Mazda, Mitsubishi add 624,000 more cars to air bag recall

TOKYO - Mazda Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said on Friday they would recall about 624,000 more vehicles to replace air bag inflators made by Japan's Takata Corp., following similar moves last week by domestic automakers.

Mazda said it was recalling about 112,000 vehicles including the Atenza sedan, Bongo van and two models it builds for Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors.

A spokeswoman said it was still working out plans for any recall overseas.

Mitsubishi Motors is calling back about 100,000 cars in Japan and 412,000 overseas, it said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Why Honda is recalling 4.89-M vehicles

TOKYO - Honda on Thursday said it is recalling 4.89 million vehicles over fears about airbag inflators that could explode, widening a global auto parts crisis linked to several deaths.

Japan's number three automaker announced the recall just a day after Toyota and Nissan said they were calling back a combined 6.5 million vehicles over fears about airbags made by embattled supplier Takata.

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Toyota, Nissan recall 6.5-M cars globally over exploding airbag fears

TOKYO - Toyota and rival Nissan on Wednesday announced the recall of about 6.5 million vehicles globally in the latest chapter of an exploding airbag crisis linked to at least five deaths.

The world's biggest automaker said its recall of five million vehicles affected 35 models globally produced between March 2003 to November 2007, while Nissan said its recall of 1.56 million vehicles worldwide was also due to faulty airbags made by embattled supplier Takata.

"This will affect many of our markets, including Japan, Europe and North America," a Nissan spokesman told AFP, adding that the explosion risk was among a range of problems seen in the defective airbags.

"There might be many factors. (But) we have seen risks that the metal casing for inflators can malfunction."

Nissan's recall affects a range of models produced between 2004 and 2008.

Both automakers said there were no reports of deaths or injuries linked to their latest airbag-linked recall.

The announcement comes after about 20 million vehicles produced by major automakers, including General Motors and Honda, were recalled because of the risk that their Takata-made airbags could improperly inflate and rupture, potentially firing deadly shrapnel at the occupants.

At least five deaths have been linked to the defect, with one US woman's death intially investigated as a murder due to her grisly injuries.

The scandal has seen Japan-based Takata -- one of the world's biggest airbag suppliers -- hit with lawsuits and regulatory probes.

Toyota said the latest recall affects 1.35 million vehicles sold in Japan, 637,000 sold in the United States and 1.26 million in Europe.

"We have been conducting various ongoing investigations regarding Takata-produced airbag inflators," it said in an email.

"Among the parts collected from the Japanese market, certain types of airbag inflators were found to have a potential for moisture intrusion over time. As a result, they could be susceptible to abnormal deployment in a crash."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Japanese automakers recall 3-M vehicles globally for airbag

TOKYO - Japanese automakers on Monday recalled nearly three million vehicles worldwide over an airbag defect that could pose a fire risk.

Honda said it recalled about 2,033,000 vehicles which were produced between August 2000 and December 2005, including more than one million in North America and 668,000 in Japan.

Two other automakers -- Mazda and Nissan -- also recalled hundreds of thousands of vehicles over the same problem, which was also responsible for earlier recalls by Toyota.

Japan's Takata Corp., which made the airbag, noted its US subsidiary had manufactured the airbag, apologising for the problem and vowing to make its utmost efforts to prevent a recurrence.

"We apologise deeply for causing tremendous trouble and worries to client companies, users of our products and other people concerned," the company said in a statement.

Nissan recalled a combined 755,000 vehicles, including 128,000 in Japan and 627,000 overseas.

"In North America, 228,000 are on the recall list, with 7,000 in China," a Nissan spokesman said.

A Mazda spokeswoman said: "The recall will cover 11,832 vehicles at home and 147,975 units overseas, mainly in Europe and China."

Subject to Honda's recall are a total of 13 types of vehicles in Japan including popular Fit and Accord models.

Front passenger airbag inflators could have been assembled with an improperly manufactured propellant component, Japan's third largest automaker said.

That could cause the container of the inflator to rupture in the event of a crash, posing a fire risk or injuring passengers, it added.

The same problem has also caused top automaker Toyota to recall millions of vehicles globally.

Toyota has earlier said it acted as it received a complaint from a Japanese customer who said his passenger seat was burned from the defect.

Honda said the company had received no complaint or reports of injuries on its own.

Honda shares closed down 0.63 percent at 3,602 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange while Takata soared 2.87 percent to 2,111 yen.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com