Toyota to recall 3.4 million cars worldwide

KUALA LUMPUR: The Japanese automaker will be recalling a total of 3.4 million cars globally, out of which 2.9 million are in the US. This time the reason for the recall is said to be an electronic fault that might fail to deploy airbags in crashes. The company states that the electronic control unit may not work as intended, with low protection from electrical noise produced in the event of a crash, resulting in incomplete or non-deployment of airbags in crashes.

Further, as reported by Reuters, the inadequate shielding could also be the reason for the faulty operation of the cars’ seat belt pre-tensioners. This time it’s not Takata but TRW Automotive responsible for the production of airbag control units. The cars affected are Corolla 2011-2019, Avalon 2012-2018, Avalon Hybrid 2013-2018, and Matrix 2011-2013.

The report further said that according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), eight recent deaths recorded could be related to this. On the other hand, Toyota has said to install a noise filter between airbag’s wire harness and control module, if required. The customers will be contacted by Toyota by mid-March.

As per Reuters, the NHTSA identified 12.3 million vehicles in April with a faulty airbag system. This includes the models Toyota has recalled. The suspected vehicles have been manufactured from 2010 to 2019 from the automakers like Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Fiat Chrysler, Mitsubishi, and Kia. We have already witnessed a recall announcement from Fiat Chrysler, Kia, and Hyundai which involved 2.5 million cars. This recall was also due to the faulty TRW airbag system that not at all or partially deploy in the event of a collision.

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