Automakers Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda are recalling around 3.3 million vehicles due to faulty passenger-side air bags, which they state could deploy with too much power, releasing metal shards into the passenger area.
Included in the recalls are 1.1 million Hondas, 480,000 Nissans, 1.7 million Toyotas and 20,000 Mazdas. Nearly 1.4 million of these are located in the U.S. Honda vehicles affected by the recall include certain 2002-2003 model CR-Vs, 2001-2003 model Civics and 2002 Odysseys. Nissan recalls include 2000-2003 Nissan Maximas, Infiniti QX4s, Infiniti FXs, Nissan Sentras and Nissan Pathfinders. As for Toyota, vehicles include certain Sequoia, Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Tundra and Lexus SC 430 models between 2001 and 2003.
"Improperly manufactured propellent wafers could cause the inflator to rupture and the front passenger airbag to deploy abnormally in the event of a crash," Toyota Motor Sales, USA said in a statement released on Thursday April 11.
"It is possible that the passenger front airbag inflators in affected vehicles may deploy with too much pressure, which may cause the inflator casing to rupture and could result in injury," American Honda said in another statement.
According to Honda spokeswoman Akemi Ando, the problem occurred due to human error during the production process, when a worker forgot to turn on a system that weeded out faulty products. As a result, parts were improperly stored and exposed to humidity.
The airbags were made by Japanese supplier Takata Corporation. According to Takata spokesman Tyohiro Hishikawa, some non-Japanese automakers were also given the faulty air bags. Though Hishikawa did not mention names, The New York Times reports that some of the defective air bags were sold to BMW and General Motors, according to a report Takata filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in Washington on Thursday. According to G.M. spokesman Alan Adler, about 48,000 2003 Pontiac Vibes will also be recalled.
Takata's last major recall on this scale occurred in 1995, when seat belt repairs were required for nine automakers. Takata in North America spokesman Alby Berman recognized the damage caused by the recall, but claimed the company would be able to weather the storm.
"Our real motivation today is to really continue to support our customers in every way possible in moving through the process," he said. "The joint objective is always to make sure the passengers, our customers' customers, are safe."
Takata stock fell as far as 15 percent before closing down nine percent. Meanwhile, Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Mazda were only lightly affected in the market.
