The Insurance Council of New Zealand welcomed the announcement today from NZTA that water damaged light vehicles will now need electrical and pyrotechnic safety components replaced.
Tim Grafton Insurance Council Chief Executive says: “insurers welcome this change as the importation of water damaged vehicles increases the risk of serious accidents, particularly due to failures in advanced vehicle safety systems.”
With advanced vehicle systems, such as collision avoidance, becoming common place on newer vehicles, an electrical failure can risk a serious accident involving multiple parties.
A number of repairers have come across vehicles that had been flood damaged prior to importation, then sold and later required normal in-service collision damage repairs.
A number of these vehicles had obvious signs of previous water damage to safety restraint systems and electrical components that only became apparent when the vehicle was dismantled for repairs. Water damage is a concern for the longer term operation of the safety components and electrical systems.
Once connectors on wiring harness and circuit board components become wet they are at significant risk of ongoing corrosion and electrical connections failure. Although the components may initially operate following flood damage repair, over time they are likely to degrade and fail.
