Around 7,000 faulty airbags have been replaced so far since the government decreed the recall of over 80,000 cars at the beginning of February, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades said on Friday.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, he said that the speed at which airbags are replaced is expected to increase after the end of March, with more parts set to arrive on the island.

Earlier in the day, he had lamented that both Toyota and Mazda have insisted on continuing to charge motorists administrative fees to have their airbags replaced, telling business news website Stockwatch that Toyota currently charges €159 and Mazda charges €120 for the process.

He had initially intended to consider issuing a separate decree outlawing the levying of administrative charges but found that it had “become apparent that there is no legislation” which allows the government to issue such a decree.

“For this reason, we will not issue a decree, but we urge and call on distributors to avoid charges. This issue is serious for the government. Distributors must take part in this effort with the recall of all these vehicles and not burden people with this additional cost,” he said at the time

On Friday, also outlined the duties of the three-person committee created to investigate the history of faulty airbags in Cyprus, saying their terms of reference “reflect the questions raised by the problem”.

“There is a large number of vehicles with defective airbags of which owners are not aware, because their vehicles have been imported either from European countries or from third countries.

“Therefore, the terms of reference include questions such as why we have had such a large number of vehicles here for so many years without realising that they needed to be recalled,” he said.

Last week, he had said he believes all companies will be able to replace all the defective airbags which have been subject to recall within the eight-month timeframe set out in his decree.

“Mazda has ordered and expects to supply 4,000 airbags, but other companies are also placing orders with the aim of implementing the recalls,” he said.

He added that by the end of this week, the road transport department is expected to be able to collect and publish again the list of vehicles which are subject to recall, with that number set to “significantly” fall from the more than 80,000 which were recalled in the initial decree issued at the start of the month.

The issue of airbags stems from the production of faulty airbags manufactured by Japanese company Takata. The company’s airbags suffer a fault related to exposure to high levels of heat or humidity, which means they have a tendency to explode when released under such circumstances.

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.

Vafeades had at the start of February decreed the recall of over 80,000 cars which are fitted with potentially fatal Takata airbags, all of which are to be replaced over a period of eight months. Exactly 276 vehicles were immobilised immediately, and as such have had their road tax and MOT certificates rescinded.

Owners of recalled vehicles not on the list of 276 are entitled to use them without restrictions but are required to make an appointment with their car’s manufacturer’s Cyprus-based distributor within eight months to have their airbags replaced. Their road tax and MOT certificates remain valid.

The transport ministry “recommends” that those with recalled vehicles do not use them and use other vehicles and other methods of transport. However, there is no obligation for people to follow this recommendation, and motorists are not at risk of paying a fine for using their vehicles.

Motorists can check whether their vehicles have been subject to vehicles on the transport ministry’s website.

Vafeades said those who have had their vehicles’ airbags changed should contact the road transport department on [email protected], “so that we can remove them from the list”.

The issue of faulty Takata airbags has been ongoing for over two years, with it believed that the death of 24-year-old Kyriakos Oxinos in January 2023 was caused in part by a faulty airbag.

More recently, it is now believed that the death of 19-year-old Styliani Giorgalli in October may have been caused by a faulty Takata airbag.