AKIPRESS.COM - Honda added to millions of vehicles recalled to replace Takata (7312) Corp. air bags, after a death was reported outside the U.S. related to the devices, reports the press service of the company.

Honda said it will call back about 170,000 cars worldwide. Toyohiro Hishikawa, a Takata spokesman, confirmed there’s a report of a fatal accident in Malaysia. Honda said it’s analyzing whether the death is related to the parts maker’s air bags.

The recall by Honda, Takata’s largest customer, intensifies a crisis already linked to four deaths in the U.S. and the callback of more than 6 million vehicles globally for the automaker since 2008. Flawed air-bag inflators made by Takata have ruptured and spewed metal fragments at passengers, prompting safety campaigns by 10 automakers in the U.S. alone.

Takata has faced calls by U.S. senators for a criminal investigation into the company following a New York Times report that it tested air bag inflators in 2004 and destroyed them without alerting regulators.

The company disputed that report today, saying that it conducted the experiments in response to an unrelated air bag flaw and shared the findings with Honda and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.