Toyota Expands Recall for Faulty Air Bags

Toyota called back 1.62 million vehicles outside of Japan that were recalled last year along with 650,000 more in Japan that had not been previously recalled, bringing the number of vehicles recalled to more than 7 million vehicles equipped with Takata air bags. The reason for the recall and call-back is reports of both driver and passenger side air bags not working properly or rupturing. Toyota expanded its recall and call-back because Takata found record keeping errors at a Mexico plant were the potentially faulty air bags were made in 2001 and 2002.

This recent recall has led NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) to open an investigation into vehicles that have Takata air bags. Takata is the number one manufacturer of auto safety equipment in the world. The NHTAS said that other automakers may soon have to issue recalls due to problems with the tracking of potential air bag inflator defects that date back to more than a decade.