Dealers are legally obligated to replace faulty Takata airbags free of charge, the director of the road transport department, Andreas Louka, said on Wednesday. This comes as the consumer protection association investigates public complaints about surcharges.

Thousands of vehicles are expected to be recalled under a parliamentary bill likely to be approved on Thursday. The bill outlines procedures for removing from circulation vehicles with unresolved recall issues.

The Motor and Electric Vehicles Importers Association appealed to the House to make the necessary amendments making the recalls of vehicles feasible.

It said passing the bill as is will cause insurmountable problems, with many cars at risk of being immobilised for a long period of time due to tight timeframes.

The association said the bill did not provide for priority to be given to recalls linked to the safety of vehicles, did not guarantee the timely dissemination of information on recalls and was demanding an impossible five-day timeframe for issuing certificates for every registration and transfer of ownership, as well as technical inspections.

“Recalls of all sorts happen on a daily basis by manufacturers on the Rapex database,” Louka told CyBC.

Under the new regulations in future, vehicle owners will be required to provide a signed declaration confirming their car is free of recall issues, either at the time of purchase or during MOT inspections, Louka explained.

In the meantime, most companies are complying with checking and replacement of faulty airbags at no cost, as is required, he said.

However, complaints about additional fees, such as “administrative costs” ranging from €120 to €500, and confusion for drivers of cars imported from third countries, such as Japan, remain unresolved.

One reader contacted the Cyprus Mail noting the large number of vehicles originating from Japan that may be subject to the Takata airbag recall.

“I have one such vehicle and when I contacted Nissan Cyprus they had no information regarding any [vehicles] from Japan. To help myself I went on Nissan Japan’s website and found out via the chassis [VIN] number that my vehicle needs to have the Takata recall done on the passenger airbag,” the reader said.

While the road transport department had published a list of affected vehicles on its website, other users had reported that it is not exhaustive. The head of the transport department, meanwhile, advised owners of cars imported from third countries to contact their dealers directly.

“The manufacturer is clearly obligated by law to undertake adjustive measures [towards dealers] and the dealers were [supposed] to get informed of recalls,” Louka said, addressing the matter.

Citing one positive example, he mentioned the Geo. Pavlides dealership, as a case where the dealer had proactively initiated the recall of Mazda Demios, imported from outside the EU, for faulty passenger-side airbags.

The around 11,181 Mazda Demios imported second hand are listed by registration number here on the transport department’s website.

The cars in question had been in circulation or had been declared immobilised on November 14.

The department head also urged the public to submit correct and updated personal information to the transport department online or in person, in order for the latter to be enabled to send out recall notices.

Regarding the timeline for airbag replacements, Louka stated that manufacturers are working at “breakneck speed” to meet global demand.

“[Domestic] dealers may need to hire additional staff to expedite replacements,” he said.

The upcoming bill would mean that if the new part is not installed three months from the receipt of a recall notice, the car’s MOT is automatically rescinded.

If the recalled component is one which creates a serious danger, as in the case of the Takata airbags, the car is immediately immobilised, as soon as the recall notice is sent out.

Louka acknowledged that some vehicle owners might face lengthy waits for replacement parts due to the global scale of the recall issue. The transport ministry is exploring social support measures and reviewing best practices from other EU member states to address these delays.