Takata airbag recall adds 3 million more vehicles

A recall of Japanese-made airbags that can malfunction and injure people when deployedhas expanded to now include as many as 12 million cars worldwide.

America'sNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration updated the list of vehicles included in the recall of Takata airbags by 3 million more cars, bringing the total to as much as 7.8 million in the U.S. alone.

The U.S. government is adding more than 3 million vehicles to a rare warning about faulty air bags that have the potential to kill or injure drivers or passengers in a crash, as they have been known to rupture and sometimes cause metal fragments to come flying out.

Safety advocates say at least four people have died from the problem and urge owners to bring their cars in to get repaired, especially in Florida and along the Gulf Coast because it's believed hot humid weather could be a factor.The warning covers many models from BMW, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Mazda, Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota.

Some of the vehicles in the U.S. that have been recalled include:

• Toyota (778,177 vehicles)Models: 2002 to 2004 Lexus SC, 2003 to 2004 Toyota Corolla and Matrix, 2002 to 2004 Toyota Sequoia, 2003 to 2004 Pontiac Vibe made for General Motors by Toyota.
• Honda (2.8 million vehicles) Models: 2001 to 2007 Accord four cylinder, 2002 to 2002 Accord six-cylinder; 2001 to 2005 Honda Civic; 2002 to 2006 Honda CR-V; 2003 to 2011 Honda Element; 2002 to 2004 Honda Odyssey; 2003 to 2007 Honda Pilot; 2006 Honda Ridgeline; 2003 to 2006 Acura MDX; 2002 to 2003 Acura TL/CL
• Nissan (437,712total)Models: 2001 to 2003 Nissan Maxima, 2001 to 2003 Nissan Pathfinder, 2002 to 2003 Nissan Sentra, 2001 to 2003 Infiniti I30/I35; 2002 to 2003 Infiniti QX4, 2003 Infiniti FX
• Mazda (18,050 cars)Models: 2003 to 2004 Mazda6, 2004 Mazda RX-8
• BMW (573,935) Models: 2000 to 2005 3 Series Sedan, 2000 to 2006 3 Series Coupe, 2000 to 2005 3 Series Sports Wagon, 2000 to 2006 3 Series Convertible, 2001 to 2006 M3 Coupe and Convertible.
• General Motors (133,221)Models: 2002 to 2003 Buick LeSabre, 2002 to 2003 Buick Rendezvous, 2002 to 2003 Cadillac DeVille, 2002 to 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer, 2002 to 2003 Chevrolet Impala, 2002 to 2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 2002 to 2003 Chevrolet Venture, 2002 to 2003 GMC Envoy and XL, 2002 to 2003 Oldsmobile Aurora, 2002 to 2003 Oldsmobile Bravada, 2002 to 2003 Oldsmobile Silhouette, 2002 to 2003 Pontiac Bonneville, 2002 to 2003 Pontiac Montana.