Toyota expands Takata airbag recall to 387,000 vehicles in Canada

Toyota Canada has expanded its recall of vehicles with Takata airbags to another 255,000 vehicles in Canada.

The Takata airbags have an inflator that can explode in an accident, sending shards of metal into the passenger compartment and killing or injuring people.

The total number of cars recalled by Toyota in Canada now is 387,000.

The affected models:

• 2003-2007 Corolla and Corolla Matrix.
• 2005-2006 Tundra.
• 2005-2007 Sequoia.
• 2003-2007 Lexus SC430 vehicles.

Owners of the affected Toyota / Lexus vehicles will be notified by first class mail to return their vehicles to a dealer for a replacement airbag inflator.

So far seven deaths have been linked to the default, including the death in April of a Louisiana woman driving a 2005 Honda Accord. Her right carotid artery was severed by the exploding airbag, two days before a notice of recall on the Honda arrived at her home.

George Iny director of Canadian Automobile Protection Association says weakness in the airbag is more likely to occur in warmer more humid climates

He says drivers of these vehicles shouldn't worry.

"First of all you won't be getting an airbag any time soon. Canada won't be the priority market for those bags and that's totally reasonable. We believe the risk of something happening in Canada is remote," he told CBC News.

Chances are most notifications will go out to the person who first bought the vehicle and since these are older cars, that could be two owners ago. Iny advised owners tocall theautomakerto get included in the recall database.