Toyota Corolla recall includes SA

The campaign involves some Corolla models sold between April 2002 and June 2003.

The campaign involves some Corolla models sold between April 2002 and June 2003.

Published Jun 11, 2014

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Tokyo - Toyota has recalled 2.27 million vehicles globally over a defect that could see airbags fail to deploy in a crash and also posed a fire risk, dealing another blow to the Japanese giant's safety record.

This latest campaign involves 20 models, including its Corolla, Yaris and Noah, and covered about 1.62 million cars overseas and 650 000 in Japan. According to Toyota SA, the “precautionary special service campaign” (as they call it) affects 4349 Corolla models that were sold locally between April 2002 and June 2003.

Some of the affected overseas cars were already included in a recall last year, but had not had their airbag inflator replaced, Toyota said.

FAULTY AIRBAGS

“The involved vehicles were equipped with front passenger airbag inflators which could have been assembled with improperly manufactured propellant wafers,” it said in a statement.

“(That) could cause the inflator to rupture and the front passenger airbag to deploy abnormally in the event of a crash.”

A company spokesman in Tokyo said it had received a complaint from a Japanese customer who said his passenger seat was burned from the defect. No serious injuries or accidents had been reported, he added.

In April, Toyota recalled 6.39 million vehicles globally over a string of problems, and another 520 000 last month, mostly in North America, over several issues including cable corrosion that could lead unused spare tyres to fall off.

In February, it recalled 1.9 million units of its signature Prius hybrid cars, after recalling millions of other models in recent years over a possible fire risk and other safety issues.

AFP

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