Local vehicle dealers have little new information to shed on the recent, massive recall of vehicles due to possible faulty airbags.
Local vehicle dealers have little new information to shed on the recent, massive recall of vehicles due to possible faulty airbags.
Bosses at both Tarrabain Motors and OK Ford in Lac La Biche say their dealerships, as well as their corporate Canadian headquarters, are still awaiting specific information on which of their products may be included in the recent U.S. recall said to affect up to 11 automobile makes, including Ford.
“This recall was not driven by the car manufacturers, but by a supplier,” said OK Ford’ s Brad Musat, explaining that lack of specific information is because the recall item isn’ t a product the motor company creates. “Ford builds the engines and the transmissions, but other components, radios, locks, or airbags are made by other suppliers."
The recall of the airbags from Japanese car part manufacturer Takata already affects more than 34 million vehicles worldwide with more expected in Canada. Defects in the airbag are believed to be responsible for at least 100 incidents, including six deaths in the U.S.
Musat says in his 17 years at OK Ford, this is the first massive recall of airbags he is aware of.
Across town at Tarrabains, Tammy Tarrabain knows as much as Musat.
“We’ ve heard that it affects at least 11 vehicle brands,” she said, adding that Dodge, Chrysler products they sell are included on the recall list, “but nothing specific yet.”
So far, there haven’ t been a lot of local vehicle owners contacting the dealership about the issue.
“We had someone come in our store to ask about their vehicle. We asked them to call our customer service line.”
The customer service agents for Dodge products - at 1-800-465-2001 - will ask for the vehicle serial number in an attempt to confirm any recall.
The Ford of Canada Customer Relationship Centre can be reached toll free at 1-800-565-3673.
According to news reports, Toyota and Nissan brands have recalled more than 6.5 million vehicles worldwide, while Mazda and Mitsubishi Motors have announced worldwide recalls of 630,000 vehicles. Several Canadian media outlets have recently posted stories about the difficulties Canadian vehicle owners are having as they try to determine if their vehicles are included in the recall list.
As of POST publication deadline, there were many sources of information on the recall. POST staff have shared a CBC.ca link on the Lac La Biche POST facebook page.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/takata-airbag-recall-involves-millions-of-vehicles-in-canada-1.3080433
