Here’s where to check if your Mitsubishi is on the recall list

Recall comes on the back of a similar undertaking by alliance partner Nissan in March.

Mitsubishi Motors South Africa has announced a recall of certain versions of the Triton, Pajero and long discontinued Lancer as a result of the global Takata airbag scandal.

Following a similar appeal by alliance partner Nissan in March, Mitsubishi, in a short statement on its website said while it had received no complaints from owners yet, it had decided to initiate the recall voluntarily as a “proactive measure to ensure that all the necessary precautions are taken to guarantee the quality, reliability and safety of our products”.

Concerned owners of the vehicles in question can telephone 011 552 6000 or email Mitsubishi at campaigns@mitsubish-sa.co.za. Alternatively, a VIN locater has been set up that requires owners to enter their vehicle’s VIN number on the official Mitsubishi website by clicking here.

Along with Nissan and its luxury Infiniti division, Mazda, Toyota and Lexus, Mitsubishi has been hard hit by the recall, albeit not as severely as Honda and its luxury offshoot Acura that resulted in Takata filing for bankruptcy four year ago.

An estimated 67-million vehicles worldwide are now known to have been affected by the malfunctioning airbag ignitor with the death toll having risen to the 28, the most recent in the US involving a 2002 Honda Accord.

According to Autoblog, the 19th fatality in the country and 16th involving a Honda, in the state of South Carolina in January, was attributed to the malfunctioning inflator that exploded on impact. No further details of the accident or indeed the driver were provided.

So far, no reports of fatalities attributed to the airbags have emerged in South Africa.