The steering wheel of a Toyota car which contains an airbag is pictured in Vienna in this April 11, 2013 file photo. U.S. safety regulators on October 22, 2014 expanded the number of vehicles in the United States that may be affected by recalls for potentially defective Takata Corp air bags that could spray shrapnel at occupants. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has urged owners of certain Toyota, Honda , Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors vehicles to replace installed air bags as soon as possible.HEINZ-PETER BADER/Reuters
Defective airbags have caused auto makers to recall nearly 3.4 million older model vehicles worldwide, including at least 200,000 in Canada.
The U.S. government warned more than 7.8 million people to have air bags in their cars fixed amid concern that a defect can kill or injure the driver or passengers. Degraded airbags can send the equivalent of shrapnel flying into the front compartment.
The warning covers cars made by Toyota, Honda, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, General Motors and Ford. The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. federal prosecutors are investigating the Japanese airbag supplier, Takata Corp. Its defective airbags are suspected to have been a factor in four deaths. Meanwhile,Transport Canada told The Globe and Mail that no complaints have been received in this country.
The U.S. government reacted after a Sept. 29 crash claimed the life of a 46-year-old woman in Florida. Hien Thi Tran suffered severe neck wounds that may have been caused by metal fragments flying out of the air bag on her 2001 Honda Accord.
Honda is recalling 107,000 vehicles in Canada, covering 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.
Toyota Canada previously announced a recall for inspection in Canada including the 2003 Toyota Corolla, Matrix, Sequoia and Tundra vehicles, and model year 2002 and 2003 Lexus SC 430 vehicles.
Nissan recalled 20,000 in Canada: 2001-03 model years of the Maxima, Pathfinder and Sentra, and the Infiniti I35, QX4 and FX.
Mazda Canada is recalling a relative handful of just over two dozen vehicles, the RX-8 and Mazda6 from the 2004 model year.
GM: About 55,000 Pontiac Vibe hatchbacks sold in the United States and Canada are being recalled. The 2003 models are nearly identical to the Toyota Matrix and were made at a California plant that was jointly run with Toyota.
BMW is recalling about 41,000 Canadian 3-Series vehicles from model years 2000-2006 due to the passenger-side airbag system.
In May, Ford recalled 90,000 Escape SUVs and C-Max gas-electric hybrids from the 2013 and 2014 model years. A software problem could interfere with the side curtain airbags from inflating in certain types of rollover crashes. The company says it had no reports of crashes or injuries.
– Compiled with files from The Canadian Press, The Associated Press, Bloomberg, New York Times and Forbes.
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