Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing will recall more than 150,000 vehicles containing dangerously defective airbags.
If you are an owner of a lemon Toyota, contact Allen Stewart’s team of experienced lemon law attorneys today.
The Plano, Texas-based manufacturer announced Oct. 4, 2018 they will recall 168,187 2018-2019 Toyota Tundra, 2019 Toyota Avalon and 2018-2019 Toyota Sequoia vehicles built between Aug. 3, 2017 and Sept. 27, 2018.
The affect vehicles contain airbag electronic control units with “inappropriate programming” that can mistakenly defect faults during self-checks occurring at vehicle start-up. This can make the vehicle disable the affected sensors, sound a warning buzzer, activate multiple warning lights, and display a warning on the dashboard display. This can make the airbags not deploy correctly in a crash, increasing injury risk.
Toyota’s recall chronology states they received reports of airbag warning lights illuminating in affected vehicles, along with warning buzzers, master warning lights and warning messages on the dashboard display. Toyota began its investigation along with component manufacturer ZF TRW in mid-July 2018. Testing in August 2018 revealed the airbag control unit’s software used incorrect self-check parameters for the sensor types used in the system, causing potential failures.
Following further investigation, Toyota decided to issue a safety recall on Sept. 28, 2018.
Toyota will notify owners and dealers will update the software for the air bag ECU, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin Oct. 22, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota’s number for this recall is J0X. Toyota owners can also visit the NHTSA’s website and enter their VIN to see if their vehicle is included in any recalls.
Your vehicle’s manufacturer is legally required to fix any recalled problems for free. If the dealership refuses to fix the part or tries to charge you for the repair, contact the manufacturer immediately. The Highway Safety Act of 1970, which created the NHTSA, requires car manufacturers to pay for the recall and replacement of a defective part.
If the manufacturer fails to repair, replace, repurchase, or provide your recalled vehicle’s loss value, they are violating the warranty and a lawyer may be able to help you. Lemon law attorneys help their clients by dealing directly with the manufacturer on the clients’ behalf, working to promptly resolve the issue and get their clients back on the road. Thanks to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, attorneys can seek their fees directly from the manufacturer, meaning a client can obtain legal counsel without having to pay attorneys’ fees directly out of pocket.
Please consider adding lemonlawusa.org to your bookmarks or sign up for our free subscription service allowing you to keep up with the latest information about automotive recalls and warranty information.
Visit LemonLawUSA.org for more lemon law news.