Toyota Motor Corporation Australia has expanded its recall program on vehicles containing faulty airbag sensors, to include more Lexus models.
Four Toyota models and five Lexus models have sensors which measure pressure and/or G-forces, designed to detect an impact to the vehicle, but may fail to deploy an airbag.
According to Toyota Australia’s recall noticed published on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Product Safety Australia website, “There is a possibility that the insulation layers of the Integrated Circuit (IC) chip within the airbag system could peel over time, creating an open circuit in the IC chip.”
The result of this open circuit means “the airbag warning light will illuminate”, with the potential that “side/curtain shield airbags and/or front airbags may become deactivated,” Toyota reports.
Authorised Toyota dealers will be conducting recalls on models affected, including Prius (built November 2015 to December 2015), Corolla sedans (built June, 2015 to January 2016), Fortuner built from July 2015 to December 2015, and Hiluxes built as early as June 2015, to as late as December 2015.
Lexus vehicles also with the same recall fault include NX200t (built May 2015 to October 2015), NX300h hybrids (also built May 2015 to October 2015), RX 200t (built September 2015 to December 2015), RX350 (built Oct 2015 to December 2015) and RX450h (built October 2015 to December 2015).
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Australia’s authorised dealers will be conducting their own airbag recall, however for a software fault which effectively allows occupants to deactivate an airbag.
According to the recall bulletin, “An incorrect software file allows the vehicle operator to deactivate the passenger side airbag by selecting this in the menus of the instrument panel of the vehicle.”
FCA Australia explains in the notice occupants are at risk “where the passenger dash airbag would normally deploy and the vehicle operator had switched off or disabled the passenger frontal (dash) SRS airbag device”.
Alfa Romeo dealerships will be expected to conduct a software fix once one becomes available for the 741 Giuliettas affected, model years 2016 to 2018.
Join the conversation