Not many affected car owners responded to Mazda airbag recall
These Mazda customers are still driving around with possibly defective airbags
An estimated 28 000 Mazdas in South Africa are affected by the recall due to faulty airbag inflators.
These include Mazda2, Mazda6 and RX-8 vehicles produced between 2002 and 2014.
Since the first recall announcement, Mazda Southern Africa (MSA) has urged all Mazda customers with possibly affected vehicles to take their vehicles to their nearest Mazda dealer for airbag inflator replacement.
With a response rate at about nine per cent, Mazda is concerned that the majority of customers have not come in for replacement fittings.
These Mazda customers are still driving around with possibly defective airbags.
Mazda customers have three options to check if their vehicle is affected:
• Mazda website – www.mazda.co.za/recall and enter the unique VIN number
• Mazda SA Customer Care Centre – 0860 983 000 / recall@mazda.co.za
• Or simply visit the nearest Mazda dealership.
The Takata airbag recall is a massive recall affecting a number of manufacturers and millions of vehicles globally. Mazda is not the only brand affected.
The recall is due to an inappropriate production condition and storage of the propellant in the inflator. The density of the propellant may be insufficient in the inflator.
This might cause the propellant to ignite abnormally at the time of airbag deployment and potentially result in extremely high inner pressure of the inflator, causing a rupture of the inflator case.
In a case of a rupture, the airbag might not deploy as designed and may lead to injury. No incident has been reported in South Africa and Mazda are conducting this recall as a precautionary measure.
