Consumer security

Toyota Recalls 1.4 Million Vehicles for Airbag Problem

Public concern about faulty automobile airbags spread to a second major supplier on Wednesday, after Toyota recalled 1.43 million Prius and Lexus models equipped with bags made by Autoliv, a big Swedish-American manufacturer.

Although no injuries have been reported from the problem, there have been incidents in which the Autoliv bags deployed spontaneously in parked vehicles, sending metal pieces of the inflater into the cars’ cabins.

The problem sounded ominously similar to issues with faulty airbags made by another major supplier, Takata, which have been linked to 14 known deaths and more than 100 injuries. Takata’s airbags have been the target of the largest safety recall in automotive history.