AA calls for calm after Toyota recall

Automobile Association motoring advice manager Andrew Bayliss said there had been no reported instances of the faulty airbags causing injury in New Zealand. Photo supplied.

The AA has called for calm after Toyota recalled more than 26,000 vehicles in New Zealand over a possible airbag fault.

The Japanese auto giant has recalled more than five million vehicles worldwide fitted with airbags from supplier Takata.

Automobile Association motoring advice manager Andrew Bayliss said there had been no reported instances of the faulty airbags causing injury in New Zealand.

The vehicles covered by the New Zealand recall are Yaris and RAV4 cars made between 2003 and 2005 and Corolla, Picnic and Yaris cars made from 2001 to 2007.

Mr Bayliss said the risk was very small, but had to be treated seriously.

He said there was no reason to panic.

"Manufacturers have a robust process in place and having identified the defect, will contact vehicle owners that are affected to fix the problem," Mr Bayliss said.

"Given the numbers of vehicles affected, it's unlikely that parts will be available immediately, so vehicle owners should wait until contacted by the manufacturer."

The latest fault is thought to relate to abnormal deployment of the driver's or front seat passenger's airbag in the event of a crash.

AA said it was understood to be unrelated to recalls by Takata airbags last year where an airbag retaining ring could potentially rupture during deployment, sending shards of metal flying.

Nissan is also recalling 1.56 million vehicles worldwide due to the fault, but whether they would recall vehicles in New Zealand was not yet known.