3.4 million recalled by Japan Auto companies

G. David Felt

Staff Writer Alternative Energy - CheersandGears.com

& Black-Knight

It seems that just yesterday Japanese automakers and their vehicles were seemingly and unanimously praised for their quality and reliability. However, today a new series of recalls out of the land of the rising sun herald a stark reminder that not every automaker is perfect.

Today, might finally be a major wake up call for some that these companies are not bullet proof.

Today Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mazda announced recalls totaling 3.4 million auto's world wide, with over 1 million in the US alone.

The recall is over defective airbags. These are airbags supplied to these companies by the worlds 2nd largest manufacture / Supplier. Takata Corp.

The defect is in the propellant for the inflator as part of the airbag system for the front passenger seat which can cause it to not inflate properly. As a result, there is a risk of fire starting or passengers being burned. The faulty airbags were produced at their Mexico factory between 2000 - 2002.

Toyota has stated that the improperly manufactured parts could cause the front passenger airbag to rupture and deploy abnormally in the event of a crash.

The parts can be repaired/ replaced in 1 to 2 1/2 hrs in most cases.

Takata says it has only been informed of 2 million global recalls according to Reuters reports, but the statements by Toyota and Honda would seem to imply it could be a much bigger recall to locate the suspected inflators.

Toyota is recalling 1.73 million vehicles, 510,000 in North America. http://pressroom.toyota.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=3862

Honda is recalling 1.14 million vehicles, 560,000 in north America. http://www.honda.com/newsandviews/article.aspx?id=7158-en

Nissan is recalling 480,000 vehicles, 45,500 in north america. View the official letter here: http://localtvwnep.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/nissan_recall.pdf

or here

http://www.arfc.org/autos/nissan/recalls.aspx

Mazda anounced 45,000 vehicles to be recalled of which 4,000 were in Japan but no other figures given.