By The Huffington Post News Editors

* Japanese parts maker Takata says supplied the problematic airbags
* Takata says also supplied the airbags to foreign carmakers
* Fix to take about one hour or more – carmakers
* Carmakers increasingly using common or similar parts to cut costs
By Yoko Kubota
TOKYO, April 11 (Reuters) – Four Japanese automakers including Toyota Motor Corp, and Nissan Motor Co are recalling 3.4 vehicles sold around the world because airbags supplied by Takata Corp are at risk of catching fire or injuring passengers.
The move announced on Thursday is the largest recall ever for airbags made by Takata, the world’s second largest supplier of airbags and seatbelts. Shares of Takata tumbled almost 10 percent in Tokyo trading.
The recall is the largest since Toyota pulled back more than 7 million vehicles in October. The scale of the recent safety actions underscore the risk of huge global supply chain problems as automakers increasingly rely on a handful of suppliers for common or similar parts to cut costs, analysts have said.
The recall covers some of the top-selling Japanese cars, including Toyota’s Camry and Corolla, and rivals like the Nissan Maxima and Honda Civic. All of the vehicles in question were manufactured in or after 2000.
In an accident, the airbag for the front passenger seat may not inflate correctly because of a manufacturing defect in the propellant used in the airbag inflator, the companies said. As a result, there is a risk of fires starting or of passengers being injured.
Toyota, Honda and Nissan said there were no reports of injuries or deaths because of the defective airbags.
The recall is the largest for Takata since 1995 when the Tokyo-based company was involved in a recall of over 8 million vehicles because of defective seatbelts.
Tokyo-based

From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/airbag-recall-toyota-nissan-honda_n_3058232.html