The four major Japanese carmakers, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mazda are to recall 3.4m vehicles worldwide due to a potential airbag fault, with many Irish vehicles expected to be affected.

The vehicles were built between 2000 and 2004 and are said to be equipped with front passenger airbag inflators which could have been assembled with improperly manufactured propellant wafers. These could cause the inflator to rupture and the front passenger airbag to deploy abnormally in the event of a crash. There is also said to be a potential fire risk, although there are no recorded instances of this happening.

The airbags in question were supplied to all the car manufacturers by Japanese car parts maker Takata.

Toyota is recalling 1.73m vehicles globally saying its dealers will replace the faulty inflator free of charge, a job that can take up to two-and-a-half hours.

Honda has said it is recalling around 1.14m vehicles worldwide, while Nissan is recalling 480,000 and Mazda 45,500.