According to a report by Eyewitness News via the Xinhua news agency, the recall involves versions of the Hilux, RAV4 and Fortuner build between July 2003 and December 2005, Yaris, RunX and Corolla models made between 2002 and 2007, as well as certain Lexus variants.
"Globally, there are close to 100 million vehicles affected across several brands. At Toyota South Africa we have 730 000 vehicles affected. In the event of an inflator rupture, metal fragments could pass through the airbag cushion material, striking and possibly injuring the occupants in the event of an accident," Toyota Corporate Communications Manager, Mzolisi Witbooi, said in a statement.
The company has however stated that no fatalities have yet been reported in South Africa attributed to the faulty inflators, which have so far led to the reported deaths of 21 people mostly in North America.
Earlier this month, Ford North America urged some 2 900 owners of 2006 model year Rangers to stop driving their vehicles after liking a fatality to a crash in July last year to a defective Takata airbag. Two years before, a similar death in North Carolina involving a Ranger was connected to a faulty inflator.
The latest recall to hit the troubled components manufacturer comes months after it filed for bankruptcy protection in both Japan and the United States and following similar recall in South Africa by both Subaru and Mitsubishi.
