The defect
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Avalon, Avalon HV, Venza, Camry, and Camry HV vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the drain hose for the air conditioning condenser may become clogged causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the air conditioning condenser unit housing. The accumulated water may then leak through a seam in the housing onto the air bag control module potentially resulting in a short circuit of the module.
The risk
A short circuit may cause the air bags to become disabled or inadvertently deploy. An inadvertent airbag deployment can increase the risk of injury or the possibility of a crash. An inoperative airbag can increase the risk of injury in a severe crash. The power steering assist could also become inoperable resulting in increased steering effort and can increase the risk of a crash at low speeds.
The remedy
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will seal the air conditioning condenser unit housing and install a protective cover on the airbag control module, free of charge. The recall began on February 5, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Toyota Avalon | 2012, 2013 |
| Toyota Camry | 2012, 2013 |
| Toyota Venza | 2012, 2013 |
Components: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | AIR BAGS | EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER
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 Avalon | 2012 | 30 | 4 |
| Toyota Avalon | 2013 | 137 | 4 |
| Toyota Camry | 2012 | 590 | 2 |
| Toyota Camry | 2013 | 274 | 2 |
| Toyota Venza | 2012 | 25 | 4 |
| Toyota Venza | 2013 | 59 | 4 |
Other electrical system recalls in 2013
76 of the 627 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2013 concerned the electrical system; Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing filed 245 campaigns in all.
| 13V640000 20 Dec 2013 | Daimler Trucks North America |
| 13V639000 20 Dec 2013 | Daimler Trucks North America |
| 13V642000 19 Dec 2013 | Nova Bus |
| 13V635000 18 Dec 2013 | Zero Motorcycles Inc. |
| 13V627000 17 Dec 2013 | Daimler Trucks North America |
| 13V589000 22 Nov 2013 | Maserati North America, Inc. |
| 13V570000 15 Nov 2013 | BMW of North America, LLC |
| 13V566000 13 Nov 2013 | General Motors LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2013