Toyota Expanding Takata Air Bag Recall

IN CONTEXT: 2,356 Takata Air Bag Recall Articles

Washington DC March 3, 2016; The AIADA newsletter reported that according to The Detroit News Toyota is expanding its recall of cars with faulty air bags manufactured by Japanese auto parts manufacturer Takata by 198,000 vehicles, the company announced on Wednesday. The new recalls will apply to 2008 editions of Toyota's Corolla and Corolla Matrix models and 2008-10 versions of its Lexus SC430 vehicles, the company said. The latest recalls bring Toyota's total number of affected vehicles to approximately 3,156,000 in the U.S. and 15,289,000 globally, according to company officials.

Toyota said Wednesday the involved vehicles are equipped with a Takata-produced dual-stage front passenger air bag inflator which could potentially be susceptible to rupture when deployed in a crash. "All known owners of the affected Toyota/Lexus vehicles will be notified by first-class mail," the company said. "Dealers will replace the air bag inflator or the air bag assembly with a newly manufactured one at no cost."

Takata has been under fire since issuing a recall in late 2014 of about 8 million cars in areas of the country with high humidity; humid conditions cause propellant in Takata's inflators to become unstable and explode with excessive force.