Jacksonville, Fla. — August 17, 2016 — A June 8 statement posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website described a new Toyota recall affecting 14 different models. According to this letter, a total of 7,749 vehicles may potentially be at risk for a fire hazard due to possibly damaged electrical wiring in seat heaters.

If some of these cushions are compressed, the source said, a short circuit could occur. This would happen because of worn electrical wiring within the copper strand heating element. The model years for the affected vehicles range from 1988 to 2012 – some of the brands include the Toyota Avalon, Camry, Tacoma and Tundra. Together, all of the vehicles were produced between Dec. 5, 1987 and Jan. 27, 2012.

The Part 573 Safety Recall Report said that a short circuit could potentially injure an occupant and burn through the seat cover. The component manufacturer involved in this case, Marketing World Wide, Inc., was said to no longer be in business.

While the report set June 1 and 2 as the dealer notification date, owners aren’t scheduled for notice until later this month, between July 14 and 29. The recall will include “all potentially affected vehicles,” the report said, and dealers will disconnect the relevant seat heaters.

A press release from the manufacturer announced another pair of Toyota recalls in late June. The U.S. arm of the company recalled “approximately 482,000” units for possible cracks in the weld area of the air bag inflators.

This could cause the inflator to separate, putting occupants in possible danger. To remedy this, dealers will reportedly add retention brackets to the impacted vehicles’ curtain shield air bag inflators. This issue seems unrelated to the millions of vehicles involved in the widespread Takata air bag recalls.

Torrance, Calif. — July 5, 2016 — In approximately 3,106 Toyota Yaris brand vehicles, difficulties with the front shock absorbers could lead to a greater risk of crash. The Part 573 Safety Recall Report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the units were produced between January 13 and February 27 in 2015. This is reportedly the only Toyota or Lexus model in the United States using the affected system.

The report noted that high loads and sudden movements in the affected vehicles could impact the front shock absorbers, perhaps destabilizing the Yaris to a dangerous degree. Owner notification is scheduled for July 24, and recipients should expect a first class mail message directing them to their dealership.

Though the report didn’t list any specific indicators, it mentioned an “abnormal noise” as a potential sign of the problem. The risk increases for vehicles where the strut rod has separated. To remedy this situation, Toyota dealers will replace the defective strut mounting bearing with a more secure unit.

The first field report related to this issue was submitted in October 2015. According to a Defect Information Report from the manufacturer, this first field notice led to further investigations. Four months later, in February 2016, a review connected the fault to a resin cap for strut mounting bearings. The voluntary safety recall campaign began May 19, after Toyota confirmed that resin cap rings could eventually affect the strut bearing.

Some of the data used to guide this recall come from specific Toyota tests. The manufacturer used a speed bump to determine the severity of the defect. The supplier of the problematic part was identified as SKF France, based in Montigny le Bretonneux.

Torrance, Calif. — June 13, 2016 — One of several Toyota recalls from two years ago is still ongoing, with some recent developments affecting the action. Documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall center show that this particular recall, originally concerning leaf springs in certain Tacoma autos, has been updated multiple times this year.

The first report, submitted Sept. 26, 2014, included 690,000 potentially affected Pre-Runner and 4×4 trucks produced between 2009 and 2010. These particular vehicles feature leaf springs in a certain location above the rear axle, putting it in place for several possible hazards, unlike other Tacoma models.

According to this source, the faulty rear suspension leaf springs could corrode, fracture or even puncture the fuel tank, causing a leak and possible fire hazard. While the original report didn’t feature any remedy description, later updates were announced as the procedure became available for different regions.

The most recent of these, dated for April 21, 2016, stated that the remedy was available for the San Francisco area, as Phase 10 of the entire operation. Owners that were left out of previous efforts due to location may be addressed in the later rounds.

The recall remedy
As the San Francisco update noted, dealers may have to repair and replace both the faulty leaf spring and any of the systems hurt by it. The updated number of vehicles has expanded to 711,000, with the suspected production period now stretching further back to 2004.

The notice includes two other phases currently in the interim stage, with anticipated remedy dates trailing through the end of April and into early May. One will address vehicles registered for Florida, Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas, while the second will apply to Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

To actually fix these vehicles, technicians will need to meet appropriate certification requirements and may require the specially shipped leaf spring kits. The latest Technical Instructions describes the methods of removing old leaf springs and installing the new ones, as well as a description of proper shackle bushing replacement steps.

Technicians may need to inspect the fuel tank, shock absorber, brakeline and ABS wireharness for damage, in addition to the leaf springs. Even if there is no damage, the instructions direct dealers to proceed to the leaf spring replacement procedure.

Other 2014 Tacoma actions
As other NHTSA documents show, 2014 saw other Toyota recalls affect the Tacoma. This model was part of a larger action meant to address possible seat heater wiring damage as a result of front seat cushion compression.

With this recall, Tacoma model years between 2006 and 2011 were affected: Other Toyota models included the Avalon, Camry and Corolla. The original Recall Acknowledgement letter stated that a short circuit in the seat wiring could both burn through the seat and injure possible occupants.

The remedy required dealers to disconnect affected heaters, with the owners at risk found specifically in the southeastern United States, in states like Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

An even earlier recall from the same year also concerned Toyota Tacoma vehicles, this one targeting model years between 2008 and 2014, as well as FJ Cruisers vehicles with the same year range.

Tire placards in these vehicles were found to potentially display incorrect information. Each of these brands received its own set of remedy instructions: For the Tacoma, dealer staff may have needed to place a new overlay label to help make the data more accurate.

As these instructions mentioned, a display with the wrong cold tire pressure could violate the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, while also causing problems if owners attempt to inflate the tires to meet the incorrect pressure level.

In that case, the manufacturer stated it would send the correct overlay stickers to both owners and dealers to conduct the fix.

Plano, TX — May 13, 2016 — The Occupation Classification System in several thousand Toyota sedans could make it hard for regular air bag deployment, according to a new press release. Autoblog quoted the statement, which mentioned that multiple airbags in each of the affected vehicles may not function correctly in the event of a crash. As of April 13, the manufacturer is reaching out to owners to keep them informed while recall actions continue.

The recall will include 58,510 total vehicles, 41,630 of which are Camry sedans and 16,880 of which are Avalon autos. Both models are from the 2016 model year, and could fail to engage the general front passenger airbag and the front passenger knee airbags.

If the OCS in these vehicles were not properly calibrated, the OCS could keep airbags restrained when they should be deployed. Fixing this issue will require dealers to re-calibrate the OCS for more accurate detection.

Other automakers have struggled with this issue in recent years. In 2014, Nissan recalled 989,701 vehicles for a similar problem in several car models. That recall only concerned the front passenger seat airbag, and resulted in at least two field incidents, according to Edmunds.com, although there were no fatalities connected to the issue, at least at the time of the company’s statement.

More recently, Mercedes-Benz announced a recall for unexpected airbag deployment, although this instance was due to wiring harness problems, not the OCS. It also affected far fewer vehicles than the other two examples, with only 888 cars from two different model types recalled.

These SUVs have the 2016 model year and were built between last June/July and November. Fixing this issue requires dealers to replace the harnesses and inspect them afterwards as necessary. The same issue could also stall affected vehicles.

Torrance, CA — April 18, 2016 — Toyota’s new recall will address problems in more than 12,800 vehicles, as the company looks to correct brake actuator assemblies in the affected units. Owners can expect a first-class mail notification, and dealers should be prepared to inspect the suspect vehicles for serial numbers. Because the possibly faulty system could affect multiple functions, solving the problem may restore multiple functions to drivers, including vehicle stability and traction control.

All of the recalled vehicles are from the 2016 model year: they include the RAV4, RX350 and ES350. According to a press release from the company, distributed through Autoblog, the affected vehicles might prove unstable to a hazardous extent. The actuator represents a major single point where multiple systems can be affected all at once.

“There is a possibility that a component inside the actuator could have been damaged during manufacturing, preventing the actuator from operating properly,” the statement read. “This could cause a loss of vehicle stability control, increasing the risk of crash.” A company representative quoted by the source denied the chance to explain whether or not there were any incidents connected to this recall.

Cars.com reported on a different recall from earlier this year also involving the RAV4. In this effort, the model years showed greater range, from 2006 to 2014. Car occupants were in danger from lap belts that could separate during a crash, due to a seat belt defect.

Although this earlier recall only included two models, the RAV4 and the RAV4EV, the volume of vehicles was greater, accounting for more than 1 million. The source stated that dealers would solve this issue by placing resin covers on the seat cushion frames.

Torrance, CA — March 02, 2016 — Although most of the vehicles in a new Toyota recall are in North America, this action affects almost 3 million SUVs around the world. A press release from the manufacturer explained that seatbelts in these autos ustould accidentally detach and leave occupants at risk, something possible during a severe impact.

The recall will affect RAV4 and RAV4 EV vehicles with combined model years ranging between 2006 and 2014. So far, there have been two reports of incidents where a crash caused a seatbelt in these affected vehicles to detach. The issue is due to a design that could make it easier for the seat frame to cut the belt.

North America alone will recall 1.3 million vehicles for this problem, as the manufacturer reaches out to vehicle owners. The manufacturing production dates stretch as far back as 2005. Toyota’s solution will see the seat frames fit with a resin cover to reduce the chance of seatbelts detaching, a process that could take an hour at maximum.

“There is a possibility that, in the event of a very severe frontal crash, the lap belt webbing could contact a portion of the metal seat cushion frame, become cut, and separate,” the statement reads. “If this occurs, the seat belt may not properly restrain the occupant, which could increase the risk of injury.”

Outside of the United States, the CBC reports that China will see 434,000 vehicles recalled, while Japan’s version of the Toyota recalls only concerns 177,00 vehicles. More than 300,000 SUVs in countries that aren’t in North America, Europe, Japan or China are part of the ongoing effort as well. Another report, this from the New York Times, notes that the defect reportedly does not stem from a supplier issue.