Toyota reissues recall for 1.61 mil. vehicles in Japan over faulty air bags

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it would reissue a recall for 1.61 million vehicles sold in Japan following the injury of a passenger reported in October after the rupture of an air bag inflator made by Takata Corp.

The recall notice was reissued on more than 20 Toyota models including the highly popular Vitz hatchback subcompact model that were produced between 2004 and 2008, Toyota said, following an initial recall being announced in May and June based on faulty Takata-made air bag inflators.

The faulty component in Takata's air bag inflators were subsequently judged to not need replacing, compounded by a lack of stock, but following one of the company's air bag inflators in a Nissan X-Trail SUV rupturing last month and injuring a passenger, the recall was reissued, the automaker said.

Toyota has made the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism here aware that it has issued a recall on 1,612,670 vehicles spanning some of its most popular models including the Corolla and Vitz models, the automaker said Wednesday.

The recalled models will have the passenger side air bags replaced and should enough components not be available, as was the case previously, Toyota said it would temporarily disable the air bags' functions until enough parts become available.

Takata, who also make seat belts, has recalled more than 34 million air bag inflators in the U.S. alone and more than 57 million globally, as at least eight people have been killed and 100 more injured by their air bags, which can reportedly explode with too much force and send lethal shrapnel flying into the vehicle.

In the U.S. alone more than 19 million vehicles have been recalled as a result of Takata's faulty air bags and the possibility exists that millions more may be recalled in the future.

Toyota itself is recalling about 12 million vehicles worldwide due to Takata air bags and the world's largest automaker has confirmed that at least five injuries in the U.S. have occurred in Toyota models as a result of the faulty air bags.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this month ordered Takata to phase out a propellant used to inflate its air bags, with the regulator saying it was not satisfied with its safety.

Following the NHTSA's order, Japanese automakers including Mazda Motor Corp., Honda, Toyota and Nissan, as well as overseas brands like Ford Motor Co., have all announced they won't be using Takata air bag inflators with the current propellant in cars that are under development.

Takata was fined 70 million U.S. dollars earlier this month for knowingly concealing key evidence proving that its air bags were prone to explode. The NHTSA can raise the fine to 200 million U.S. dollars if the embattled company fails to stick to its orders.

The Tokyo-based corporation that has production hubs on four continents saw losses in the second quarter total 8.66 billion yen (70 million U.S. dollars), owing to its faulty air bags, and the automotive parts maker slashed its full-year net income forecast by 25 percent to 5 billion yen. Endit