RTXYIEF
The Mexican and the Japanese national flags are seen outside the Takata plant, the world's second-largest supplier of airbags and seatbelts, in Monclova, Mexico, April 11, 2013. Reuters

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has expanded its recall of faulty Japanese airbags to more than 6 millions vehicles. The Takata airbag recall applies to owners of certain Toyota, Honda, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors vehicles, according to a statement from the federal government.

"Over 6 million vehicles are involved in these recalls, which have occurred as far back as 18 months ago and as recently as Monday," it added. The previous airbag recall issued Monday covered 4.74 million vehicles. Recall notices sent to vehicle owners typically include a description of what is wrong with the vehicle and the possible risk posed by the problem, how the manufacturer plans to fix the problem, when the repair will be available and what to do next.

The recall involves airbags that could malfunction if exposed to consistently high humidity, causing metal fragments to fly out when the bags are deployed in a crash, according to reports. "Responding to these recalls, whether old or new, is essential to personal safety, and it will help aid our ongoing investigation into Takata airbags and what appears to be a problem related to extended exposure to consistently high humidity and temperatures," NHTSA Deputy Administrator David Friedman said.

In June, Honda Motor, Nissan Motor and Mazda recalled over 2 million vehicles to repair potentially faulty airbags, while Toyota ordered the recall of nearly 650,000 vehicles in Japan to deal with potentially faulty airbags, after Takata warned that further repairs could be needed. During the past six years, Takata has recalled about 16 million vehicles globally for defective airbags. At least four deaths have been linked to the faulty airbags, Reuters reported.

Owners of recalled vehicles can make an appointment with their dealers to fix the problem. Dealers are instructed to replace the passenger airbag inflators without charge, but if the parts are not on hand or in stock, dealers will post a warning sign on the passenger door informing riders not to sit in the front passenger seat until the airbag is fixed, USA Today reports.

A government website meant to let owners check whether their vehicle was on the recall list was out of commission on Tuesday. Calls to an operator on the agency’s hotline were routinely put on hold, the New York Times reported. According to NBC News, below is the NHTSA's new list of affected models.

BMW -- 627,615 total number of potentially affected vehicles:

  • 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
  • 2001 to 2006 M3 Convertible

Chrysler -- 371,309 total number of potentially affected vehicles:

  • 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
  • 2001 to 2006 M3 Convertible

Ford -- 58,669 total number of potentially affected vehicles:

  • 2004 Ranger
  • 2005 to 2006 GT
  • 2005 to 2007 Mustang

General Motors -- undetermined total number of potentially affected vehicles:

  • 2003 to 2005 Pontiac Vibe
  • 2005 Saab 9-2X

Honda -- 5,051,364 total number of potentially affected vehicles:

  • 2001 to 2007 Honda Accord
  • 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
  • 2005 Acura RL

Mazda -- 64,872 total number of potentially affected vehicles:

  • 2003 to 2007 Mazda6
  • 2006 to 2007 MazdaSpeed6
  • 2004 to 2008 Mazda RX-8
  • 2004 to 2005 MPV
  • 2004 B-Series Truck

Mitsubishi -- 11,985 total number of potentially affected vehicles:

  • 2004 to 2005 Lancer
  • 2006 to 2007 Raider

Nissan -- 694,626 total number of potentially affected vehicles:

  • 2001 to 2003 Nissan Maxima
  • 2001 to 2004 Nissan Pathfinder
  • 2002 to 2004 Nissan Sentra
  • 2001 to 2004 Infiniti I30/I35
  • 2002 to 2003 Infiniti QX4
  • 2003 to 2005 Infiniti FX35/FX45

Subaru -- 17,516 total number of potentially affected vehicles:

  • 2003 to 2005 Baja
  • 2003 to 2005 Legacy
  • 2003 to 2005 Outback
  • 2003 to 2005 Baja
  • 2004 to 2005 Impreza

Toyota -- 877,000 total number of potentially affected vehicles:

  • 2002 to 2005 Lexus SC
  • 2002 to 2005 Toyota Corolla
  • 2003 to 2005 Toyota Corolla Matrix
  • 2002 to 2005 Toyota Sequoia
  • 2003 to 2005 Toyota Tundra