Motorists in north given 18 months to replace Takata airbags

Motorists in the north have been given until the end of June next year to replace potentially faulty airbags manufactured by Japanese company Takata, the north’s ‘transport minister’ Erhan Arikli said on Monday.

He told a press conference that Takata airbags “cause accidents not only in the TRNC but all over the world, causing injuries and deaths”, and added that the issue is talked about more in the north than elsewhere.

“The reasons for this are the fact that there are many cars of Japanese origin in the country, that a recall could not be enacted properly because the country is not recognised, and that the risk of explosion is higher due to the hot climate,” he said.

He added that owners of vehicles manufactured between 2000 and 2019 should “enter their vehicle’s personal numbers on the internet or on the website of vehicle brands” to discover whether their vehicles are at risk.

Those whose vehicles are at risk, he said, should contact either the recognised dealer of their vehicle’s manufacturer or the north’s ‘transport ministry’ with their car’s chassis number for further steps to be taken.

Once an airbag has been replaced, the dealership or the north’s traffic department will issue a certificate, with vehicles identified as being in the “at risk” group for which certificates are not submitted to be banned from the north’s roads after June 30 next year.

The issue of safety regarding airbags manufactured by Takata stems from a fault which occurs when they are exposed to high levels of heat or humidity. In those conditions, they have a tendency to explode when released.

This explosion shoots the airbag’s metal inflator outwards and in the direction of the person it was designed to protect, potentially causing further injuries or, in some cases, death.

Airbags exploding in this manner have caused three deaths in Cyprus, one of which, that of Turkish national Ali Osman Bayram last year, occurred in the north.

Previously, Greek Cypriots Styliani Giorgalli and Kyriakos Oxinos were both killed by incidents involving Takata airbags, while Alexandros Lougos has so far undergone 21 surgeries to restore his face after being involved in an accident in 2017.

In total, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades had in February last year decreed the recall of over 80,000 cars which were fitted with Takata airbags, giving motorists an eight-month deadline to have their airbags replaced.

That eight-month deadline expired in October last year, with vehicles beginning to be immobilised thereafter.

Meanwhile, a committee was formed in the spring to investigate the history of faulty airbags in Cyprus, which filed a report to Attorney-General George Savvides.

The report stated that the four people who served as transport minister between 2013 and 2023 – Efthymios Flourentzou, Marios Demetriades, Vasiliki Anastasiadou, and incumbent Famagusta district governor Yiannis Karousos – “bear heavy responsibility” for the issue of faulty airbags.