Consumer trust in the national motor industry plummeted to its lowest-ever ebb in 2019 on the back of the long-running and deadly Takata airbag recall, Volkswagen's record $125 million emissions fine, and a new safety risk which emerged for some owners just two days before Christmas.
As tens of thousands of Australian motorists prepared to hit the roads for their summer holidays, impetus is gathering for a mandatory national vehicle buyback after the car industry recently revealed another 78,000 vehicles affected by life-threatening faulty airbags.
The latest airbag issues affect 78,000 Audi, BMW and, as disclosed on December 23, Ford Courier utes.
Inside the Federal department responsible for assessing whether the latest risk could extend to five other manufacturers, there's mounting evidence of a government taking a soft approach to vehicle safety.
"The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development, supported by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, continues discussions with representatives of Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Toyota to finalise satisfactory terms for voluntary recalls by these suppliers," the ACCC said in a statement.
This leaves the public unaware of the degree of risk they face at a time when airbag propellants slowly degrade under hot and humid conditions.
These tens of thousands of airbags, capable of killing the driver and/or passenger when misdeployment sends shards of metal out from the dashboard or the steering wheel, are in addition to the 332,000 vehicles still involved in the national Takata airbag recall and which remain unresolved.
In a recent statement, the ACCC revealed it is "currently in the process of urgently negotiating recalls with the six manufacturers who have not yet commenced voluntarily recalling the affected vehicles, including finalising remedies for consumers".
"If the other six voluntary recalls are not finalised in the near future, or any recalls are not satisfactorily conducted by manufacturers, the ACCC may recommend alternative options, including a compulsory recall, to the Minister," it said.
As recently as October this year, the ACCC warned of 20,000 Holden, BMW, Honda Mitsubishi and Toyota vehicles in which the risk level was "critical" and the cars should not be driven.
"Under this urgent recall, drivers are entitled to have their vehicles towed to the dealership by the manufacturer and have the airbag replaced for free. Drivers may be entitled to a loan vehicle while the airbag is replaced," the ACCC said.
In order to protect its corporate reputation, last month BMW Australia broke ranks with the industry and began buying back cars affected by the deadly airbags. Several overseas fatalities have been reported on BMW 3-Series models built between November 1997 and June 2000.
The BMW action reportedly sent shockwaves through the industry's affected membership, which thought that its Canberra-based national body, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), was "managing" the issue.
So far in Australia as a result of the Takata airbag issue, one person has confirmed to have died - a Honda owner in Sydney, with the case still before the NSW Coroner - and a woman driving a Toyota RAV4 in Darwin. She was left permanently brain-damaged when a shard of metal entered her skull.
Consumer confusion and a lack of corporate transparency, compounded by the latest recall which affects a new series of vehicles, has dominated the recall campaign.
The latest recall affects airbags using a different type of propellant - known as NADI-5AT - to the ammonium nitrate previously identified.
Troubling for owners now is a hushed-up report that an Australian BMW with a NADI-5AT propelled airbag already claimed one life in September this year.
Details about this incident appear to have been deliberately suppressed which has led to further consumer distrust around what the industry and its richly-funded lobby group are prepared to disclose, and that which it wants to keep secret.
Meanwhile as the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries offered no fresh information, affected car companies are already calculating how much a buyback would cost and how it would be structured.
Despite all of the vehicles being second-hand, companies would not want to be involved in disputes over used car values with owners and would look to the ACCC, which has little or no expertise in this area, to provide some guidance.
Meanwhile, in late December Volkswagen Australia was ordered to pay $125 million in penalties after failing to comply with Australian diesel emissions standards in a breach described by ACCC Chairman Rod Sims as "blatant and deliberate".
Volkswagen admitted to a two-mode system, one which produced lower emissions in the laboratory and another which when driven on the road, switched to a second mode and produced higher emissions.
