Toyota recalls 1.6m cars in Japan after airbag injures passenger in Nissan vehicle

Toyota has recalled 1.6m vehicles in Japan because of a possibe fault in their airbags. An airbag in a Nissan vehicle, which had been tested and declared safe for use, injured a passenger in October.

The new batch of Toyota cars deemed unsafe means that the car maker has now recalled 15 million vehicles which have the airbag installed. The problem sits in the airbag inflators, which can explode with too much force and send metal shrapnel into the cabin. The devices are made by Japanese car parts manufacturer Takata.

Over the past few months, almost 100 drivers and passengers have been injured because of faulty Takata airbags in the US alone. Of these injuries, at least five took place in Toyota cars and eight people around the world have been killed by the faulty airbags.

Toyota has sent many cars back after a recall without significant changes, but the investigation is now more thorough. According to reports, Toyota will replace every single Takata airbag inflator in the cars to prevent further injuries.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Association ordered the recall of 19 million cars with Takata airbags and inflators installed. Following the order, which is set to include a $200m fine for Takata, Ford, Mazda, Honda and Nissan have cancelled orders with the firm.

Faults in car parts manufactured by Takata led to the company posting a ¥8.7bn (£900m, €1.28bn, $1.36bn) loss in the second quarter, while profit guidance has been downgraded to ¥5bn.