Cars with exploding airbags: Is your brand on the list?

Most of the car brands mentioned in the Takata airbag recall are common on Uganda roads, Gillian Nantume talked to experts to find out the effects of the recall.

On Tuesday last week, Takata Corporation, a Japanese auto parts company with a large foothold in the airbags market, admitted that its airbags were defective.
By Tuesday, they had recalled 34 million vehicles with the defective airbags after years of denying that their exploding airbags cause accidents.

The defects
This comes after a series of accidents in which six people have so far died and more than 100 injuries linked to the flaw.
The airbags can explode violently when they deploy, sending shrapnel flying into the passenger compartment. Takata’s airbag problems date back almost 15 years.
The company said that manufacturing problems, together with exposure to moisture in cars can cause the propellant to degrade, causing it to burn too strongly when the airbag is deployed, rupturing the inflator and sending metal fragments in the car’s interior.
The agency said it would not know exactly which models of cars would be recalled until it coordinated with automakers, which could be several days.
“The final number may change as more tests are performed,” US National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator, Mark Rosekind said.

About airbags
Paul Kaganzi, who owns Duke Car Tech, says with airbags, you can never know if it is safe or not until it causes an accident.
“In the case of an accident, if the system does not deploy them, then it could be fatal. On the other hand, should they deploy themselves, even without an accident, it will also compromise the safety of the driver.”
When airbags self-deploy, they inflate and hit the face of the driver while he or she is driving. If the airbag is defective, an airbag fault light appears on the dashboard.
“Only when you see this light should you get concerned. The entire system has a self-diagnosis of its faults.”

Who is affected
“People should not go into a panic,” says Kaganzi. “Recalls have limitations, and one of the biggest is warranty. Besides, a company may decide to recall all cars, both faulty and those in good condition, just to double check them. I do not expect Ugandans to ship their cars back to Japan because of the recall issued by Takata.”
However, Osinde Odwesi, a Subaru enthusiast, does not agree.
“These defects are costing us lives because if Takata has had this defect for 15 years, then some of the affected cars are already on our roads, considering that people buy used cars out of ignorance.”
Odwesi adds that if people would buy cars from registered dealers then they would at least have redress for such problems.
Before buying a car, new or used, it is important to do a background check on the brand.
In 2014 Japanese carmaker, Toyota, recalled 1.75 million vehicles worldwide over faulty brake installations and fuel component issues.
The cars affected were some models of Toyota’s Crown Majesta, Noah, and Voxy models produced between June 2007 and June 2012.
“Those are the same cars on the roads. People die in crashes and no one investigates why,” says Odwesi.
Meanwhile, some of the car dealers spoken to, such as Ramzan Motors Limited and Toyota Uganda Limited claimed ignorance about the recall. They said they had not heard anything about it and could not respond to our queries.
But a source at Victoria Motors Limited who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “We only deal in new cars and we have never registered a problem with the airbags from our clients. Besides, our brand, Mitsubishi, is not affected by the recall.”
Gilbert Wavamuno, sales director, Spear Motors Limited, says that a recall usually depends on the region.
“Every brand of car has different modifications for the different continents. A Chrysler made for the US market has additions in its fuel system to cater for the specific qualities of their fuel. A Chrysler for the African market will have slight modifications.”
Wavamuno adds that the car manufacturer sends specifications to notify the car dealer in case of recall.
“If a client brings in their car for servicing we log it into our system to run an online check. In case of a recall, we notify our clients if their cars will be affected. But the airbags in the Benzes and Chryslers we sell are made by a different company.”
The brands affected by the recall include BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, and Toyota.
Rosekind acknowledged that repairs could take several years to complete, but he said consumers could still drive their cars in the meantime.
Additional information from nytimes