Wellington man has struggled for past seven months to get potentially deadly airbag fixed

By Carla Penman

A Wellington man has struggled for the past seven months to get his potentially deadly airbag fixed.

Vineet Poddar did his own research and found out his Nissan Fuga 2005 had been caught up in the major international Takata airbag recall in September last year.

Poddar has shown NZH Focus the email exchange he's had with Nissan and Turners since finding out.

Nissan confirmed his vehicle was under recall then but that he should "check with [his] selling dealer or agent or importer as to the recall repair status".

So, Poddar went to Turners hoping to get the issue sorted.

He says he was shocked when he received an email saying: "Not one failure has been recorded outside of the US so you are probably at least fifty times more likely to win a Lotto Powerball jackpot then have an airbag fail."

Turners chief executive Todd Hunter says his employee's comment was "well meaning" but he would've said it differently.

He adds in hindsight they should have done more to get Nissan - the manufacturer responsible - to repair the airbag.

For the past seven months, Poddar has been trying to sort his airbag, which has been linked to 22 deaths and 230 injuries worldwide.

He's been constantly toing and froing between Nissan and Turners, and is yet to get it repaired.

"I have been going back and forth between them and no one is actually taking up the responsibility to fix the air bag."

Poddar contacted Nissan two days after the Government issued a compulsory recall of the Takata airbag, affecting more than 50,000 vehicles.

He was left shocked and confused when he was then told "that all outstanding recalls that have ever been raised for your vehicle have all been repaired."

Amid the confusion, he's been scared to drive his car, especially with his toddler inside.

"It's actually quite scary at times to drive the car, especially on the highway because you're going 100 kilometres per hour and if God forbid something happens, airbag is your insurance you know, and if that actually doesn't deploy to save you then you are gone."

Nissan is yet to respond to NZH Focus requests for comment.