Toyota recalls thousands more cars over faulty airbags

Toyota has recalled some 6,000 of its Yaris and Corolla vehicles from 2009 due to faulty air bags. Photo / Stuart Munro

Six thousand more Kiwi car owners have had their vehicles recalled after Toyota announced there were concerns related to passenger-side air bags.

The air bags, manufactured by Japanese company Takata, were discovered to have inflation issues as far back as 2013.

Toyota announced today that an extra 4,313 Corolla and 1,490 Yaris New Zealand new vehicles manufactured in 2009 were now included in the recall. More than 113,000 new and used vehicles in New Zealand have now been recalled.

Takata's air bags have been plagued with problems for more than a decade, with malfunctions causing injuries and, in some cases, deaths.

In 2009, 18-year-old Ashley Parham was killed when her 2001 Honda Accord bumped into another car in a car park. Her Takata air bag exploded and shrapnel sliced open her carotid artery, causing her to bleed to death.

Millions of cars have since been recalled worldwide by 19 car makers.

Toyota said replacement parts are being sought for its affected vehicles. Around one in five New Zealand vehicle owners affected have been told replacements are now available. They will be installed free of charge, the company said.

A statement from Toyota said the company was still investigating how many second hand imported vehicles might be affected. It was not aware of any related faulty deployments in Toyota or Lexus vehicles.