GM recalls 33,000 Chevy Cruzes over faulty airbags

General Motors is recalling 33,000 Chevrolet Cruze sedans in North America from model years 2013 and 2014 due to faulty airbags built by Japan's Takata.

The new and used vehicles -- about 29,000 in the United States and the rest in Canada -- are among those that GM ordered to stop selling earlier this week.

Potentially faulty airbags manufactured by Takata, which could rupture and propel debris inside a car, had already triggered the recall of millions of vehicles around the world, many of them Toyotas.

"We are in the process now of launching the recall to repair the vehicles in customer hands," GM spokesman Jim Cain told AFP, stressing the company "immediately" stopped sales of the vehicles after learning of the problem.

"The stop sale was just a precautionary measure while we evaluated how many vehicles were impacted."

Cain had previously explained that some of the cars "may be equipped with a suspect driver's air bag inflator module that may have been assembled with an incorrect part."

The recall was only the latest hit to both Takata and Chevrolet.

On Monday, Japanese automakers recalled nearly three million vehicles worldwide over an airbag defect that could pose a fire risk. Honda, Mazda and Nissan were affected.

Japan's Takata Corp., which made the airbag, noted its US subsidiary had manufactured the airbag, apologizing for the problem and vowing to make its utmost efforts to prevent a recurrence.

Subject to Honda's recall are a total of 13 vehicle models in Japan, including popular Fit and Accord cars.

Front passenger airbag inflators could have been assembled with an improperly manufactured propellant component, Japan's third largest automaker said.

That could cause the container of the inflator to rupture in the event of a crash, posing a fire risk or injuring passengers.

The same problem has also caused top automaker Toyota to recall millions of vehicles globally.