The Bahamas has not been affected by an updated recall of Toyota vehicles throughout Latin America and the Caribbean amid an ongoing airbag recall crisis, according to President of the Bahamas Motor Dealers Association (BMDA) Fred Albury.
Speaking with Guardian Business, Albury said that while he had received clarification for vehicles imported to The Bahamas through Toyota's office in Japan, he had not heard anything from any other automakers regarding defective Takata airbags and was "waiting to see what the next step is".
Automotive regulators have stated that high humidity could cause widely used Takata airbag propellants to explode, effectively launching metal shrapnel throughout the car cabin. Over 11 million vehicles have been recalled in the United States alone due to the ongoing safety crisis. At least five deaths have been attributed to the faulty airbags.
Albury, who also owns Executive Motors, said that the Toyota notice focused on its Yaris and RAV4 models. Of the 57,000 vehicles marked for recall, 550 were exported to the Latin American and Caribbean markets. The bulk of these vehicles were exported to Chile.
However, Albury acknowledged that gray market vehicles, those vehicles legally imported into The Bahamas from another country via dealers outside of the manufacturers' official distribution system, could be at risk.
"It is a possibility that they might be affected. If there are any concerns, persons could forward VIN numbers, year and model to see if it's an affected vehicle," said Albury.
Although Caribbean countries affected by the Toyota recall included Antigua, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, Albury stressed that none had been exported to The Bahamas through licensed dealers.
Chrysler, Ford, and Honda have all expanded their recall efforts in the past week. Despite the significant expansion to include hundreds of thousands of potentially affected vehicles, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated that the measures were still insufficient.
Takata has been criticized for its response to the recall fiasco after the auto supplier continued to delay expanding the mass recall on its airbags. In response to Takata's hesitation, Honda announced that it would expand its own recall efforts throughout North America, and offer replacements from other suppliers.
Rick Lowe, operations manager at Nassau Motor Company (NMC), told Guardian Business in October that he had not received recall notices for Bahamian vehicles from Honda manufacturers. To date, Honda has recalled 6.2 million vehicles, more than any other affected vehicle manufacturers.
Full lists of affected vehicles are available online. Both Lowe and Albury have suggested that concerned customers should contact their dealerships or check their risk online.
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