Story out of Abbotsford, BC:
An Abbotsford, B.C., senior citizen is frustrated by a year-long wait to get her Toyota Corolla repaired, with no estimated date for a fix in sight. Barb Fleming's vehicle is part of the worldwide recall of defective Takata airbags that first started to unfold three years ago. Approximately 4.3 million airbags in Canada are affected.
Last July, Fleming received a recall notice in the mail from Toyota Canada, warning her not to let people ride next to her in the front, because a defective passenger seat airbag could rupture and shoot metal shrapnel, resulting "in injury or death to vehicle occupants." Since receiving the recall notice, Fleming has been waiting for a second notice from her automaker, informing her she can get her vehicle repaired.
"I feel like I'm driving Miss Daisy,'" says Fleming, trying to be lighthearted about what is actually a huge inconvenience. "It makes me not want to drive my car," she says. "This is really affecting my life."
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was the most forthcoming, saying it had 400,000 airbags affected in Canada, and that one-third had been brought in for service and fixed. The company says it has plenty of replacement airbags on hand, and is urging customers to bring in their vehicles if they are on the recall list. The automaker is also offering a free rental program for affected customers.
Barb Fleming says it would be nice to have a rental vehicle, but mostly she wants a new airbag for the car she bought new in 2007 and has lovingly maintained.
"I'm an old bag, who wants an airbag!" she says in exasperation. Cont.
Story from - CBC News
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