Washington, D.C. — February 08, 2016 — Thousands of vehicles are part of a new recall effort in response to airbag concerns in certain Lexus vehicles. Though owners won’t be notified until March, Toyota recently announced the recall effort in a January 27 press release in its official online newsroom.
“This recall specifically affects RX 350 and RX 450h models.”
According to this statement, the manufacturer is recalling “approximately 5,000” 2016 Lexus vehicles that could contain badly-manufactured airbag modules. The company has called for dealers to inspect these faulty assemblies and replace them as necessary to avoid putting operators at risk.
This recall specifically affects RX 350 and RX 450h models, and comes in the same month that Lexus announced the LC 500 luxury coupe. So far, no injuries have been traced to the RX Lexus recalls, and it does not appear to be related to other similar issues like the Takata airbag recalls.
“The involved vehicles are equipped with a driver’s knee airbag module that may not have been properly manufactured,” the most recent statement says. “This could affect the performance of the airbag and increase the risk of injury in a crash.”
With a new death linked to the Takata airbag inflators, Toyota is still involved with the ongoing recall effort, one that has expanded to include millions of cars.
Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that this auto manufacturer had worked with Takata to test some of the recalled vehicles for ruptures. Results revealed three RAV-4 airbag inflators ruptured during the test, triggering a recall for those that use these and similar systems. Ford also tested 1,900 inflators for defects and found none.
