Toyota announced a massive recall of more than six million vehicles worldwide Wednesday, as the shadow of the GM ignition-switch controversy looms over the auto industry.
The announcement marks one of the largest auto recalls ever, although Toyota said in a statement it’s not aware of any deaths or injuries related to the faulty vehicles, Forbes reports.
Recently GM announced a recall of 2.6 million vehicles with faulty ignition switches, now tied to at least 13 deaths. (RELATED: Congress grills GM CEO about vehicle recalls)
Spiral cables that could prevent driver-side airbags from deploying are the problem in about 3.5 million of the vehicles, including Corolla and Camry. Another 2.3 million may have faulty front seats, which could move in a crash.
A $1.2 billion settlement last month related to Toyota’s handling of a 2009-2010 recall fiasco, and resulting pledge to improve the recall process, could partly explain the recall, according to Forbes.
Efraim Levy, a senior equity analyst at S&P Capital IQ, told USA Today the Toyota settlement and GM controversy have “ushered in a new era,” and directly reflect the regulatory safety environment, as well as aversion to the wrath of the U.S. government.
“No one makes a perfect car,” Levy said. “I don’t think regulators have a problem with recalls, but they must be done quickly.”