Jaguar Land Rover airbag fault affects 17,000

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Australia has announced it will be conducting a voluntary call back of approximately 17,000 vehicles, due to the fitment of potentially defective Takata airbags.

The British manufacturer has not yet revealed which models are caught up in the recall, however it insists that none of the airbags in any of its models around the world have misdeployed.

JLR’s decision to offer a voluntary recall of its vehicles comes one day before the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) was set to meet with vehicle manufacturers to discuss mandating compulsory Takata-related recalls.

Minister for small business Michael McCormack first proposed obligatory call backs for affected vehicles last month, declaring “the actions taken have not resulted in a satisfactory rate of removal and replacement of Takata airbag inflators to prevent injury in vehicle occupants, despite the lengthy period during which voluntary recalls have been in place”.

The Takata recall has ensnared up to 100 million vehicles worldwide, including around 2.5m in Australia since 2009, while 19 deaths (one in Australia) and more than 200 injuries have been attributed to the airbags.

JLR is prioritising the recall of older models first with a greater risk of misfire.

Problems in Takata airbags stem from moisture intrusion inside the airbag inflator, which over time can lead to degradation of the ammonium nitrate propellant and upon deployment, can shoot metal shrapnel into the cabin.

A JLR Australia spokesperson said: “Jaguar Land Rover has not identified safety risks directly affecting its vehicles in Australia and so its vehicles are not currently listed on the ACCC website for vehicles voluntarily recalled to date.

“However, because of concerns identified by the ACCC about certain Takata airbags, we would prefer to err on the side of caution.

“We want to ensure our recall takes place as quickly as possible and with the least amount of inconvenience or anxiety for customers, based on replacement airbag availability and dealer capacity.”

JLR is prioritising the recall of older models first with a greater risk of misfire, while affected models are expected to be revealed in the near future once discussions with the ACCC have finished.

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