Nearly 18,000 vehicles could be taken off the road if their owners don't move quickly to replace faulty airbags.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) recalled more than 80,000 vehicles with faulty Takata airbags in April last year describing them as a "significant safety hazard".
But only 62,000 have had the faulty airbags replaced.
Now the agency is saying vehicles that don't get replacement airbags will be stopped from getting a warrant of fitness.
"Under the provisions of the compulsory recall for Takata Alpha airbags announced last year, all affected vehicles are legally required to be remedied by December 31, 2019," says Kane Patena, NZTA's regulatory general manager.
"This is potentially a significant safety issue and as the vehicle safety regulator we now need to look at new approaches to ensuring the remaining vehicles have their airbags replaced."
"Age is a contributing factor to the risk posed by Alpha airbags so we can't afford to allow these vehicles to stay on the road indefinitely."
Patena urged owners of BMW, Honda, Lexus, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota vehicles to check the Rightcar website to see if their car had been recalled.
Newshub.
