Takata Airbag Recall Expands--Honda, Nissan and Mazda Recall Over 3 Million Cars

San Francisco, CA: June 23, 2014: Honda, Mazda and Nissan combined are recalling another almost three million vehicles worldwide as the recalls continue to spread over Takata airbag inflators that can explode and send metal bits flying.

All three also have made previous recalls for the problem -- Honda recalled more than a million last year -- and said supplier Takata notified them that the earlier recalls did not cover all the suspect bags.

Toyota also is involved and its latest recall was this month of more than two million vehicles worldwide, including 766,300 in the U.S., many for the second time.

The Takata airbag recalls over five years now total nearly 10 million worldwide. Six injuries are associated with the problem and two deaths. both linked with Honda in 2009. No crashes are injuries are related to the latest three recalls.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this month opened an investigation into the spreading Takata bag problem.

The bags were made in the early 2000s and it is now believed that the propellant was degraded by improper storage and exposure to moisture. The company says it also now is investigating whether vehicles in high humidity areas might had additional risk.

A major factor in the size and expansion of the recalls has been bad recordkeeping by Takata that has made it difficult to identify the vehicles that might have the suspect inflators.

The recall specifics:

-- Honda recalled 1.02 million vehicles in North America and 2.03 million worldwide. They were built in 2000 through 2005 and include some models of Civic, CR-V, Odyssey and Element.

-- Nissan. recalled 755,000 vehicles worldwide built from 2001 through 2003, with about a quarter-million Pathfinder, Cube and Infiniti FX35 models.

-- Mazda recalled nearly 160,000 vehicles made from 2002 through 2004 with about 15,000 in North America, including RX-8 and early Mazda6 sedans..