Toyota Motor Corp today said that it will recall 1.43 million hybrid cars worldwide to fix a defect in the airbag inflator, which could pose a major threat to occupants in the vehicle. If this happens, the curtain shield air bag could partially deploy, and, in exceptional circumstances, one or both sections of the inflator could be ejected from the roof rail into the interior of the vehicle, the company said in a statement sent to Emirates 24l7. Out of the 1.43 million vehicles, 4,82,000 are from the US alone. Because of that overlap, the total number of vehicles recalled was 3.37m.
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Toyota told Bloomberg it is not aware of any deaths or injuries related to either defect, though Autoliv says it knows of a handful of cases of its airbags going off in parked cars in climates with wild temperature swings.
Of the 2.87 million vehicles recalled due to the emission control units, Toyota said 1.55 million are in Japan; 713,000 in Europe; 35,000 in China; and 568,000 in other areas.
Though Toyota said this recall does not involve a Takata airbag, it has not identified the supplier.
Autoliv has benefited from an earlier recall involving faulty air bag inflators made by Japan’s Takata.
Meanwhile 34,135 Prius and Lexus CT200h models included in the above recall and made between October 2008 and August 2012 could also have a fault in a curtain shield airbag.
Sweden-based auto safety gear maker Autoliv Inc confirmed on Wednesday that it supplied the airbag inflators involved in the recall.
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Toyota Motors is recalling in the United States approximately 482,000 Prius and Lexus models because of air bag problems that might lead to injury if unchecked. Volkswagen overtook Toyota in global vehicle sales for January-June, the first time the German automaker has come out top in the intensely competitive tallies.
