Major vehicle recall in Sri Lanka over faulty airbags

COLOMBO (News 1st); Three leading local car dealers have decided to recall a large number of vehicles over faulty airbags and for upgrades.

The Commissioner General of the Department of Motor Traffic Nishantha Anurudhdha Weerasinghe told News 1st that discussions are underway with all other dealers to rectify the faulty airbag issue.

Millions of vehicles ranging from a variety of makes and models across the world are being recalled due to faulty airbags made by a Japanese auto parts maker.

The Commissioner General of the Department of Motor Traffic Nishantha Anurudhdha Weerasinghe told News 1st that vehicles that fall under the recall category are currently in use in Sri Lanka.

He said that a special meeting will take place on Tuesday (14) with local car dealers to address the issue.

It has now been confirmed that vehicles with defective airbags that can increase the risk of injury, fail to protect occupants, or cause a driver to crash have been sold across the world, and these include Sedans and SUBs.

Although vehicles belonging to the relevant make and models have been recalled overseas to rectify the issue, in Sri Lanka, those vehicles continue to operate in the streets.

The Commissioner General of the Department of Motor Traffic Nishantha Anurudhdha Weerasinghe said that local vehicle importers have decided to recall 47 vehicle models with faulty airbags to rectify the issue.

These include the following:

Honda: 33 Models from 9 vehicle types
Mitsubishi: 8 Models from 3 vehicle types
Toyota: 6 Models

However, across the world, over 100 vehicle models have been recalled to rectify the airbag issue, and they include the following:

Mazda: 7 vehicle categories
Benz: 10 vehicle categories
Mitsubishi: 6 vehicle categories
Subaru: 5 vehicle categories
Toyota: 13 vehicle categories
Volkswagen: 7 vehicle categories
Audi: 19 vehicle categories
Lexus: 7 vehicle categories
Honda: 16 vehicle categories

In addition, vehicles belonging to 7 Honda categories have been classified as high risk.