OREANDA-NEWS. Toyota Motor Corp. said it will recall almost 1.3 million vehicles worldwide, most of which were sold in the U.S., for defective airbags and windshield wipers.

The massive recall comes just two days after Toyota officially reclaimed the title of world's largest auto maker in 2012, something it won for the first time five years ago but was forced to relinquish due in part to a series of vehicle defects.

A total of 907,000 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles made in 2003 and 2004 have potentially faulty airbags that may inadvertently deploy, according to a Toyota spokesman in Tokyo. Another 385,000 Lexus IS sedans made from 2006 to 2012 have possibly defective wipers which "could become inoperative," the spokesman said.

Of those, the majority involve vehicles sold in the U.S.--some 752,000 Corolla and Corolla Matrix models and 270,000 Lexus IS cars--Toyota said in a statement.

The company is aware of 59 reports of problems with inadvertently deployed Corolla airbags, including 31 "abrasion-type" injuries and two accidents whose cause has not been determined, the spokesman said. There have been no reports of accidents or injuries involving the problematic windshield wipers, he said.

The airbag issue involves vehicles made at a now-closed Toyota plant in Fremont, California, the company said.