Toyota recalls more than 1 million vehicles over potential airbag issue

Toyota is recalling just over 1 million vehicles in the U.S. over an issue with the airbags.

In a notice posted online on Wednesday, Toyota said a potential defect in the front passenger seat airbag could prevent it from properly deploying in a crash, increasing the risk of injury, or worse.

The recall involves various Toyota and Lexus vehicles with model years from 2020 to 2022, specifically:

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Toyota:
Avalon, Avalon Hybrid / 2020-2021
Camry, Camry Hybrid / 2020-2021
Corolla / 2020-2021
Highlander, Highlander Hybrid / 2020-2021
RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid / 2020-2021
Sienna Hybrid / 2021

Lexus:
ES250 / 2021
ES300H / 2020-2022
ES350 / 2020-2021
RX350 / 2020-2021
RX450H / 2020-2021

In its recall notice, the Japanese auto giant explains that the vehicles come with Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensors in the front passenger seat that “could have been improperly manufactured, causing a short circuit.”

It continues: “This would not allow the airbag system to properly classify the occupant’s weight, and the airbag may not deploy as designed in certain crashes.”

Owners of affected vehicles will be notified by mid-February, and Toyota and Lexus dealers will inspect the OCS sensors, fitting free replacements when necessary.

A quick and easy way to find out if your Toyota vehicle is subject to a recall — whether this one or any other one — is by visiting Toyota.com/recall and entering the requested information.

Alternatively, owners of vehicles from any automaker can run a quick recall check by entering their unique Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at nhtsa.gov.

Toyota points out that any owner with concerns or wanting more information about this latest recall should get in touch with the Toyota Brand Engagement Center (1-800-331-4331) for Toyota vehicles, or the Lexus Brand Engagement Center (1-800-255-3987) for Lexus vehicles.

This isn’t the only recall Toyota has conducted this year. In the fall, it also recalled about 750,000 Toyota Highlander SUVs over a safety issue with the front lower bumper cover.

The automaker also hit the headlines earlier this year after it revealed that the locations of more than 2 million of its customers’ vehicles had been at risk of breach for an entire decade from 2013.