By: Vishal Gorajia June 19, 2015

Toyota Recalls 2.9 Million Vehicles Installed with Defective Front Airbags

Toyota announced that it is recalling an additional 1.3 million vehicles to address the recently discovered faulty airbag inflators. The National Highway Transport Safety Administration along with Toyota have discovered that the airbags can explode with excessive force and launch shrapnel from the inflator into the vehicle. This latest round of recalls brings Toyota’s total recall number to 24 million vehicles since 2010, the most of any global automobile manufacturer. Is Your Car Affected? This faulty airbag is one of Toyota’s countless recalls in the last five years. Since their recall in 2010 due to sticky accelerator pedals. A total of 2.9 million Toyota’s in the U.S and nearly 5 million globally have been discovered to have faulty airbags. This recall expands across their whole model range and affects all Toyota drivers. Models include the 2004-07 Toyota Corolla, Matrix, and Sequoia. The 2003-2006 Tundra, 2004-2005 Rav 4, 2007-2010 Highlander, 2014 Prius and the 2005-2007 Lexus SC. Two reasons have been given for this spontaneous combustion of the airbag. One is “humid weather”, the second being a flaw in the manufacturing process of the airbags led to propellant chemicals being mishandled and improperly stored. This can cause the metal airbag inflator to burst open due to excessive pressure. Hopefully, the latter is to blame, or else the problem can affect vehicles on nearly every continent of the world.

Who To Blame? Toyota is not the manufacturer of these airbags it is in fact a contractor called Takata Corp, which holds 20% of the airbags market. Many blame Takata for what can best be described as a time bomb sitting inches away from the face of millions of drivers. Industry and government officials argue that Toyota is even more at fault for continuing to do business with Takata after knowing of their quality problems. More than a decade ago Takata was discovered to have produced faulty airbags for Honda and malfunctioning seat belts. Before becoming public information Takata executives ordered their researchers to destroy the evidence that had been discovered regarding their faulty products. Continued relations with a supplier that shows exceedingly low ethical standards, only brings in to question where Toyota’s own values and integrity lie. Nevertheless, they continue to thrust this image of quality, reliability, integrity down customer’s throats as the primary reasons for buying a Toyota. In 2010 when their vehicles where turning into barreling steel coffins at a moment’s notice, their response to customers was “remove the driver’s seat mat, as it may cause for the pedal to stick.”

At the time many in the auto industry called that a poor cop out of an answer. Later findings revealed that the company knew that it was a software problem affecting all their late model vehicles-but chose to distance themselves from the situation. By showing such naivety and downplaying the problem one should ask themselves if Toyota’s responsibility was to their customers or their income statement. Toyota’s divergence from their core values of “customer first” has greatly tarnished their track record and reputation that used to speak for itself.

Workers at Toyota in Japan. The automaker has recalled its model fitted with Takata airbags.

What Should You Do In the event that your vehicle is one of the models that has a recall due to the faulty airbag or other life threatening faults there are number of things you can do to resolve the problem. Firstly, avoid driving your vehicle, yes it’s a hassle and sounds simple but one would be surprised at how many people continue to drive their cars, knowing of grave faults. Owners may think that the chances of the fault hurting them are slight, but it is better to be safe than sorry. One could only wish that the family that lost their lives in 2009 could have heeded the same advice when their Lexus accelerated to 140 mph and rolled six times leaving no survivors. (If your car unexpectedly accelerates and the brakes don’t respond, change the gear lever into neutral, this stops power from driving the wheels and will let the car coast to a stop). Secondly if you feel unsafe in your vehicle then you have the legal right to complain and request that the dealership provide you with a loaner vehicle (obviously one not experiencing a recall). Many owners are not aware that they can ask (the dealer won’t offer) their dealership for this service, until or while their vehicle is being repaired. Lastly if you feel that your vehicle has an issue, and is one that has not been addressed by manufacturer through a recall, then complain about it. Far too many drivers, just sit on it expecting the problem to go away or not be bothered by it.

Chances are that other drivers have faced the same issue. By writing a formal letter of complaint to the National Highway Transport Safety Administration or the manufacturer they are obligated to look in to the issue and see if it is affecting other vehicles. Your Legal Avenues In the event that you are injured or a loved one is killed due to a manufacturer error or you are unhappy with the recall and repair, there are several legal avenues that you can explore. You can file a civil lawsuit for damages, for instance the recall for the faulty airbags will provide options for repair, replacement or refund. However, such a lawsuit will not cover any injuries that you have sustained as a result of the faulty part. If you or a family member is injured then you can form a Defective Product Liability Case against the manufacturer and sue them. In such a case it is important to work with an experienced liability lawyer and identify all potential defendants that are involved in the chain of distribution. This allows for the ability to build a strong case, and a higher chance of winning and being compensated. Toyota’s response to their recalls over the last five years has caused the company to lose a significant amount of credibility and brand equity that they spent years accumulating. Their decisions and partnerships has in turn had and threatens to have a direct consequence on the lives of you the driver.

Works Cited

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and His Family Died in Toyota Lexus Crash." Daily Mail Online. Associated

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