Potentially explosive airbags prompt large recalls

TOKYO -- Honda, Mazda and Nissan are recalling millions of vehicles globally for defective airbags manufactured by supplier Takata Corp. that could possibly explode.

No accidents have been reported related to Monday's recalls.

Honda Motor Co. recalled 2.03 million vehicles for the airbag problem, including 1.02 million in North America and nearly 669,000 in Japan. It said they were manufactured between 2000 and 2005.

That came on top of a million vehicles Honda recalled last year for similar Takata airbag problems.

Nissan Motor Co. recalled 755,000 vehicles globally manufactured from 2001 through 2003, while Mazda Motor Corp. recalled nearly 160,000 vehicles manufactured from 2002 through 2004.

Like Honda, both companies announced recalls last year, but in smaller numbers.

Takata recently realized that the earlier recall had not included all of the problem airbags, the automakers said.

Toyota Motor Corp. announced an airbag recall earlier this month for 2.27 million vehicles, including some that were recalled last year. One fire was reported related to the defect, but no one was injured in that incident, Toyota said.

Toyota, the world's No. 1 automaker, was also investigating a crash in Puerto Rico in which the driver suffered a minor cut on the forehead which may have been caused by an abnormal passenger-side airbag deployment.

Toyota's affected models include the Corolla, Matrix, Tundra, Yaris and Camry. The models recalled at Honda include the Fit, Element and CR-V, while those at Nissan are the Cube, X-Trail and some Infiniti models. Recalled at Mazda were the Atenza and RX-8.

Tokyo-based Takata is a major manufacturer of airbags, seat belts, steering wheels and other auto parts.