Japanese cars recalled over airbag fault
Toyota, Honda and Nissan recall around three million vehicles globally for an identical problem with air bags caused by “human error”.
Japan’s Takata Corporation, which makes the airbags, has recalled the product and said the defect will also effect non-Japanese car manufacturers.
The problem relates to the passenger side airbag, whose inflator may burst sending pieces of plastic flying.
Recalls
Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling 1.7 million vehicles, with some 580,000 in North America, another 490,000 in Europe and 320,000 in Japan. Affected models include the Corolla, Tundra, Lexus SC, produced between November 2000 and March 2004.
Around 76,000 cars in the UK, aged between nine and 13 years old, are among those recalled, Toyota UK’s head of PR Scott Brownlee said on Twitter,
Toyota said it had received five reports of air-bag problems, three in the US and two in Japan, but said there have been no injuries.
@jornmadslien Approx 76,000 cars in UK between nine and 13 years old. Five issues recorded globally, none in the UK. No injuries recorded.
— Scott Brownlee (@ToyotaPR) April 11, 2013
Honda Motor Co. is recalling 1.1 million vehicles. About 680,000 are in North America, 270,000 in Japan and 64,000 in Europe. The models include the Civic, CR-V and Odyssey.
Nissan Motor Co. is recalling 480,000 vehicles globally, some 137,000 of them in Japan, for the air bag problem. The Yokohama-based company said vehicles in North America and Europe are affected, but did not immediately have other details on its 343,000 overseas recalls.
Recalled models in Japan include the Cube, X-Trail, Maxima and Teana, made from August 2000, to January 2004, spokesman Chris Keeffe said.
Also affected under the same recall were the RX-8 and Mazda 6 at Mazda Motor Corp. The Hiroshima-based automaker said 45,000 vehicles were recalled, including 4,000 in Japan. It did not give numbers for other regions, but said recalls will be announced in North America, Europe, China and other nations.
‘Human error’
The problem was caused by two human errors during production of the handbag. A Honda spokeswoman said a worker forgot to turn on the switch for a system that weeded out defective products. She also said parts hade been improperly stored, exposing them to humidity.
All three companies reported the problem to the Transport Ministry in Japan, and will report more details on other recalls later in the day.