(April 9, 2014) Toyota today issued a massive recall of 6.39 million vehicles worldwide for a range of glitches, from faulty airbags and seat rails to defective windshield wipers. The action covers five separate recalls, affecting about 2.34 million vehicles in North America and 810,000 in Europe.

Some vehicles were recalled for more than one problem. The recall cases involve 27 Toyota models, the Pontiac Vibe and the Subaru Trezia, produced from April 2004 through August 2013.

The Pontiac Vibe, which is a General Motors model, is also involved because Toyota and GM made cars at the same plant in California and the recalled model is the same as the Toyota Matrix. It was recalled for a problem with a spiral cable attached to an air-bag. It is unrelated to a separate GM recall over ignition switches linked to at least 13 deaths. Subaru is partly owned by Toyota, and the model was the same as the Toyota Ractis.

Toyota also reported problems with seat rails, the bracket holding the steering column in place, the windshield-wiper motor and a cable attached to the air-bag module.

The recalls affect a large range of models, including the Corolla, RAV4, Matrix, Yaris, Highlander, and Tacoma.

By region, the latest recall affects 2.3 million vehicles in North America, 1.09 million vehicles in Japan and 810,000 vehicles in Europe. Other regions affected by the recall include Africa, South America and the Middle East.

The latest recalls were announced simultaneously, even though they are unrelated, because that is how the timing of the investigations unfolded, spokesman Brian Lyons said.

Sources: Automotive News, The Detroit News