PETALING JAYA , Nov 15  — Honda Malaysia issued a recall of 15,734 cars in the country after discovering defects in the airbags.

A pregnant woman was killed on July 27 after the airbag of her 2003 Honda City deployed abnormally, causing the inflator to rupture and spray shrapnel into the car's cabin. It was also the first such case outside the US.

Honda Malaysia public relations head Jordhatt Johan confirmed the incident but did not reveal the location of the incident or the identity of the woman.

He explained the car driven by the woman was manufactured in Thailand and registered in Brunei.

Johan said investigations identified the airbag malfunction as the cause of the incident. Honda immediately announced the recall and began contacting affected customers.

“The faulty line of airbags were manufactured by Takata Corporation. The airbags were exposed to inappropriate levels of humidity during production in the US,” said Johan.

Takata were already subjected to criticisms after its airbags were linked to four deaths in the US.

Takata's factory in La Grange, Georgia, in the US has since been shut following the tragedies.

The recall in Malaysia is part of a global recall of about 170,000 cars by Honda in Europe and Asia Pacific.

Johan gave the assurance that Honda Malaysia had sent notifications to affected customers and had directed them to the nearest Honda service centres that would make the necessary changes to the airbags.

The affected Malaysian models are the 2003 and 2004 models of Honda City and the 2004 Honda Jazz.

Those uncertain of the status of their cars are encouraged to call Honda Malaysia at 1-800-88-2020.