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ACCC launches Federal Court action against Mercedes for downplaying Takata airbag dangers

Mercedes-Benz is being taken to the Federal Court by Australia’s top consumer watchdog for downplaying the dangers – and risk of death – of potentially defective Takata airbags.


Australia’s top consumer watchdog is taking legal action against Mercedes-Benz after claiming the German car giant downplayed the deadly risks of potentially defective Takata airbags during customer service phone calls.

Mercedes-Benz is accused of minimising the risk of serious injury or death from faulty Takata airbags when speaking with vehicle owners who contacted its customer service centre.

This is despite the fact, by that time in Australia, there had been at least one fatality (in a Honda) and one serious injury (in a Toyota) involving Takata airbags. Later, faulty Takata airbags in BMW cars would also be suspected of being linked to a death and a serious injury in Australia.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) alleges between July 2018 and March 2020 Mercedes-Benz “contravened the Takata compulsory recall notice by minimising the risks associated with defective Takata airbags”.

The ACCC alleges on “at least 73 occasions” Mercedes-Benz customer service staff told consumers by phone or email the recall was “a precaution; that it was still okay (or safe) to drive vehicles that were over six years old; or there had been no incidents, accidents, injuries or deaths caused by (certain Takata) airbags, either in Mercedes-Benz vehicles, or at all.”

In a media statement the ACCC said: “We allege that Mercedes-Benz exposed consumers to the risks of serious injury or death because it used language which minimised these risks, and gave the impression that the recall was precautionary and that there was no urgency in having the airbags replaced.”

For example, the ACCC alleges, consumers were told by Mercedes-Benz customer service representatives: “The reason we’re in this recall is more of a precautionary measure and an ease of mind for our customers.”

In another example shared by the ACCC, a Mercedes-Benz call centre representative reportedly said: “You are still okay to drive your vehicle up until the point of completion of this recall, and that’s due to the fact that the (Beta-type of Takata airbag) hasn’t shown any faults.”

However, the ACCC noted, “it is not correct (for Mercedes-Benz to say) there have been no incidents. In fact, there have been incidents in Australia and overseas involving (Beta-type Takata) airbags including, in Australia, one incident resulting in a fatality and another resulting in very serious injuries to the driver.”

The ACCC says it is also aware of reported mis-deployments overseas of Takata airbags fitted in Mercedes vehicles.

Revealing the scope of the ACCC’s resources when investigating suspected corporate wrong-doing, the watchdog appears to have been able to access phone recordings and email exchanges between customer service staff and Mercedes owners.

The ACCC said another typical communication by Mercedes-Benz allegedly said: “We've not actually had any problems with our airbags but we are recalling them for customer peace of mind anyway.”

Under Australian law, the compulsory Takata recall notice required affected vehicle manufacturers to “communicate with consumers in a way that emphasised the danger of the Takata airbags, particularly the risk of serious injury or death from mis-deployment of the airbag inflator,” says the ACCC. “It also required (car companies) to draw attention to the urgency of having airbags replaced.”

The ACCC alleges between July 2018 and March 2020 Mercedes-Benz Australia contravened the Takata compulsory recall notice by “minimising the risks associated with defective Takata airbags and failing to use attention-capturing, high-impact language to avoid consumers ignoring recall notices.”

The ACCC says it is seeking “declarations, pecuniary penalties, an order requiring a product recall compliance program, and costs.”

In a media statement, ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said: “The Takata airbag compulsory recall was commenced in Australia because of the risk of mis-deployment of defective Takata airbags in millions of vehicles, which could result in serious injury or death to drivers and passengers, even in relatively minor accidents.”

The Takata recall was the biggest of its type globally, impacting more than 100 million vehicles. 

It was the first compulsory recall for motor vehicles in Australia – and the biggest vehicle recall in Australian history, affecting more than four million Takata airbags in close to  three million vehicles.

A statement issued by Mercedes-Benz Australia said the company has “co-operated with the ACCC throughout its investigation and has taken steps to improve its internal systems and call centre operations to address ACCC concerns.”

Further, Mercedes-Benz Australia added: “The recall process overseen by the ACCC did not require affected Mercedes-Benz vehicles to be off the road or owners to cease driving them until the repair was undertaken.”

“As the recall notice did not require Mercedes-Benz owners to cease driving their vehicles,” the statement continued, “Mercedes-Benz Australia does not understand how saying an owner could continue to drive their vehicle could be a breach of the recall notice.”

Mercedes-Benz says it has identified or replaced Takata airbags in 97.7 per cent of affected vehicles in Australia.

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Joshua Dowling

Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, spending most of that time working for The Sydney Morning Herald (as motoring editor and one of the early members of the Drive team) and News Corp Australia. He joined CarAdvice / Drive in 2018, and has been a World Car of the Year judge for more than 10 years.

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