Mitsubishi Motors has announced the recall of 179,000 cars because of a defect in the air conditioning system that has injured at least two people.

The latest recall effects the Galant, Magna and Verada sedan models built between 1996 to 2005 and were exported throughout Asia.

In 2001, a man sitting in the passenger seat suffered a minor burn to the hand. In 2002, a woman's shin was slightly burned, a company spokesman said on condition of anonymity.

Mitsubishi Motors also reported another recall for 95,000 Colt compacts manufactured from 2002 to 2004 for a defect with the ignition key. There were no accidents related to the defect, but 98 problems were reported.

None of the defected models were exported to Europe.