Know anyone who drives a BMW, Honda, Isuzu, Lexus, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru or Toyota with airbags fitted? This information could help them prevent serious injury, or worse.

In April, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi announced that 50,000 vehicles with Alpha-type Takata airbags are subject to a compulsory recall.

MP Angie Warren-Clark says that there are still at least 1,269 vehicles with Takata alpha airbags in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty that are needing to be replaced.

'We know the cars most likely to have these at-risk airbags are older models. We need to get as many as possible of these airbags out of the cars out there in the community because these cars are transporting our kids, our whanau.

'I also want to ensure people know people can have their airbags replaced for free if it is an Alpha airbag. We know it can be annoying having to put your car in the shop for repairs, but these airbags pose a significant risk.

'Overseas there have been 23 known fatal cases of airbags exploding and sending fragments into the vehicle. While the risk of that happening in New Zealand is low due to less humidity in the air, which the airbags are more susceptible to, we need consumers to get on board to bring risk levels down, and keep our people safe.”

A voluntary recall of vehicles with affected Takata airbags started in New Zealand in 2013, and around 29,000 of the Alpha-type airbags have been replaced. Alpha airbag inflators pose a significantly higher risk of misdeploying in an accident and sending fragments towards vehicle occupants.

A further 257,000 vehicles are subject to a recall for non-Alpha Takata airbags, with a further 116,000 non-Alpha airbags replaced already. A total of more than 450,000 vehicles are known to be affected by Alpha and non-Alpha recalls in New Zealand, and 100 million globally.

You can find a tool on the Right Car website to see if your car is covered by the recall: https://rightcar.govt.nz/takataalpha