Toyota Motor Corp said on Tuesday it will recall 3.4 million vehicles worldwide because of an electronic glitch that can result in air bags not deploying in crashes.
Toyota issued a massive recall on Tuesday to fix an airbag sensor defect on 2.9 million U.S. vehicles made over the course of nearly a decade.
The automaker said it is recalling certain versions of the 2011-19 Corolla, 2011-13 Matrix, 2012-18 Avalon, and 2013-18 Avalon Hybrid.
The vehicles have a faulty electronic control unit, which is designed to assess incoming signals from crash sensors and trigger an airbag deployment and seatbelt tightening, if necessary.
The unit “may not have adequate protection against certain electrical noise that can occur in certain crashes, such as severe underride crashes,” Toyota said in a statement.
As a result, the airbag may not deploy correctly or at all, which could increase the risk of injury or worsen the outcome.
Toyota spokesperson Tania Saldana declined to comment on how many injuries, deaths or crashes the company has linked to the defect.
The recall also affects more than 500,000 additional vehicles outside the U.S.
The faulty units were made by “a specific supplier” that Toyota did not identify.
To fix the units, Toyota will install a noise filter, if necessary, at no cost to vehicle owners.
Car owners can check Toyota.com/recall or NHTSA.gov/recalls to see if their specific vehicle is affected.
