Honda, Toyota, Nissan, to recall millions more cars over exploding airbags

The number of Toyota vehicles to be recalled in the UK is expected to be around 125,000

Takata employee sews an airbag at Takata's current crash-testing facility August 19, 2010 in Auburn Hills, Michigan (GETTY IMAGES)

Toyota and Nissan are recalling 6.5 million cars globally after a faulty airbag scare. Honda expected to follow suit, raising the number of vehicles recalled over this issue worldwide to 31 million.

The number of Toyota vehicles to be recalled in the UK is expected to be around 125,000.

The companies are investigating components made by Takata, a global car supplier, whose global airbags have been known to explode after they are triggered, spraying shrapnel inside the car.

Takata airbags are linked to six deaths in Honda vehicles, five in the US and one in Malaysia.

One of these six, Carlos Solis, was waiting to turn left into a block of flats in Houston in January when traffic struck the front of his 2002 Honda Accord, according to Autoblog.

“He should have walked away from the fender-bender. Instead, the 35-year-old married man was killed when a defective airbag exploded and sent a large piece of metal shrapnel into his neck, his estate's lawyers allege in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Harris County, Texas,” Autoblog reports. “He bled to death while his younger brother and an 11-year-old cousin tried to save him.”

Toyota and Nissan said that they were recalling the cars as a precaution and no injuries had been reported.

Toyota is recalling around 5 million Corrolla, Vitz and other models. Nissan is recalling 1.56 million cars globally but has not specified which models.

Many of the models were made between March 2003 and November 2007.

Takata faces multiple lawsuits in the US and Canada as well as a regulatory probe. A Takata spokeswoman said a probe into the cause of the airbag defects was ongoing and that the company continued to cooperate with the automakers.

Additional reporting by Reuters