Toyota has been forced to recall even more cars to fix faulty airbags.
In March we reported the total number of Toyotas affected by the Takata airbag fiasco had topped more than half a million.
It’s just recalled another 1500 Corolla and HiLux vehicles, produced between June 2015 and January 2016 — but says the recall is not related to the Takata fiasco that has affected car manufacturers from around the globe.
This recall it says is to address the premature aging of airbag sensors that could, instead of triggering the bags, prevent them from deploying in the event of an accident.
Due to two separate manufacturing issues, there is a possibility that the insulation layers of the IC chips could peel over time, creating an open circuit in the IC chip.
If this occurs, the airbag warning light will illuminate and the side/curtain shield airbags and/or front airbags, may become deactivated.
Non-deployment of the side/curtain shield airbags and/or front airbags could increase the risk of injury to the occupants in the event of a collision.
Toyota says it is anticipated that replacement part availability will commence during the third quarter of this year.
Once replacement parts are available, the company will contact the owners of all affected vehicles so they can make an appointment to have the problem fixed.
Toyota dealers will determine if the sensors need to be replaced through an inspection process, which will take approximately 30 minutes.
If sensors do need to be replaced, the repair time will vary between 1 and 7 hours, dependent on the vehicle model and the number of sensors that require replacement.
Toyota says the work will be carried out free of charge.
There have been no incidents or injuries reported in Australia as a result of this condition.
For further information, please contact the Toyota recall campaign helpline on 1800 987 366.
CHECKOUT: Toyota recalls another 48,000 cars