LONDON, United Kingdom. Toyota and Nissan are to recall 6.5 million cars worldwide, including quarter of a million in the UK, to check airbags which have been linked to five deaths.
Toyota said it was bringing in an additional five million vehicles for checks in the wake of the scandal surrounding airbag supplier Takata, while Nissan accounted for the rest of the total figure.
A Toyota spokesman told Sky News that the number of cars affected by the latest recall in Europe was in the region of 1.2 million and it believed around 160,000 were affected in the UK.
A total of 35 models were included in the recall, Toyota said.
Nissan said 100,263 vehicles comprising the model years 2004-2007 were being recalled in the UK.
The models included were the Navara Pickup, Tino, Patrol Pick Up, Almera, Terrano II, and X-Trail.
Its statement added: “Nissan plans to begin notifying customers in June.
“Nissan dealers will test the subject inflators, and replace the inflator as necessary. This recall will be carried out at no cost to customers for parts or labour.”
Takata’s airbags have been the subject of regulatory scrutiny andprevious recalls of at least 17 million other vehicles made by 10 car makers.
The airbags – which can inflate with too much force, shooting out metal shards – have been linked to at least five deaths and dozens of injuries.
High humidity has been identified as being a primary cause of the company’s airbag propellant becoming volatile.
Takata was threatened with legal action by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last year when it failed to support a US-wide recall of vehicles fitted with its airbags.
The company later produced an open letter to the people of America in which it insisted public safety was its top priority.
Its chairman and chief executive pledged Takata was working hard to test and replace airbags deemed to be a potential risk.
The letter added: “Our airbags have deployed safely in more than two million auto accidents around the world since we began producing them in 1987, saving many thousands of lives.
“In 2014 alone, thousands of serious injuries and deaths have been prevented worldwide by Takata airbags.”
Credit: Sky News
