Toyota Recalls 3.37 Million Cars to Fix Airbags and Emission Control Unit

Japanese auto giant, Toyota Motor Corp., has announced that it will be issuing a recall for 3.37 million hybrid cars worldwide to fix the faulty airbag system and emission control unit. This particular recall isn't part of the larger ongoing recall for cars with faulty airbags which were sourced from Takata. According to the statement issued by the company, 1.43 million hybrid car from the lot possibly has defected airbag inflator, whereas, the rest of the 2.87 million cars over a possible fault in emissions control units.

The hybrid models that will be recalled include the Toyota Prius and the Lexus CT200h, out of which 482,000 vehicles are from the US alone. This is the second global recall issued by the carmaker this year which bears no relation to the recall related to Takata. Some of the automaker's gasoline-electric hybrid Prius models contain both of the potential defects, taking the total number of vehicles affected by the recalls to 3.37 million.

The company has reported that the recall will cover hybrid vehicles that were manufactured between 2010 and 2012, along with the rest of the models that were produced from 2006 to 2015 (this also includes the Prius). The hybrid vehicles in question here were fitted with air bag inflators that could possibly have a small crack in a weld, which could result in the separation of the inflator chambers. In fact, the people at Toyota say that there are chances that the air bag could partially inflate and the inflator could enter the vehicle interior, thus increasing the risk of injury to its occupants. On the other hand, the rest of the models have a defect in the evaporative fuel emission control units that might possibly crack and over time lead to fuel leaks.

Toyota Prius

Toyota spokesman, Victor Vanov, has confirmed that the faulty air bag inflators involved in this recall were not manufactured by Takata Corp. As mentioned earlier, the recall covers 482,000 vehicles in the US, the remaining 948,000 vehicles will be recalled from the global markets. Toyota Motor Corp. also clarified that it is not aware of any injuries or deaths that might have been caused due to these faulty airbags in the aforementioned cars. While Toyota hasn't revealed any additional information on the recall right now, India could very well be one of the many markets that will be affected by this recall, considering the Prius was launched in the country in 2010.

Currently among the affected models, the Toyota Prius is the only one on sale in India right now. While the company has other big plans for India and we've told you about both of them. The company is planning an onslaught of cars across segments by introducing a brand like Lexus and also Daihatsu, which will see it cater to the mass market segment with some compact models. We can't wait to see what it has in store and this might just change the company's fortunes in India.