Suzuki Motor said on Feb. 25 it was recalling more than 430,000 Suzuki and Mazda brand small vans in Japan to fix defective air conditioning units that could catch fire.

"We sincerely apologize to users for causing inconvenience," Suzuki said in a statement on the recall of 2005 to 2009 models of its "Every" van and the "Mazda Scrum", which Suzuki built for the partner company.

Suzuki said in its filing with the transport ministry that it had received 85 complaints, including of two cases of fire, caused by the defect, which it linked to electrical damage caused by rainwater intrusion.

In other auto recalls in Japan, Nissan Motor said on Feb. 25 it would pull for repairs more than 76,000 vehicles to fix poorly connected electrical wires which it said could cause the engines to stop. There was no report of accidents but the company had received 161 complaints, it said in a document filed with the transport ministry.

Daihatsu Motor meanwhile announced a recall of more than 60,000 vehicles for faulty airbags that its said could accidentally inflate. Two complaints were filed, but no accidents reported, the company said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010