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Audi launches Takata airbag recall

The 2009 Audi Q5 is one of the models being recalled.

Audi has today announced a wide-ranging Takata airbag recall, with owners of the Q5, A5 and A3 impacted.

The action forms part of a mandatory safety recall required by the Australian Government, which calls for the Takata airbags in around 1.1 million vehicles (on top of the millions of vehicles already recalled) to be replaced by 2020.

Takata airbags can activate with enough force to break-up the inflator’s metal housing, potentially causing shrapnel to explode into the cabin, injuring or killing the driver or passenger. The airbags are believed to have been responsible for the deaths of at least 22 people to date, including a 58-year-old Sydney man when his Honda CR-V was involved in an accident.

Audi's recall action will begin with older examples of the Q5 SUV (2009-2012), but will have expanded by the end of July to include the A5 Sportback (2009-2012), the A5 Cabriolet (2010-2011) and the A3 (2006-2013).

"Our customers are our first priority, and, as a result of the Australian Government's mandatory recall of certain vehicles with frontal Takata airbag inflators, we will be conducting a staged recall of the affected vehicles between now and the end of 2020,” says Audi Australia spokesperson Shaun Cleary.

“We will contact owners to let them know when they should visit a dealer to have their Takata airbag inflator replaced, free of charge.”

The Government’s recall order claims the Takata airbags are at risk of rupturing after between six and 25 years, but in areas of high heat or humidity (ie: most of Australia), the Government reduces that range to between six and nine years.

Audi is staggering the recall action between now and 2020, targeting areas and cars it considers most at risk first. Customers can check their VIN on Audi’s website to see if their vehicle is impacted.

Have you been caught up in the Takata recall? Tell us in the comments below.