Toyota recalls Corolla in India over airbag issue

Toyota is set to recall its Corolla sedan in India to rectify an issue with the passenger side airbag supplied by Japanese firm Takata. The recall affects 23,157 units of the Corolla Altis manufactured between January 2010 and December 2012, a company spokesperson said.

The move is part of the global recall announced recently which affects 2.9 million cars. The Takata airbag issue has impacted around 100 million cars worldwide in total.

The recall concerns airbag inflators which, if exposed to heat over a prolonged period, could explode or deploy inadvertently. The fix, depending on the model, takes between 30 minutes and three hours, and can be carried out at local Toyota dealerships.

At least 16 deaths have been linked to exploding Takata inflators, mainly in the United States, prompting the auto industry's biggest-ever global recall. Earlier this month, Takata pleaded guilty on charges of fraud in a US federal court on account of hiding evidence of lethal issues with its airbag detonator system. The company has agreed to pay a settlement amount of $1 billion (approximately Rs 6,673.5 crore).

Toyota Kirloskar Motor had last recalled the Corolla sedan in July 2015 for the same Takata airbag issue. At that point, 7,100 units of the Corolla manufactured between April 2007 and July 2008 were affected.