TOYOTA IS RECALLING 20,000 cars in Ireland over an airbag defect that could cause a fire.

The company says all the owners affected have been notified.

The models involved are Yaris, Corolla and Avensis cars sold between November 2000 and March 2004.

The company is recalling 2.27 million vehicles globally over the airbag system defect.

This is the latest in a series of callbacks by the world’s biggest automaker.

It has now recalled about nine million vehicles in the past two months.

In a statement submitted to Japan’s transport ministry, the carmaker said that;

There is a risk that the airbag container could break down and scatter around, which could cause fire or injuries.

It did not elaborate on details of the potential fire hazard, but a company spokesman in Tokyo said Toyota had received a complaint from a Japanese customer who said his passenger seat was burned due to the glitch.

The spokesman added that no serious injuries or accidents linked to the defect had been reported.

In April Toyota recalled 6.39 million vehicles globally over a string of problems, dealing another blow to the firm, whose reputation for quality and safety has been dented in recent years.

Despite record sales and bumper profits, Toyota has been fighting to protect its brand after earlier recalls involving millions of vehicles.

Read: Own a Toyota? Multi-million car recall affects 8,500 in Ireland>

Read: What’s Ireland’s new favourite car?>