The defect
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2012 Toyota Avalon vehicles. During a vehicle repair, the seat belt inner buckles may have been replaced with parts that may incorrectly tell the air bag management system that the seat belt is always buckled.
The risk
If the seat belt is falsely interpreted as being buckled, in the event of a crash, the air bags may not deploy appropriately, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the seat belt assembly to verify that it is properly detecting being unbuckled, replacing the inner seat belt assembly as necessary, free of charge. The recall began September 19, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is J0S.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Toyota Avalon | 2012 |
Components: AIR BAGS | SEAT BELTS
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 |
Other seat belts recalls in 2018
22 of the 912 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2018 concerned the seat belts; Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing filed 245 campaigns in all.
| 18V899000 19 Dec 2018 | General Motors LLC |
| 18V870000 7 Dec 2018 | PACCAR Incorporated |
| 18V839000 27 Nov 2018 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 18V751000 24 Oct 2018 | Porsche Cars North America, Inc. |
| 18V683000 1 Oct 2018 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 18V673000 26 Sept 2018 | General Motors LLC |
| 18V568000 31 Aug 2018 | Ford Motor Company |
| 18V531000 15 Aug 2018 | Polaris Industries, Inc. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2018