The defect
TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2008 HIGHLANDER, HIGHLANDER HYBRID, AND MODEL YEAR 2007-2008 RAV4 VEHICLES. IN THE CURTAIN SHIELD AIRBAG (CSA) SYSTEM, THERE ARE TWO SENSORS IN THE AIRBAG SENSOR ASSEMBLY WHICH ARE DESIGNED TO DETECT VEHICLE ROLL ANGLE. IF ONE OF THESE SENSORS MALFUNCTIONS, THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT (MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LIGHT: MIL) WILL ILLUMINATE AND THE ROLL DETECTION SYSTEM WILL BE SUSPENDED; HOWEVER, THE AIRBAG CSA REMAINS AVAILABLE IN THE EVENT OF A SIDE CRASH. IF BOTH SENSORS FAIL NEARLY SIMULTANEOUSLY AFTER INITIAL AIRBAG SYSTEM CHECK, THE CSA AND THE SEAT BELT PRETENSIONER COULD BE INADVERTENTLY ACTIVATED.
The risk
INADVERTENT ACTIVATION OF THE CSA AND/OR THE SEAT BELT PRETENSIONER CAN CAUSE INJURY TO A VEHICLE OCCUPANT.
The remedy
TOYOTA WILL REPLACE THE AIRBAG SENSOR ASSEMBLY WITH A NEW ONE CONTAINING IMPROVED ROLL RATE SENSORS, FREE OF CHARGE. TOYOTA INTENDS TO SEND AN INTERIM OWNER NOTIFICATION TO OWNERS EARLY TO MID-MAY, 2011 WHEN SUFFICIENT PARTS AND REMEDY BECOMES AVAILABLE. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Toyota Highlander | 2008 |
| Toyota Highlander Hybrid | 2008 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2007, 2008 |
Components: AIR BAGS | AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Highlander | 2008 | 405 | 11 |
| Toyota Highlander Hybrid | 2008 | 197 | 6 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2007 | 1,004 | 14 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2008 | 575 | 14 |
Other air bags recalls in 2011
13 of the 597 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2011 concerned the air bags; TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC. filed 95 campaigns in all.
| 11V580000 6 Dec 2011 | VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC |
| 11V543000 8 Nov 2011 | GENERAL MOTORS LLC |
| 11V534000 4 Nov 2011 | GENERAL MOTORS LLC |
| 11V528000 2 Nov 2011 | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC |
| 11V472000 9 Sept 2011 | HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY |
| 11V473000 7 Sept 2011 | KIA MOTORS CORPORATION |
| 11V408000 9 Aug 2011 | NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. |
| 11V321000 13 Jun 2011 | SPARTAN CHASSIS, INC. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2011