DETROIT — Six automakers, including Toyota, Honda and Nissan, are recalling nearly 3.4 million older-model vehicles worldwide because of defective air bags that can send shrapnel flying at passengers.
The recall mainly affects cars sold by Japanese automakers in North America, Europe and Japan. A small number of cars made by GM and Germany’s BMW also were involved.
The front-passenger air bags all were made by the same parts supplier, Japan’s Takata Corp.
They have faulty inflator mechanisms that don’t route gas into the air bags. Instead, the high-pressure gas can launch plastic and metal parts from the air bags into the cars’ passenger areas. Takata says no one has been hurt, but there have been six incidents of the air bags deploying improperly on roadways.
The recall, announced yesterday in Japan, is so large because many automakers use common parts on multiple models to cut costs and simplify manufacturing.
The recall will bring a great deal of unwelcome publicity for Toyota. The world’s top-selling car company is trying to rebuild a reputation for quality that has been hurt by previous recalls.
The latest recall is the fourth for Toyota since October that involves more than 1 million vehicles. The company also endured huge recalls in 2009 and 2010 for faulty braking, sticky gas pedals and defective floor mats.Toyota will have to inspect or fix 1.7 million vehicles worldwide, including about 580,000 in North America, 490,000 in Europe and 320,000 in Japan. The models include the Corolla, Matrix hatchback, Sequoia SUV and Tundra pickup, as well as the Lexus SC 430 sports made from 2001 to 2003.
Hondas models include the Civic, CR-V small SUV and Odyssey minivan made between 2001 and 2003.
Nissan is recalling the Maxima midsize sedan, Pathfinder SUV and Sentra, as well as the Infiniti FX crossover and QX4 SUV, all from the 2001-2003 model years.