Toyota Motors recalled 247,000 cars, trucks and SUVs in the U.S. on Monday that are equipped with potentially defective front passenger air bag inflators from Japan's Takata Corp.

There is a chance the air bags can rupture and spray metal shrapnel, according to Reuters who cited the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The latest recall raised the number of vehicles affected by regional recalls launched in June by several automakers due to Takata air bags to more than 4.5 million.

The regional recalls by Toyota and other automakers including Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' and Honda Motor started in certain high-humidity areas of the United States after the NHTSA opened an investigation into reports of air bag explosions in Florida and Puerto Rico.

 Takata and automakers have been trying to determine if exposure to high humidity caused any defect in the inflators collected though the regional recalls.

"At this point, the issue appears to be a problem related to extended exposure to consistently high humidity," NHTSA said in a statement on Monday. "However, we are leaving no stone unturned in our aggressive pursuit to track down the full geographic scope of this issue."

Toyota recovered replaced air bag inflators from Florida and Takata evaluated them starting back in August, according to the NHTSA documents.  On Oct. 10, Takata let Toyota know that a number of the inflators performed "improperly" during testing. After reviewing the data with NHTSA, Toyota decided on the recall five days later, according to Reuters.

Since 2007, Takata has recalled 16 million vehicles worldwide for defective air bags, including regional recalls.

Vehicles affected by Monday's recall includes the Lexus SC coupe, Toyota Corolla small car, Corolla Matrix small car, Sequoia SUV and Tundra full-size pickup, from model years 2002 through 2005.

Also part of the recall are General Motors' Pontiac Vibe, which was built by Toyota.

The affected vehicles are registered or originally sold in in areas of South Florida, along the Gulf Coast, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa, according to the NHTSA documents.

Dealers will be instructed to replace the front passenger airbag inflator with a newly made replacement, free of charge. 

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