airbag inflator module Archives

Takata airbag module recall – 2,784 units of Honda CR-V and Accord also affected

The Takata airbag matter may have quietened down after many years of frantic efforts by many car companies to get owners of affected vehicles to have the dangerously flawed airbag inflator replaced. Nevertheless, with millions of vehicles affected – the largest ever recall exercise in history – there are still vehicles out there which have not had the crucial replacement done.

Honda Malaysia was among the companies which was very pro-active and should be commended for its strong commitment and efforts. And it has not stopped trying to make sure that every single affected vehicle has its airbag inflator replaced. Of course, a 100% score is probably impossible but it should be close to that achievement.

The company now has identified another 2,784 units of Honda vehicles which also need to be recalled as a preventive measure to carry out the replacement of the driver’s side airbag inflator. These vehicles are the 1999 model year Accord and 2000 model year CR-V. All currently sold models are not affected.

Warranty ended but replacement free
Yes, they are pretty old models, which goes to show how far back the problem went. Fortunately, the manufacturers have not dismissed the matter as being something ’beyond the warranty period’ and have taken the necessary action even over 20 years after the vehicle was sold. This is, after all, literally a matter of life and death.

In case you have forgotten what the fatal flaw was, it was related to the inflator module for the airbag system. In certain cases where inflation was triggered, the internal pressure – already very high – would become critically high and break the module. This would send sharp metal pieces shooting at the driver or front passenger, some cases causing serious injuries that led to death.

So it’s a very, very serious problem that needed to be fixed. While there were incidents, some fatal, all over the world, Honda Malaysia says that it has no report in Malaysia of any incidence or injury caused by the Takata driver front airbag for these two particular models.

As before, the owners of the affected will be informed via notification letters. They will be asked to contact any authorized Honda dealer to make an appointment to make the replacement (subject to parts availability).

Current owners may not be known
However, one problem that could be faced is whether the current owners of the vehicles get the recall letters. As the vehicles are already 20 years old, ownership is likely to have changed and Honda Malaysia may not have the contact details of the current owner. And the original owner who receives the letter may also not know who has the vehicle now, so the latter can’t be forwarded.

Honda Malaysia hopes that members of the public who have relatives or friends owning these two models can help to make them aware so they can contact Honda Malaysia for assistance in getting the replacement inflator module. All parts and labour related to this recall will be borne by the company.

Owners of who are unsure if their vehicle is affected can obtain information by calling Honda Toll Free number at 1-800-88-2020 or visit the Honda Malaysia Product Recall page to check their vehicle status.

Honda Malaysia also wishes to remind the public that there are Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) introduced during the Movement Control Order (MCO) which are still in force nationwide. To protect the well-being of customers and Honda personnel, the company requests customers to make an appointment in advance and adhere to the SOPs when they are at the service centre.

Recalled vehicles being recalled again. **Click here to read more**.

Proton appeals to 717 Perdana owners to bring their cars in for urgent airbag module replacement

Like many other carmakers that had Takata airbag systems installed in their vehicles, Proton has been trying to get owners to bring their cars – restricted only to the Perdana model – to the service centre for a replacement. The Takata airbag issue has been ongoing since 2013 with millions of vehicles recalled worldwide.

Replacements in stalled in 87.5% of affected cars
Proton issued its recall to Perdana owners in January 2019 and since then, the carmaker says it has replaced the defective inflator modules on the airbag system of the front passenger side in 87.5% or 5,625 units of the total of 6,342 units affected as of August 18, 2020. It is appealing to owners of the remaining Perdanas to bring their cars to an authorised Proton service centre as soon as possible to make the replacement.

Proton reassures its customers that other Proton models are not affected as they use airbags supplied by a different vendor.

Affected cars built from 2012 – end August 2018
The cars affected are those which were built from 2012 until the end of August 2018. They had originally been fitted with airbag systems that had inflator modules which were known to explode due to over-pressure during the inflation process. This would result in a break-up of the module and sharp metal parts would be shot towards the front passenger. Serious injuries were a high possibility, with deaths also having occurred in some cases.

Actually, Proton initially did not issue a recall as it had information that indicated that the Perdana, though being adapted from the Honda Accord which was subject to recall, was not affected. At that time, the volume of new Perdanas sold was around 3,000 units. Responding to a query by this writer in June 2016, Proton said that they had consulted with Honda as well as conducted crash tests of the new Perdana in Spain in May 2016 and ‘no abnormalities to the function of the airbags were found’.

“Thanks to the joint efforts of our staff and dealers, Proton managed to contact our customers and have performed the airbag inflator replacement exercise,” said Roslan Abdullah, CEO of Proton Edar. Encik Roslan was a key figure in managing the recall exercise when he was COO at Honda Malaysia which carried out the most extensive airbag recall campaign in Malaysia.

Contact details may not be updated
“The safety of our customers is of the utmost importance. However, we have not been able to connect with all affected owners due to obsolete or incomplete contact information. Therefore, we would like to urge all Proton Perdana owners who have not had their passenger airbag inflators replaced to call our service centres to book an appointment as soon as possible. Replacement of the inflator will take approximately one hour and will be performed free of charge,” he said, adding that cars built after August 31 2018 are not affected.

*Authorised Proton service centres nationwide can replace the affected airbag inflator module which is on the passenger side.*

As with other carmakers, contacting present owners of the cars is not always possible because ownership may have changed. Proton Edar may have only the contact details of the first owner who bought the car and unless a new owner informed Proton Edar, they would be unaware and can only send a notification to the address of the original owner.

If you are uncertain whether your Perdana is affected, you can call Proton’s Customer Care at 1-800-888-398 or write to customercare@proton.com.

Expansion of Takata airbag inflator module recall list for Nissan vehicles in Malaysia

Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd (ETCM), together with Tan Chong Ekspres Auto Servis Centre (TCEAS), have announced an expansion of the ongoing recall campaign relating to the Takata Airbag Inflator module. The campaign, which is also undertaken by many other carmakers around the world, covers the Driver and Front Passenger Airbag Inflator module.

After investigations conducted by Nissan Motor, it has been found that there are approximately 11,971 units of Nissan vehicles in Malaysia which are affected and require replacement of the module. The affected models are listed in the chart below:

Current models not affected
ETCM stresses that other new Nissan models currently on sale at authorised Nissan outlets are not affected by this exercise, including the NP300 Navara which was launched in Malaysia in November 2015.

Customers of the affected vehicles will be notified by letter through TCEAS. They are advised to call the nearest TCEAS outlet for an appointment as soon as possible. Selected TCEAS outlets have extended operating hours and are open every day of the year, making it easier for customers to service their vehicles on weekends and public holidays, as well as to alleviate capacity surge during this recall campaign.

Nissan Navara NP300 — *Current Navara (NP300) is not affected by the recall*

If you don’t get any notification
ETCM/TCEAS also understand that there may be some owners of affected vehicles who may not receive the notification letter as they may not be the original owners. Their contact details might not be with TCEAS and therefore they should contact a TCEAS outlet for clarification. Customers may also all the Nissan Customer Care Centre toll-free line at 1-800-88-3838 for assistance or visit www.nissan.com.my (click on ‘Owners’ tab followed by ‘Recall Campaign’) to find out if their Nissan vehicle is involved in this recall campaign.

Nissan Takata recall Malaysia (1) — *Full list of Nissan vehicles recalled in Malaysia. These refer only to vehicles assembled or imported and distributed by ETCM.*

Don’t ignore this very serious matter!
This being a very serious matter that can result in injury or death (if the replacement of the module is not carried out), action must be taken quickly. As at June 2019, TCEAS has completed 99,670 vehicles or 56% of Takata airbag inflator module replacements. All costs relating to this recall (labour and replacement parts) will be borne by the company.

Additionally, ETCM is also providing Takata Airbag Inflator Replacement for affected Nissan vehicles during Nissan Test Drive Carnival over 2 weekends of August 17/18, and August 24/25 at selected ETCM showrooms across the nation.

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