HARARE – In a troubling development for vehicle owners, the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe on Tuesday issued a notice alerting the public to a massive recall of cars equipped with defective Takata airbag inflators which has already been linked to 22 deaths and over 180 injuries worldwide.
In a statement, CCZ chief executive Rosemary Mpofu said the affected vehicles span model years 2002 to 2015, with over 100 million Takata airbag inflators having been recalled worldwide, Zimbabwe included, by more than 20 different automakers as of January this year.
Zimbabwe finds itself on the front lines of this unfolding safety crisis as the country has long been a prime destination for used vehicles exported from Japan, with an estimated 70-80 percent of the Zimbabwean automobile fleet consisting of secondhand imports.
Mpofu said the propellant in the Takata PSDI-5 inflators can become unstable over time, especially in conditions of high humidity, heat, and temperature as this can cause its body to rupture upon deployment, sending sharp metal fragments hurtling towards vehicle occupants.
“The situation is particularly concerning for consumers in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region, which encompasses much of eastern and southern Africa, as the area sees high importation of used vehicles.
“The COMESA Competition Commission is urging affected drivers to contact their national consumer protection agencies to determine if their vehicle is part of the recall and what steps to take,” said Mpofu.
The affected vehicles include Toyota (models 2004-2005 Toyota RAV4s, 2003-2004 Corollas), Nissan (models 2002-2006 Nissan Sentra, 2002-2004 Nissan Pathfinders), Honda (models 2001-2002 Honda Accord, 2001-2002 Honda Civic, 2002 Honda CR-V, 2002 Honda Odyssey, 2003 Honda Pilot), Mazda (model 2006 Mazda B-Series), Ford (model 2006 Ford Rangers) and BMW (models 2000-2006 BMW 3 Series (E46) including M3 Certain 2000-2003 BMW 5 Series (E39) including M5 Certain 2000-2004 BMW X5). New Ziana
