Honda Canada recalls more than 107,000 vehicles over faulty airbags

MARKHAM, Ont. - Honda, Toyota and Nissan are recalling more than two million vehicles globally for an identical problem with airbags on the passenger side whose inflator may burst, sending plastic pieces flying. Honda is recalling 1.1 million vehicles, including more than 107,000 in Canada, and Toyota is recalling 1.7 million vehicles, including some 75,000 in Canada, among 580,000 across North America.

A spokeswoman for the airbag manufacturer, Takata Corp. of Japan, says the recall affects other automakers as well, including non-Japanese manufacturers, and may reach as many as three million. Honda Canada says airbag inflators in affected vehicles may deploy with too much pressure, which may cause the inflator to rupture and cause possible injuries. The problem crept in because of two human errors during production. A worker forgot to turn on the switch for a system weeding out defective products and parts were improperly stored, which exposed them to humidity, according to Honda spokeswoman Akemi Ando.

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Toyota said it had received five reports of airbag problems, three in the U.S. and two in Japan, but there have been no injuries.Honda says it knows of one crash attributed to the problem, but it is not aware of any injuries or deaths related to this issue.

In Canada, the recall covers almost 81,000 Honda Civics and about 11,000 Acura 1.7 EL vehicles from the 2001-2003 model years, 6,140 CR-V vehicles from 2002-2003 and almost 10,000 Odysseys from the 2002 model year. About 270,000 Honda vehicles in Japan and 64,000 in Europe are also included in the recall.The Toyota recall also includes 490,000 vehicles in Europe and 320,000 in Japan.

Toyota Canada said vehicles being recalled for inspection in Canada include certain model year 2003 Toyota Corolla, Matrix, Sequoia, and Tundra vehicles and model year 2002 and 2003 Lexus SC 430 vehicles. Nissan has recalled 480,000 vehicles globally, some 137,000 of them in Japan. The Yokohama-based automaker said vehicles in North America and Europe are affected, but did not immediately have other details on its 343,000 overseas recalls. Recalled models in Japan include the Cube, X-Trail, Maxima and Teana, made from August 2000 to January 2004, spokesman Chris Keeffe said.

Also affected under the same recall were the RX-8 and Mazda 6 at Mazda Motor Corp. The Hiroshima-based automaker said 45,000 vehicles were recalled, including 4,000 in Japan. It did not give numbers for other regions, but said recalls will be announced in North America, Europe, China and other countries.