Takata airbag inflator needs replacing in more than 2,000 vehicles produced in 2013
Hino has launched a voluntary recall for some 300 Series models produced between January and December 2013, fitted with faulty Takata passenger airbags.
A list of vehicle identification numbers for the 2,144 vehicles affected is available from the website of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) here.
“Hino strongly recommend that owners of affected vehicles promptly contact their local Hino dealer to arrange an appointment to have the airbag inflator replaced,” the company says.
The recall is in addition to Hino’s recall last year of another 2,841 300-Series vehicles produced between July 2011 and December 2012 for the same issue.
It also follows a government-ordered recall in March this year for vehicles using the airbags, which an ACCC investigation had found could cause injuries in an accident when the airbag inflator ruptured.
Hino said the recall did not apply to trucks and other commercial vehicles, but nonetheless was implementing the recall voluntarily as part of its commitment to customer safety.
As previously reported by ATN, the ACCC study found some Takata airbags used phase-stabilised ammonium nitrate (PSAN) as a propellant, but had been assembled in such a way that the propellant could be exposed to moisture and thus degrade over time.
“If this happens, when the airbag is triggered and deploys (in a collision), it may deploy with too much explosive force, rupturing the airbag inflator housing so that sharp metal fragments shoot out and hit vehicle occupants, potentially injuring or killing them,” the ACCC study said.