, which could result in the death or serious injury of vehicle drivers and passengers, replaced as soon as possible.

"Nobody wants to see car owners inconvenienced by having their vehicles deregistered, but it seems it is the only way we can convince some unresponsive owners to allow us to fix their cars," Mr Weber said.

"This is a last resort action to ensure we track down owners of vehicles with Alpha and critical airbags who have ignored multiple appeals from manufacturers and government agencies."

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recently announced that nearly 20,000 additional vehicles already under recall for faulty Takata airbags have now been reclassified by manufacturers as "critical." The critical classification places the vehicles in a high-risk category alongside Alpha-equipped vehicles.

"The ACCC has warned vehicles fitted with airbags listed as critical should not be driven and the FCAI strongly agrees with that warning," Mr Weber said.

[Champin]

My airbag light came on a few months back. I have searched triton forum and figured it could cost in excess of $1500 to have it sorted. Quite a few people have expressed concerns about getting it repaired asap.
1, can't afford that right now
2, it ain't going to spit steel chunks at me
3, I've been driving cars without airbags for 40 odd years.
Not too concerned right now.
If you're not living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space.

Sent from my TA-1024 using Tapatalk

[briann532]

My airbag light came on a few months back. I have searched triton forum and figured it could cost in excess of $1500 to have it sorted. Quite a few people have expressed concerns about getting it repaired asap.
1, can't afford that right now
2, it ain't going to spit steel chunks at me
3, I've been driving cars without airbags for 40 odd years.
Not too concerned right now.
If you're not living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space.

Sent from my TA-1024 using Tapatalk

Simple fix.

Drive into a tree while ducking.
The airbag goes off and doesn't put shards of steel into you.
Sit back up, cut the airbag away and off you go.
Problem solved.

No worries, happy to help.

[Champin]

Jeez Brian, you're a thinker.

Sent from my TA-1024 using Tapatalk

[Fizzie]

Simple fix.

Nice thinking!

The only problem is that "triton" + "Drive into a tree" =/= "Sit back up, cut the airbag away and off you go"

[Bird]

So if theres no spare bags available, you get a free hire car?

The Takata airbag crisis has taken its most serious turn yet, with up to 78,000 cars to be pulled off the road and bought back by manufacturers at an estimated cost of up to $200 million.

Popular cars made by Audi, BMW, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Toyota – sold from 1996 to 2000 – are believed to be equipped with another type of Takata airbag inflator that can also become unstable over time and spray shrapnel when deployed in a crash.

The NADI 5-AT inflator is believed to be linked to at least one recent death and one recent serious injury in Australia. This is in addition to the previous death and known serious injury caused by the Beta type of Takata airbag in two separate crashes in Australia in 2018.

The recall of 78,000 cars equipped with NADI airbags is in addition to recall of 3.4 million Alpha and Beta Takata airbag inflators in 2.8 million cars in Australia. More than 400,000 cars with these airbags remain on our roads.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/takata-airbag-crisis-worsens-as-accc-warns-of-new-safety-risk-affecting-78-000-cars-20191217-p53kux.html

[rags]

I heard BMW will just buy back the car rather than fixing. I wondering if you are attached to your old Beamer will they fix it.

[Bird]

I heard BMW will just buy back the car rather than fixing. I wondering if you are attached to your old Beamer will they fix it.

IM heading out to buy a dozen cheap BMWs if thats the case... retirement here I come

[boobook]

It's not just BMW now.

ACCC is recommending that anyone with the following STOPS DRIVING THE VEHICLE. Ouch.

Takata airbag issue affecting Audi, BMW, Ford, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Toyota

Drivers of a range of cars made in the 1990s have been warned their Takata air bags might be faulty.
 Drivers of a range of cars made in the 1990s have been warned their Takata air bags might be faulty.
Redlands, Scenic Rim and Logan drivers are being urged to check their cars for another type of potentially lethal Takata airbag, with about 78,000 vehicles believed to have them.

The airbags have NADI 5-AT inflators and are in cars manufactured between 1996 and 2000 by Audi, BMW, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Toyota.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has urged drivers to check productsafety.gov.au to see if their car has the faulty airbag, which may cause metal shards to propel out of it when deployed.

There is also a risk the airbags under-inflate.

ACCC chair Rod Sims says people with affected cars should stop driving them, and contact the manufacturer.

"We want everyone to have a happy and safe holiday period, and encourage people to consider alternative transport options if possible, rather than using vehicles fitted with these airbags," he said.

Safety authorities have been alerted to three incidents - resulting in one fatality and two people seriously injured - potentially linked to the airbags.

BMW and Audi have began a voluntary recall of their affected vehicles, while the other manufacturers remain in discussions with the ACCC to finalise their own recalls.

Audi, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Toyota will help support consumers dealing with financial hardship as a result of the airbags.

[MadMarv]

We recently bought a Pajero and the bags have been replaced ... maybee because it was from a dealer ... also heard that cars that have had them replaced have been recalled again to have those units that were replaced to be replaced again ....

[IanS]

We recently bought a Pajero and the bags have been replaced ... maybee because it was from a dealer ... also heard that cars that have had them replaced have been recalled again to have those units that were replaced to be replaced again ....

You are correct, my father had his 2009 Patrol airbags replaced last year, he now has another recall for the replacement bags.

[#jonesy]

The recall website explains that some cars will be recalled a couple of times.
There is a massive demand for airbags that they can't keep up production.  So in the interim they are replacing faulty ones with other (okay for now) Tekata airbags, knowing full well that they will slowly degrade and become faulty and will have to be replaced.