Takata Air Bag Troubles Deepen As Honda, Daihatsu Add Recalls

Honda Motor Co and Daihatsu Motor Co said on Thursday they would recall more than 5 million cars to replace potentially fatal air bag inflators made by Japan's Takata Corp, already at the centre of one of the biggest automotive recalls to date.

The recalls come a day after Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co said they were taking back some 6.5 million vehicles worldwide after investigations showed the Takata airbag inflators were not properly sealed and so could be damaged by moisture.

Honda, Toyota and Nissan said the recalls were precautionary and that no accidents or injuries had been reported.

Takata shares were trading more than 5 percent lower in afternoon trade and have dropped around 11 percent from 17-week highs on Monday.

Honda has so far borne the brunt of the recalls linked to the Takata air bag inflators, which can erupt with too much force, spraying shrapnel inside the car.

Six deaths have so far been linked to the defective air bags, all on cars made by Japan's third-largest automaker which has already said that cars in the United States would not be affected the latest recall.

The Honda and Daihatsu recalls raise to roughly 36 million the number of vehicles recalled worldwide since 2008 over Takata air bag inflators.

Models affected include the Fit subcompact from Honda and Mira minicar from Daihatsu. Honda said it would use replacement parts supplied by Sweden's Autoliv and Japan's Daicel Corp, as well as Takata.

The Takata-linked recalls top the largest U.S. recall of 21 million vehicles by Ford Motor Co in the 1980s for a parking gear problem, according to U.S. safety regulators and safety advocates.

Takata faces multiple class action lawsuits in the United States and Canada as well as a U.S. criminal investigation and a regulatory probe. It has said it expects to return to profit in the current financial year even though it made few provisions for costs related to the massive recall.

U.S. safety regulator the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said it would soon announce "significant new steps" related to accelerating Takata recalls.