Toyota is recalling about 2.87m RAV4 sport utility vehicles worldwide after rear seat belts separated in one fatal accident in Canada and during a crash that injured a passenger in the US.

The automaker has been unable to confirm if the fatality or injury are connected with the defect prompting its recall of RAV4, RAV4 EV and Vanguard SUV models, spokeswoman Kayo Doi told Bloomberg by e-mail. Rear seat belts in the vehicles could be cut by metal seat-cushion frames in severe front crashes and fail to restrain passengers, she said.

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Toyota Australia said in a statement on Thursday (18 February) it would recall approximately 98,000 RAV4s built between August 2005 and November 2012 “due to a potential issue with both outboard seat belts of the second row seats”.

“There is a possibility that, in the event of a high-speed frontal collision, the seat belt webbing could contact a portion of the metal seat cushion frame, become cut and separate. If this occurs, the seat belt may not properly restrain the occupant, which could increase the risk of injury to the occupant. There have been no accidents or injuries in Australia as a result of this condition,” the automaker said.

Dealers will add resin protection covers to the metal seat cushion frames. These parts are presently being prepared and, due to the number of vehicles affected globally, it is expected sufficient parts will be available to commence recall repairs by June this year, the statement added. The repairs will take about an hour.

Toyota New Zealand said it would be calling back 9,436 RAV4s as part of the global recall which, it said, involved 2,696,300 vehicles worldwide. It was not yet clear how many imported used vehicles in the country might be affected by the recall.

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Bloomberg said the seat belt issue poses risk to the RAV4’s image as the model becomes one of Toyota’s most significant in the US market. The SUV may surpass Camry, the industry’s top-selling car in the US for the last 14 years, and become Toyota’s biggest seller within the next five years, Toyota Motor Sales USA senior vice president Bob Carter said last December.

Toyota is among 14 automakers calling back about 24m vehicles to replace Takata inflators that have ruptured and led to the largest US auto safety recall. Older RAV4 models also are included in that airbag recall.

Doi told Bloomberg Toyota began this latest recall after Canada’s regulator reported in October that seat belts had been damaged during crash test research. The recall was due to Toyota’s vehicle design and not its suppliers, she said. 

The recall includes about 1.33m vehicles in North America, 625,000 in Europe and 434,000 in China, according to the company.

A Toyota GB spokesman said the recall would affect 48,616 cars here in the UK.