Toyota recalls 2.27 million vehicles over airbag defect

The Japanese giant, which has now recalled about nine million vehicles in the past two months, said the announcement covered 20 models, including its Corolla sedan, Yaris subcompact and Noah minivan.

The fire risk covers about 1.62 million cars overseas and 650,000 in Japan, Toyota said, and follows a mass recall last year for the same glitch with the vehicles' airbag inflator.

"The involved vehicles were equipped with front passenger airbag inflators which could have been assembled with improperly manufactured propellant wafers," it said in a statement.

"(That) could cause the inflator to rupture and the front passenger airbag to deploy abnormally in the event of a crash."

A company spokesman in Tokyo said the automaker had received a complaint from a Japanese customer who said his passenger seat was burned from the defect.

No serious injuries or accidents linked to the defect had been reported, he added.

In April, Toyota recalled 6.39 million vehicles globally over a string of problems, and another 520,000 vehicles last month, mostly in North America, over several issues including cable corrosion that could lead unused spare tyres to fall off.

In February, it recalled 1.9 million of its signature Prius hybrid cars, after recalling millions of other models in recent years over a possible fire risk and other safety issues...

Source: Automobile News

From Post Jagran News

Toyota to recall 167 units of hybrid Prius in India

Japanese auto major Toyota on Wednesday said it will recall 167 units of Prius hybrid cars in India as part of a global exercise of rectifying a software error that will affect 1.9 million units.

As a part of the global recall of Prius announced by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), its Indian arm Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) also announced a recall campaign in India on Wednesday.

"The recall will cover a total of 167 units of the Prius in India," it added.

The recall has been announced due to a software error in the hybrid system that makes it enter a fail safe mode, the company said.

"The company is conducting this recall as a part of Voluntary Recall Code. No complaints have been received in India so far," it added.

The recall process would begin on February, 14, 2014, the company said.

"Toyota will contact the customers and repair will be carried out free of cost. The repairs are expected to take 1 to 1.5 hours," it added.

The company regrets the inconvenience caused and seeks the customer's co-operation and understanding during this time, it said.

Last year the company had recalled 1,100 units of the diesel variant of its sedan Corolla Altis in India due to faulty drive shaft. Moreover it had also recalled another batch of Corolla in India to rectify defective airbags as part of a global recall of 17.3 lakh vehicles.

In 2011, Toyota had recalled 41,000 units of its sedan Etios and small car Liva in India to replace faulty inlet pipe to fuel tank.

Automobile companies have been pro-active in recalling vehicles in case of safety issues since industry body SIAM initiated a voluntary recall policy in July 2012.

Last year General Motor India had recalled 1.14 lakh units of its multi-purpose vehicle Chevrolet Tavera, manufactured between 2005 and 2013, to address emissions and specification issues.

The company had also recalled 4,000 units of the diesel variant of its Sail model to address a potential engine issue.

Source: Auto News in Hindi

From BT News