Toyota issues a recall for 1.6 million possibly unsafe cars after a recent incident in which an airbag equipped on a Nissan malfunctioned. The Nissan, one of the vehicles produced by the Toyota giant, had been fitted with the airbag and tested, eventually being declared safe for use. However it ended up injuring a passenger last month.
Now Toyota has issued a recall for over 1.6 million vehicles that had been factory fitted with the Takata airbag inflators responsible for the malfunction on the Nissan. The airbags are to be checked for structural integrity and possible air leaks, according to Masato Sahashi, a Japan transport ministry official.
Experts have now identified the original problem with the Takata airbags that had been built into the Nissan in question. There seems to be a problem with the airbag inflators which were found to sometimes explode with too much force. This caused metal shrapnel to be sent into and through the cabin and could result in the passengers’ injury.
The devices had been tested on the car in question and had been deemed safe, but they are not manufactured by Toyota itself. It appears that Toyota is purchasing the airbags from a Japanese car part manufacturer known as Takata. In light of the recent incident when a passenger was injured due to the faulty deployment of the Takata airbags built into his car, many other incidents related to Takata products have become more prominent.
It has now been estimated that, in the United States, roughly a hundred drivers and passengers have suffered and injury because of the faulty Takata airbags over the past few months. At least five of these incidents are known to have taken place in Toyota vehicles.
But the faulty airbags have not only cause havoc and injury in the United States. An estimated eight people have been killed worldwide because of the faulty deployment of the Takata airbags in question.
Although many of the vehicles that Toyota had originally recalled have been sent back on the market without having had major changes done to them, the company has reported that it will replace all of the Takata airbag inflators that have been installed on its vehicles in order to avoid future injuries taking place.
But the US National Highway Traffic Safety Association has also taken note of the Takata airbag inflator incidents and has ordered the recall of a total of 19 million cars that have had Takata airbag inflators installed into them and has fined the Japanese company with $200 million.
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