Toyota, Nissan recalling 6.5 million vehicles globally to replace potentially faulty Takata airbag inflators

Showing no signs of abating, the Takata airbag recall story continues – Toyota and Nissan have announced a global recall on more than 6.5 million vehicles to replace potentially faulty airbag inflators made by the parts manufacturer.
According to reports, Toyota is recalling around five million Corolla, Yaris (Vitz) and other models around the world to replace the Takata airbag inflators in them. The total includes 1.36 million cars in Japan, 1.27 million in Europe, 637,000 in the US and 18,000 in Canada. In all, 35 vehicle models are involved in the exercise, and these were produced from March 2003 to November 2007.
Stating that no accidents or injuries have been reported, the automaker said that the problematic front driver-side airbag inflator in these vehicles will be replaced with a newly manufactured part made by another supplier, Daicel Corp.
It added that replacements for the front passenger-side airbag inflator will continue to be supplied by Takata, because compatible parts from a different supplier cannot be sourced. The parts supplier was lambasted last year for being unable to produce enough replacement airbag inflators to meet demand.

Nissan, meanwhile, is recalling about 1.56 million cars globally over the same issue, and also said no accidents or injuries had been reported. While not revealing the models affected by the exercise, it disclosed that the total includes 563,000 cars in Europe, 326,000 in North America, 274,000 in China and 288,000 in Japan.
Additionally, word is that Honda, the automaker most directly affected by the faulty airbag issue, has also said it was preparing to file additional recalls related to Takata airbags, but did not state any details on the matter.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Honda and Takata were being sued in the United States over the death of a pregnant Malaysian woman, who was killed by a metal fragment from a ruptured driver’s airbag when her 2003 Honda City was involved in a low-speed collision last July.
A total of six deaths, including five in the US, have been blamed on shrapnel from Takata air bags, and another 105 injuries connected to the flaw have been reported, US senator Bill Nelson said last month. Since 2008, more than 24 million cars have been recalled globally (including about 17 million in the US) over Takata’s faulty airbags, which can detonate with too much force, spraying metal shards at occupants.