Volkswagen and Skoda initiate Takata recall program

Volkswagen Group Australia will tomorrow initiate its call back program for Volkswagen and Skoda vehicles caught up in the Takata airbag recall.

The first vehicles to be to be put under active recall will be 2007 – 2009 Volkswagen Polo Mk4 units in Queensland, Northern Territory and northern Western Australia, as well as 2008 – 2015 Transporters from the same regions.

Skoda models to be called back from August 1 will also come from the aforementioned geographical areas, and include the Yeti, Octavia, Kodiaq, Superb, Rapid and Fabia models built between 2013 and 2018.

Other Volkswagen vehicles added to the Takata recall list include the Passat, Golf, Golf Cabriolet, Up, Multivan, Polo MkV, Eos and Crafter, which will be recalled in groups over the next 13 months.

Volkswagen Group Australia has prioritised vehicles by their age and location, as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has stated that airbag systems older than six years pose a significantly higher, and more imminent threat to safety.

The airbag inflators in question are also more prone to failure in humid and high-temperature environments, so the oldest vehicles from Australia's warmer areas will be the first to be recalled.

The firm has also stressed that no Skoda or Volkswagen vehicles are fitted with 'Alpha' airbag inflators, which are often considered the more volatile of the faulty Takata systems.

Earlier this year, the Australian government decreed that all vehicles affected by faulty Takata airbag inflators must be recalled and repaired by December 31, 2020.

According to Volkswagen Group Australia's projections, approximately 20 per cent of its vehicles will be repaired by the end of 2018, 65 per cent by Q4 of 2019, with all of its vehicles fixed by the 2020 deadline.

Owners of affected vehicles will be contacted directly, though anyone can determine whether their vehicle is implicated via the VIN checkers on their respective consumer websites.

Has your vehicle been called back under the mandatory Takata safety recall? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.