Toyota recalls one million US vehicles on airbag concerns

TOKYO (AFP): Japanese carmaker Toyota announced Wednesday that it was recalling around a million Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the United States, citing concerns about their airbag systems.

The vehicles include some of the manufacturing giant’s popular Camry, Corolla, and Highlander lines, with the recall involving concerns about the sensors in the front passenger seat.

These sensors “could have been improperly manufactured, causing a short circuit,” the company said in a statement.

“This would not allow the airbag system to properly classify the occupant’s weight, and the airbag may not deploy as designed in certain crashes, increasing the risk of injury,” it added.

Toyota said it would reach out to affected customers by mid-February, and that dealers would inspect the affected Toyota and Lexus models and replace them if necessary “at no cost to owners.”

Toyota is the world’s largest automotive manufacturer, and sold more than 10 million vehicles last year.