Toyota India will soon follow the rest of its global counterparts and recall its Corolla sedan over life-threatening issues with the passenger side airbags supplied by Takata, a Japenese airbag supplier. All around the world, at least 2.9 million cars have been called back owing to issues with the airbags. This will affect at least 23,157 units of the Corolla Altis manufactured between January 2010 and December 2012 in India.
These airbags have been known to heat and explode without any warning and 100 million cars worldwide in total have been affected. At least 16 deaths have been officially reported, but mainly in the USA. This has resulted in the greatest ever recall in the auto industry as companies all around the world are looking to act quick to avoid further harm. The fix, depending on the model, takes between 30 minutes and three hours, and can be carried out at local Toyota dealerships. In July 2015 as well, Toyota had ordered a huge recall, owing to similar issues with the bags as 7,100 units of the Corolla manufactured between April 2007 and July 2008 were affected.
Takata pleaded guilty to fraud and was fined around $1 billion (approximately ₹6,673.5 crore).
