What’s more frightening than spending all your money on Black Friday?
Getting into a car accident and not having your airbags deployed.
Everyone’s worst nightmare just came true, but fret not, Toyota is doing what they can to make up for their error.
Toyota Recalling 3.4 Million Cars Worldwide Because of Airbag Problem
Toyota Motor announced on Tuesday (21 January) that it will recall 3.4million vehicles worldwide.
That’s right, not hundreds or thousands, but millions.
This came after an electronic glitch was discovered which can result in airbags not deploying in a car crash.
The recall included a whopping 2.9 million US vehicles
- 2011-2019 Corolla
- 2011-2013 Matrix
- 2012-2018 Avalon
- 2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid vehicles
What’s The Problem?
Lest you’re a car noobie like me and have zero ideas what car components are (besides the steering wheel), here’s an explanation of how such a fault can occur in a car.
For one, the cars may have an electrical control unit that doesn’t have enough protection against electrical noise that can occur in crashes.
So when a car accident happens, the airbag might only be deployed partially or not at all.
But that’s not all. This could also interfere with the operation of seat-belt pretensioners thereby posing even more safety hazards.
The Probe
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was on the lookout for potentially defective airbags that looked into various automakers, which surprise surprise, includes the vehicles Toyota is recalling.
But what triggered the investigation you ask?
NHTSA had previously identified two frontal car crashes, which included one fatal crash “involving Toyota products where (electrical overstress) is suspected as the likely cause” of airbags not being deployed.
These two crashes both involved newer Corolla cars.
Frighteningly, the airbags in question and that are being investigated have been installed in over 12 million vehicles beginning 2010 and all the way till 2019.
That’s as long as 9 years and as recent as last year.
These cars are being sold by Toyota, Fiat Chrysler, Automobiles, Honda Motor, Hyundai Motors and Mitsubishi.
At least eight deaths have been linked to these misbehaving airbags.
Toyota has refused to reveal exactly how many deaths or injuries have been tied to their faulty cars and airbags but they will let vehicle owners know about the recall come March 2020.
