Australia's consumer watchdog issued an urgent safety alert on Friday for "critical" Takata airbags following warnings from major car manufacturers including BMW and Honda.
"The ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) is urging consumers not to drive these cars at all until the airbag has been replaced," the regulator said in a statement.
Car makers including Mitsubishi and Toyota warned that 20,000 vehicles currently under recall for defective Takata airbags are now classified as "critical".
The ACCC is urging consumers not to drive these cars at all until the airbag has been replaced. Source: Getty
The ACCC added that 425,971 vehicles are still to be rectified under the compulsory recall.
In the statement, ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said, "a Takata airbag misdeployment can result in death or serious injury, even in a minor collision".
"Cars with airbags listed as 'critical' should not be driven," Ms Rickard said.
"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.
"We encourage all drivers to check if their vehicle is affected, even if they have checked before, and to act immediately to have their airbag replaced."
According to the ACCC, as of 31 August, around 3.36 million airbags (82.4 per cent of total airbags supplied) have now been replaced in 2.41 million vehicles (some vehicles have a driver and passenger airbag).
