Three million Japanese cars recalled due to faulty airbag inflators

The total recall resulting from faulty airbags has accumulated to around 10.5 million vehicles over the past five years and covers both passenger-side and driver-side airbags, supplied by the world's second biggest automotive safety parts manufacturer. The airbags were manufactured between 2000 and 2002, reported The Business Times.

While the recall is deemed as among the five biggest recalls in the industry's history, the recall tally is expanding further as Honda along with six other automakers announced yesterday they were recalling more vehicles in some high humidity regions in the U.S.A at the request of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to replace the faulty Takata air bag inflators.

On a wider scale, Honda cited it was recalling about 2.03 million vehicles around the world including the Fit and CR-V models. The flawed airbag inflators pose a risk of exploding and shooting out shrapnel at drivers and passengers.

According to Honda's spokeswoman, Ms. Ando, the airbag flaws were related to inadequate pressure and excess moisture during their production and added two people have died in 2009 in accidents related to the defect.

Compatriot automaker Nissan announced it would recall 755,000 vehicles worldwide, while Mazda would call back 159,807 vehicles. Toyota revealed about 2.27 million cars around the globe are also affected as the recall last year did not include all vehicles affected by the defective inflators.

It is unclear how much it would cost Takata for the fresh set of recalls but last year's recalls cost the supplier US$300 million (S$374 million).