Recall Alert: Airbag Problem Affects Millions of Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda Vehicles

Four Japanese automakers — Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda — have announced a voluntary recall of 3 million vehicles worldwide because of possibly faulty airbags; more than a million of those vehicles are in the U.S.

According to the automakers, the problem lies in the front-passenger airbag inflator, which in affected vehicles could deploy with too much pressure due to improperly manufactured propellant wafers, causing the inflator casing to rupture. This could result in injuries to passengers, though none have been reported. The airbags were manufactured by Japan's Takata Corp., a major world supplier of airbags.

According to Toyota, affected vehicles in the U.S. include 510,000 Toyota Corolla compact sedans, Matrix compact hatchbacks, Sequoia SUVs and Tundra pickup trucks, as well as Lexus SC 430 sport coupes, all manufactured between 2001 and 2003. According to news reports, Toyota is recalling 1.7 million vehicles worldwide.

Toyota said it will notify owners by mail. Dealers will inspect the front-passenger airbag; if it is equipped with an affected inflator, the inflator will be replaced with a new one for free. Toyota owners can go to www.toyota.com/recall or call Toyota customer service at 800-331-4331; Lexus owners can go to www.lexus.com/recall or call Lexus customer service at 800-255-3987.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: March 2013

With the top seven automakers reporting numbers — which account for the vast majority of new-car sales — March sales have crept up around 3.2% over year-ago levels. Honda, GM and Ford saw the largest gains, but no major automaker saw a double-digit increase.

The top sellers are a reshuffle from February's list; all 10 are back. The Nissan Altima jumped three spots from February, and despite an 8% sales drop, it's the best-selling sedan by just 100 cars in March. Madness? Not really. Look back at March 2012 and the Altima even beat out the Chevrolet Silverado for a podium finish in monthly sales.

Lower year-over-year incentives played against Nissan's redesigned sedan as surging competitors — the Honda Accord and the Ford Fusion — saw larger gains. Ford says the Fusion had its best sales month in the nameplate's 7 1/2-year history, and this happened with fewer incentives than on last year’s outgoing model. The Escape hit its highest monthly total in its 12-plus-year history. Those two cars — and rising Explorer and F-Series sales — overcame falling Focus, Edge and Mustang sales to drive Ford to a 5.7% year-over-year increase.

Why the Dodge Dart Has a Long Way to Go

Dodge sold just 7,154 Dart sedans in January — better than December 2012, but a shabby performance when you consider that Honda moved 21,881 Civics, Ford sold 16,161 Focuses and Toyota moved 23,822 Corollas and Matrixes. Dodge dealers opened January with a glut of Darts — 141 days' worth, to be exact. That's more than double the days' supply for the Chevrolet Cruze and more than triple the supply of the Civic and Focus.

January marks the seventh full month of Dart sales, and it's been a slow start for the compact sedan. The Wall Street Journal reports Dodge parent Chrysler cut a factory shift at its facility in Dundee, Mich., which makes one of the Dart's engines, due to slow sales. At January's North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Chrysler-Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne admitted that the Dart's dual-clutch automatic transmission and high mix of stick-shift cars at launch reflected "powertrain solutions that, in today's world and in hindsight, were not and are not the ideal solution."

The drivetrains don't help, but there may be another factor in play: Dodge's compact sedan is only that — a sedan. Compact cars offer the most diverse body styles. The Corolla has a Matrix offshoot, the Civic comes as a sedan or coupe, the Focus and Mazda3 include a hatchback and sedan, and the Hyundai Elantra scores a trifecta: sedan, coupe and hatch.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: January 2013

Automakers should party like it's … 2012. Sales kicked off the new year at the same pace as they ended the last, with figures from the top seven largest automakers up a combined 15.6% versus January 2012. Ford and Toyota led the way with gains of 20% or better, but Nissan and Hyundai-Kia both saw a roughly flat month. None of the six automakers saw a sales decrease, however.

Ford's banner month shifted the top 10 best-sellers. The Focus compact dropped from the list, but the Fusion sedan and Escape SUV reprised their standings; both were absent in December 2012. Despite two recalls following its launch early last fall, the redesigned Fusion shot up 64.5%, and this came with lighter incentives than the outgoing Fusion a year ago. The redesigned Honda Accord — winner of our recent Cars.com $26,000 Midsize Family Sedan Showdown — picked up even better speed, packing on 75.2% to stay 1,525 cars ahead of the Fusion. Keep an eye out: That race could end the year in a photo finish.

J.P. Morgan analyst Ryan Brinkman pegged sales right around December's annualized rate, Automotive News reports, meaning January would tie for the second best sales month since February 2008. Shoppers kept buying despite fewer deals. Total dealer and automaker discounts now combine for $5,223, according to CNW Marketing Research. That's down more than $500 versus January 2012, and combined with rising MSRPs, it's driven the average new car to $32,163 in January — up 6.6% versus a year ago.

Recall Alert: 2003-04 Pontiac Vibe

General Motors is recalling 135,749 model year 2003-04 Pontiac Vibe hatchbacks due to an electrical problem that could cause the airbags to deploy, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In the affected vehicles, manufactured between Jan. 18, 2002, and April 27, 2004, the supplemental restraint system circuits are susceptible to internal electrical shorting; this may create an abnormal current flow and increased heat, which may damage the circuits. The problem could result in an inadvertent deployment of the front airbags or seat belt pretensioners, increasing the risk of a crash.

General Motors will notify owners, though no notification schedule has been specified. Dealers will install a supplemental harness containing an electrical filter between the airbag control module and its wire harness for free. Owners can call GM at 800-620-7668 or NHTSA's vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236 for more info.

Today's recall follows Wednesday's recall of 752,000 model year 2003-04 Corolla compact sedans and Matrix hatchbacks; the Pontiac Vibe is related to the Matrix and was produced during a Toyota-GM partnership.

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Recall Alert: 2003-04 Toyota Corolla and Matrix

Toyota is voluntarily recalling 752,000 model-year 2003-04 versions of the Corolla sedan and Matrix hatchback due to a faulty airbag control module, the automaker announced today.

In the affected vehicles, the airbag control module could have been manufactured with circuits that are susceptible to shorting. The resulting heat could damage the components and cause the airbags and/or seat belt pretensioners to malfunction, increasing the risk of injury.

Toyota will notify owners "in the near future," according to a statement, and dealers will replace the affected parts for free. Owners can call Toyota at 800-331-4331 or visit www.toyota.com/recall for more info.

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Top 10 Best-Selling Cars of 2012

When the dust settles, 2012 will mark the third consecutive year of automotive sales gains, and the best sales year since 2007. (Remember back then? Here's a refresher.) Sales for the top seven automakers increased 12.9%, suggesting new-car sales will end in the mid-14 million range. That would be the third year in a row of sales gains, with totals up some 40% over a recession-ravaged 2008. It's the best sales year since 2007, but it still falls below sales totals through much of the 2000s.

Which cars fared best? The top sellers for 2012 include a lot of regulars, with six of the 10 cars redesigned for 2012 or 2013. The Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Cruze, both on this list a year ago, are gone; both had a relatively flat sales year.

Check out the list below.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: December 2012

Cliff, shmiff. Holiday shoppers brushed aside concerns about impending fiscal doom (which Congress averted, sort of) to drive new-car sales to their best December since 2007. Pickups trucks remained atop December's sales pyramid, with Chrysler's Ram trucks moving up a notch. That's typical for the month, especially amid a sustained recovery for the truck-reliant construction industry.

On the car side, Santa left Honda a nice present under the tree. A substantially restyled 2013 Honda Civic sedan hit dealerships in November and sales for the nameplate shot up 61.2% in December; it secured Honda's workhorse compact the title of America's best-selling car for the second month in a row. The Toyota Camry held the spot for the first 10 months of the year.

In fact, Honda sales overall shot up 26.2% over an inventory-strapped December 2011, thanks to strong demand for the Civic and redesigned Accord — two models that regularly account for nearly half of the automaker's sales. Toyota gained 9% while Nissan fell 1.6% as its redesigned Altima dropped 7.7%. The Altima boasts impressive EPA mileage, but drivability and cabin issues left the car in last place in Cars.com's $26,000 Midsize Sedan Showdown.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: October 2012

We reported Wednesday on Hurricane Sandy's impact to October car sales, with car shoppers across 13 states potentially delaying a purchase in the final week of the month while they assessed damage. One analyst noted that while some drivers would have to replace storm-damaged cars, others would end up keeping their clunkers because they had to spend money instead on damaged roofs or flooded basements. That wasn't the only impediment to auto sales: Rising MSRPs and lower discounts sent the average transaction price for a new car to $32,299 in October, according to CNW Marketing Research. That's $2,974 — 10.1%! — more than a year ago.

Did all of these factors stymie an automotive recovery 16 months in the making?

It appears so. Sales rose just 5.8% for the top seven automakers — the Detroit Three plus Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai/Kia — which represents the slowest growth in six months. Ford stayed flat. Nissan, noting that the storm-ravaged Northeast is its largest market, fell 3.2%. Hyundai dropped 4.1%.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: July 2012

Automakers had a mixed July as shoppers paid more for their cars. CNW Marketing Research says average transaction prices increased 8.5% versus July 2011 — the third month in a row of year-over-year increases greater than 8%. Compounding all this was the fact that used-car prices declined for the third straight month in July, according to vehicle auction firm Manheim, though they remain higher than at any point before November 2010. Would new-car sales stand a chance?

Well, yes. Sales for the top seven automakers rose 9.3% in July as Toyota and Honda roared back from last year’s earthquake-related shortages — or at least perceived shortages, in Toyota's case. Honda was the only Japan Three automaker really pinched on inventory a year ago, Automotive News data shows. Either way, both have made a comeback. July sales flew 45.3% at Honda and 26.1% at Toyota, as cars like the outgoing Honda Accord and redesigned Honda Civic trumped onetime top-10 placers the Chevy Malibu and Hyundai Sonata. It's easy to see why: The Accord has as many incentives as discount-wary Honda would ever unleash, and the Civic's once-paltry inventory is back to near-industry-average levels.