IMPORTANT INFO - do you own an older Toyota, honda, Nissan or Mazda, then read this

Our friends over at AUTOEXPRESS have posted this report and is important information should you own or know someone who owns any of the cars these manufactures made.

Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda will recall 150,000 cars in the UK, after discovering a fault with passenger seat airbags

Four Japanese manufacturers - Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda - are to recall more than 3.4 million cars after a potential fault with the cars' airbags was identified.

Toyota is recalling 1.7 million cars worldwide after its vehicles had a defective part that "could cause the airbag inflator to rupture and deploy the airbag abnormally in a crash". However, the manufacturer confirmed that the airbag would still deploy in the event of an accident.

Honda is recalling 1.1 million cars, while Nissan and Mazda are recalling 480,000 and 45,000 cars respectively.

In terms of UK numbers, the recall affects around 76,000 Toyota models, while Nissan is calling back 59,000 cars. Around 15,400 Hondas are affected by the fault and 1,900 Mazda cars. The fault affects cars sold between 2000 and 2004.

UK models affected include the Toyota Corolla and Yaris, the Honda Civic, CR-V and Jazz models, and the Nissan X-Trail, Patrol, Almera and Navara.

The problem came to light after Toyota received five separate reports of the fault, three in the US and two from Japan. There have been no complaints from owners in the UK and a spokesman for Toyota confirmed that there had been no injuries as a result of the incident. Honda, Nissan and Mazda claim there have been no incidents involving their cars.

The Japanese car makers said the defective part was supplied by parts maker Takata Corp.

All four manufacturers have said that the part will be replaced free of charge, and will notify customers over the next 30 days. Toyota owners can also go to the recall information section of www.toyota.co.uk and put in their registration number to find out if their car is affected. Meanwhile worried Nissan owners can call 01923 899334.