NL Takata Airbag Alert

[Alex86]

Argh!!!!!

Double checked the Escape (grabbed the vin off the plate this time, not some old piece of random paperwork).

It’s on the list too. Grrrrrr

[stumagoo]

Well, mine is on the list, but I was expecting it.:dunno
I am NOT a conspiracy theorist BUT, here are some figures.
The official Takata air bag recall (NOT including our NADI 5AT inflators) has a worldwide number of 41,600,000 (41.6million) The total number of deaths world wide = 29. Injuries worldwide = 320.
I wonder how many deaths are caused by bald tyres, brake failure or other mechanical fault, not wearing seat belts, using mobile phones, etc, etc let alone by people dropping dead of a heart attack that they were warned COULD happen?
I realise that because it is now a known problem it has to be addressed. I still wonder if governments (and car manufacturers) are not secretly grinning at the latest NADI 5AT problem as it will undoubtedly lead to a high number of vehicles being scrapped (bought back) which in turn means more new car sales and a reduction in the number of these "old polluting banggers" on the road. (makes the pollution reduction numbers look good!) As I say it is just idle thought on my part but really did anyone honestly think that an explosive charge in a real world environment would last for ever?
JUST MY RAMBLING
Tom

I dont think it is too far fetched at all - it is comon knowledge that many governments want aging cars off the roads and the recall is stating affected cars must not be driven as it is too dangerous --- so those who are still saying I should not have removed my airbags :P



the thing that always got me was that the canister designed to hold this explosion is never painted or protected from rust - corrosion - that is the issue with the Nadi 5 bags and they have not changed this - brand new bags are going in with no form of corroson protection on the canister.... in 20 years time the current bags are likely to be just as bad - I wonder if its going to become a maintenance thing --- your air bags are over x years old it has to be replaced or the rego will be stopped

it also seems some manufactorers are offering buy back options rather than replacement airbags...

https://www.smh.com.au/national/thousands-of-toyota-mazda-and-suzuki-cars-forced-off-the-road-in-airbag-recall-20200110-p53qg7.html

[Puppa]

Probably jumping the gun a bit but with my car on the list and me paying well above market value for mine I will be wanting mine fixed and not bought back.

I am sure this is just going to be a pain in the butt either way..

[Ian Sharpe]

Yeah huge pia. I wonder if one had the airbags disconnected would it still be registerable?. I guess this is going to be the death of ever finding an up spec nl on the used car market.😢

[erad]

Something in the back of my ever fading memory tells me that with Land Rovers, they said they had to replace the air bags after 10 years. They probably weren't using Takata bags though.

[peterjt]

NL airbag

I just contacted Mitsubishi. Was told there is currently no recall and will contact me if this changes. Meanwhile, they claim that the vehicle is safe to drive, there have been no incidents.
ACCC says don't drive. Mitsu say its safe. Who to believe?

I should add that my VIN was listed in the ACCC release issued Friday 10 Jan 2020.

[tomwithannl]

Some light reading

Here is a little of what I (THINK) I have found out about SRS airbags and ADR’s.
From 1988 till 1/1/1998 the ADR’s that covered frontal impact were 10/0, 10/01 &10/02 which basically meant that vehicles had to have a collapsible steering column and seat belts.

On 1/1/1995 ADR 69/00 was brought in with an effective date of 1/1/1998. It states that new vehicles must be able to withstand a solid frontal collision at 48km/hr with no injury to passengers. (or crash test dummies in their case)

This is where it gets a little murky! And this is only MY take on it. Apparently NL Pajero’s met the criteria of ADR 69/00 without the need for airbags. BUT when they fitted the GLS and Exceed with the wood and leather steering wheel (The Luxury option) it didn’t. It may be that the plain steering wheel would deform towards the dash under pressure but the wood wheel wouldn’t? Or it broke and caused injury?

Anyway the fact is that there is no ADR that says that any car has to have air bags fitted BUT what it does say is cars as from certain time lines must meet the crash test criteria at the time of manufacture and that is where the SRS airbag comes into play.
This included faster front, side, offset, rear and roll over tests. The hardest (most expensive?) way for a car maker to meet these changing rules is to design a safer car but one of the easiest ways for manufacturers to do that is by fitting air bags, and more airbags.

I also believe that as from 1999 Mitsubishi put SRS airbags in all trim levels. (It was probably cheaper than swapping and changing and they had to use up all their stock as the NM was soon to be released and they used totally different bags. )

Anyway that is only my take on it so please don’t quote me, and I am happy to be proven wrong
PS this is not cut and paste from the internet!

If anyone wants to wade through HEAPS of tech stuff go here. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Home

Tom

[stumagoo]

Here is a little of what I (THINK) I have found out about SRS airbags and ADR’s.
From 1988 till 1/1/1998 the ADR’s that covered frontal impact were 10/0, 10/01 &10/02 which basically meant that vehicles had to have a collapsible steering column and seat belts.

On 1/1/1995 ADR 69/00 was brought in with an effective date of 1/1/1998. It states that new vehicles must be able to withstand a solid frontal collision at 48km/hr with no injury to passengers. (or crash test dummies in their case)

This is where it gets a little murky! And this is only MY take on it. Apparently NL Pajero’s met the criteria of ADR 69/00 without the need for airbags. BUT when they fitted the GLS and Exceed with the wood and leather steering wheel (The Luxury option) it didn’t. It may be that the plain steering wheel would deform towards the dash under pressure but the wood wheel wouldn’t? Or it broke and caused injury?

Anyway the fact is that there is no ADR that says that any car has to have air bags fitted BUT what it does say is cars as from certain time lines must meet the crash test criteria at the time of manufacture and that is where the SRS airbag comes into play.
This included faster front, side, offset, rear and roll over tests. The hardest (most expensive?) way for a car maker to meet these changing rules is to design a safer car but one of the easiest ways for manufacturers to do that is by fitting air bags, and more airbags.

I also believe that as from 1999 Mitsubishi put SRS airbags in all trim levels. (It was probably cheaper than swapping and changing and they had to use up all their stock as the NM was soon to be released and they used totally different bags. )

Anyway that is only my take on it so please don’t quote me, and I am happy to be proven wrong
PS this is not cut and paste from the internet!

If anyone wants to wade through HEAPS of tech stuff go here. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Home

Tom

we are however not allowed to remove factory fitted safety features....

I have and have also removed all stickers etc that reference them - the NL came both with and without airbags here so I have a non airbag dash fitted - they would have to go searching to find that --- and seeing as mitsi could not tell from rego (only vin) originally (that may have changed) I cant see the rego getting canceled for now

[Enthymeme]

I just contacted Mitsubishi. Was told there is currently no recall and will contact me if this changes. Meanwhile, they claim that the vehicle is safe to drive, there have been no incidents.
ACCC says don't drive. Mitsu say its safe. Who to believe?

I should add that my VIN was listed in the ACCC release issued Friday 10 Jan 2020.

I suppose the message hasn't yet filtered down to the front line / dealerships. Other manufacturers seem to be taking this more seriously than MM. Should I be surprised?

I'm genuinely curious to understand how many forum members have / will stop driving their vehicles until the matter is resolved. I, for one, stopped driving my Pajero as soon as the ACCC notice was published. How many others have done the same, I wonder?

[tomwithannl]

we are however not allowed to remove factory fitted safety features....

I have and have also removed all stickers etc that reference them - the NL came both with and without airbags here so I have a non airbag dash fitted - they would have to go searching to find that --- and seeing as mitsi could not tell from rego (only vin) originally (that may have changed) I cant see the rego getting canceled for now

I found this on another forum. See attachment.
Sort of backs up that as it was an option the same model not fitted with air bags must have met ADR. So as long as (like you) all parts are replaced with the non air bag version you probably have a good case of getting away with it.
As far as them not catching up with the current owners, as soon as it becomes a compulsory recall they use rego / vin cross reference to locate owners.

Tom

[stumagoo]

I'm genuinely curious to understand how many forum members have / will stop driving their vehicles until the matter is resolved. I, for one, stopped driving my Pajero as soon as the ACCC notice was published. How many others have done the same, I wonder?

If I want to get to work and pay my rent etc --- I need my paj - I do normally have a second car bu that is up for some unscheduled maintenance so yes I am driving it -- albeit with no airbags as above.

of course I could go buy a cheap runaround toyota or mazda or suziki or whatever but it seems most of those are being recalled now as well

[dhula]

I wonder if its going to become a maintenance thing --- your air bags are over x years old it has to be replaced or the rego will be stopped

There used to be info in user manuals for some cars/4wd's that said something along the lines of - Once your car gets to 10 years old it is recommended that your airbags be replaced as they may not operate correctly after this age - or something to that effect anyways.

[aussieguy]

Pull the AirBag or SRS fuse, undo the 4-6 screws holding the dash pod, remove the offending led for SRS error... done. Now wait for official confirmation of the issue, not sure how legal this is but you can always overload the fuse outside of the vehicle and put it back as blown.
PS - I have a 2000 NL Escape not wide body.

[[TUFFTR]]

I upgraded to a magna wheel and airbag not long ago, bloody hell, will have to refit the old junk, drive in, have it changed, come home, pull it off, and refit the magna one again.
Nice.

[tomwithannl]

I upgraded to a magna wheel and airbag not long ago, bloody hell, will have to refit the old junk, drive in, have it changed, come home, pull it off, and refit the magna one again.
Nice.

That is only IF Mitsubishi decides to have the replacement bags manufactured. Legaly they don't have too ------Just offer a buy back. Time will tell!

This is from the ACCC website.

What are manufacturers doing to address the issue?
Affected manufacturers are offering to buyback vehicles or are providing alternative transportation for those owners who choose to wait for parts to be manufactured. Not all affected manufacturers intend to manufacture replacements parts.


Tom