Honda, Nissan, Mazda to Recall 2.92 M. Vehicles Globally

Tokyo, June 23 (Jiji Press)--Honda Motor Co. <7627>, Nissan Motor Co. <7201> and Mazda Motor Corp. <7261> are set to recall a total of about 2.92 million vehicles globally for free repairs due to a problem in the air bag for the front passenger seat. The three major Japanese automakers reported Monday to Japan's transport ministry that they will recall a total of about 808,500 units of 25 vehicle models in the country. In January, a Toyota Motor Corp. <7203> vehicle that had the same component in the air bag caught on fire when the air bag was activated, leading the automaker to announce a recall earlier this month. The latest recall affects about 668,500 Honda vehicles including the Fit compact car and those produced abroad. At Nissan, 128,130 vehicles are subject to the recall, including the X-Trail, the Cube, and the Como, which is supplied to Isuzu Motors Ltd. <7202> under an original equipment manufacturer deal, while 11,832 vehicles including the Atenza are affected at Mazda. All such vehicles are equipped with air bags supplied by Takata Corp. <7312> According to the ministry, there was a problem in the process of producing a propellant in the air bag inflator. The excessively rising pressure in the inflator when the air bag is deployed may cause the inflator to burst, scatter debris or catch on fire. In April 2013, Toyota and three other automakers recalled a total of about 4.19 million vehicles globally due to a similar problem. At that time, the recall affected only those which had problematic inflators listed by Takata. The automakers decided on the latest recall because the problem was discovered in a Toyota vehicle that was not covered by the previous recall. Including those of Germany's BMW AG, nearly eight million vehicles are affected globally by the recalls related to the same problematic inflators. In May 2013, a Honda vehicle, which was subject to the previous recall, caught on fire around the front passenger seat after an accident. Although it has been unknown whether the fire was linked to the component in question, the ministry has called on automakers for their attention to similar problems. "We are taking the situation seriously and working on preventing problems from occurring again by strengthening quality control efforts," a Takata official said. END