Toyota recalls 1.6M cars for Takata airbags in Europe, Japan

Toyota will recall 1.6 million vehicles in Japan and Europe to replace their passenger-side Takata airbag inflators, but these repairs won't be necessary in the US. The campaign will cover 22 models from the Japanese market, including the Corolla and Vitz, with manufacturing dates between January 2004 and December 2005, according to the Associated Press. It will also affect Italy, Britain, and Spain. However, the company has no reports on injuries in this newly expanded population of recalled vehicles.

Toyota needs to repair 15 million vehicles worldwide to replace their Takata inflators across all of the automaker's campaigns, according to the AP. In the US, the company has a total of nearly 3 million models that need a new component on at least one side.

Takata's exploding inflators are allegedly responsible for eight deaths and nearly 100 injuries, and the most recent estimated suggests 23.4 million of them in 19.2 million vehicles in the US. The parts contain an ammonium nitrate propellant, and experts believe that long-term exposure to moisture can lead to excess pressure when the chemical ignites during a deployment. After years of keeping this hidden, the US government fined Takata $70 million, which could grow to $200 million under certain conditions.

Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Nissan, and most recently Ford have decided to no longer use the supplier's ammonium nitrate inflators in future vehicles. According to reports, Mitsubishi and Subaru are considering the same choice.

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