Monday July 30, 2018
The mandatory safety recall, which was issued by the Australian Government earlier this year, requires that all affected Takata frontal airbags in Australia be replaced by 31 December 2020.
Our customers are our first priority, and, as a result of the Australian Government's mandatory recall of certain vehicles with frontal Takata airbag inflators, we will be conducting a staged recall of the affected vehicles between now and the end of 2020. We will contact owners to let them know when they should visit a dealer to have their Takata airbag inflator replaced, free of charge.
The first group of vehicles under active recall from 1 August include:
Owners of these vehicles will be contacted directly on an individual basis.
Anyone wishing to determine whether their vehicle is affected by the mandatory safety recall and, if so, the specific date from which their vehicle will be recalled, can use the VIN checkers available on the Volkswagen and ŠKODA websites. The websites also contains Volkswagen's and ŠKODA's respective approved Recall Initiation Schedules, which each outline more generally when each make, model and model year of affected Volkswagen and ŠKODA vehicles is scheduled to be recalled.
No Volkswagen or ŠKODA vehicles imported to Australia are equipped with "Alpha" airbags, which have been identified as posing the highest safety risk of all the recalled Takata airbags and must be recalled by manufacturers of vehicles containing those airbags immediately.
According to the Australian Government, the risk of a defective Takata airbag rupturing may arise between 6 and 25 years after it is installed in a vehicle. In areas of high heat and humidity, the risk of rupture may arise between 6 and 9 years.
This is why, for vehicles such as the affected Volkswagen and ŠKODA vehicles that do not have Alpha airbags, the recall will be conducted in a staged process between now and the end of 2020 having regard to the age of the vehicle (oldest first) and location (areas with high humidity will be given priority), in accordance with the approved Recall Initiation Schedules published on the Volkswagen and ŠKODA websites.
Volkswagen owners can find their nearest dealer by visiting https://au.volkswagen.com.au/find-dealer/ and can obtain more information about the recall by visiting our Takata recall webpage: https://www.volkswagen.com.au/en/about-volkswagen/airbag-recall.html
ŠKODA owners can find their nearest dealer by visiting http://dealers.skoda-auto.com/959/en-AU and can obtain more information about the recall by visiting our Takata recall webpage: https://au.skoda.com.au/airbag-safety-recall/.
Owners can also obtain more information about the recall by contacting our toll-free Recall Campaign Hotline on 1800 504 076, between 8.30 am and 8:00 pm Monday to Friday (AEST).
Paul Pottinger, General Manager Corporate Communications
Tel (02) 9695 6196 Mobile 0434 755 158
Kurt McGuiness, Public Relations and Brand Experience Manager
Tel (02) 9695 6198 Mobile 0413 135 334
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