Toyota to recall 5.8
million cars in Japan, China, Europe over Takata airbags
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[October 26, 2016]
By Naomi Tajitsu
TOKYO
(Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp on Wednesday said it was recalling about
5.8 million cars at home and abroad over potentially faulty air bag
inflators made by Takata Corp., including those used as replacement
parts following a 2010 recall.
Automakers worldwide are ramping up the industry's biggest-ever recall
after parts supplier Takata, under pressure from U.S. authorities,
agreed earlier this year to declare more of its air bags as defective in
the United States and other countries.
The air bag inflators in question use a chemical compound which can
explode with excessive force after prolonged exposure to hot conditions,
and have been linked to at least 16 deaths globally, mainly in the
United States.
Toyota's latest recall includes the Corolla, one of the world's
best-selling models, and the Vitz or Yaris subcompact hatchback model.
It covers driver-side and passenger-side airbags installed in cars
produced between May 2000 and November 2001, and April 2006 and December
2014, the company said in an email.
It affects about 1.16 million vehicles sold in Japan, about 820,000 cars
sold in China and around 1.47 million cars in the European market.
The recall extends to Central and South America, Africa, the Near and
Middle East and Singapore, and also includes the Hilux pick-up truck and
the Etios line of sedans and hatchbacks.
The move shows the complicated nature of the inflator recall, which
began around 2008 and continues to expand.
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The
latest recall includes about 20,000 cars which were fitted with replacement
Takata inflators following an initial 2010 recall, as the replacement parts are
also seen to be at risk of exploding as they do not contain a drying agent.
Transport authorities around the world now consider inflators without a drying
agent to be unsafe, and have ordered all of them to be withdrawn.
Since global transportation authorities expanded their recall from May, about
100 million Takata air bag inflators have been classified as defective
worldwide.
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Takata is seeking a financial investor to help pay for huge liabilities from the
recall, and has been meeting with potential sponsors and automaker clients to
discuss its survival options.
(Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu and Maki Shiraki; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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