Takata: 600,000 potentially deadly airbags still on the road

The latest ACCC figures show 3.2 million airbags (78.9 per cent) have been replaced during the Takata recall campaign, leaving 600,000 vehicles (14.8 per cent) on the road with Takata airbag inflators still fitted.

A further 6.3 per cent of vehicles originally included in the recall have been written off, scrapped or unregistered for more than two years, meaning they can't have their airbag replaced.

A combination of heat and humidity can make the propellant in Takata airbag inflators degrade over time. In an accident where the airbags deploy, metal fragments could shoot into the cabin, posing a serious risk of injury or death to passengers.

Older cars in hot, humid climates are most likely to be affected by the fault.

There are 24 reported deaths and more than 260 injuries from faulty inflators worldwide. One local motorist was killed by a Takata airbag in July 2017, while another was seriously injured in June of the same year.

Peak body for carmakers in Australia, the FCAI, last week announced it will ramp up its advertising campaign in an attempt to push the remaining 600,000 vehicle owners back to dealerships for a replacement inflator.

Toyota has replaced the most airbags of any brand, having fixed 448,111 cars, but still has 90,750 vehicles fitted with the faulty inflators on the road.

Mazda has the strongest completion rate having fixed 93.99 per cent of its affected vehicles, with Honda trailing slightly on 91.83 per cent. A full list manufacturers and their completion percentage is below: