The Takata airbag saga continues to drag on with no end in sight, after the recent announcement that 20,000 vehicles involved in the Takata recall have been reclassified as ‘critical’.

The Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) have reiterated their urgent call to all Australian motorists to check the status of their vehicle on the industry website, www.ismyairbagsafe.com.au.

AADA CEO, James Voortman, said AADA would continue to support Dealers in addressing the issue.

“Our members are committed to ensuring that the vehicles their customers drive are safe and well maintained. Every day, all over the country, Dealers perform expert repairs and servicing that keeps people mobile and their cars running safely and efficiently. The mandatory recall for Takata airbags is a very serious safety issue and we encourage all motorists affected to visit their Dealer and have their airbag replaced.

Most of the 20,000 vehicles listed as ‘critical’ are produced by BMW, Holden, Honda, Mitsubishi and Toyota. To date, 3.36 million airbags in 2.41 million vehicles have had the problem fixed by Australian dealerships.

More than eight million Australians have used the industry website www.ismyairbagsafe.com.au to check if their vehicle is fitted with a faulty Takata airbag.

The FCAI says this figure represents nearly half of the 17.8 million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles registered in the country. Of the eight million, almost 1.3 million vehicles have been identified as faulty.

FCAI Chief Executive, Tony Weber, said the website traffic was a strong result since the website launched in July 2018.

Initially more than three million vehicles were affected by the Takata airbags recall, but since then the number has been reduced to approximately 373,000.

At least 29 deaths worldwide have been linked to the rupturing of faulty Takata air bag inflators, including two in Australia.

The defect led Takata to file for bankruptcy protection in June 2017.