Weeks after federal regulators increased the scope of the recall for shrapnel-shooting Takata airbags by up to 40 million safety devices, Toyota has announced just how many of its vehicles are covered by the expansion: 1.58 million.
Toyota expanded its recall of vehicles with front passenger Takata airbags on Monday in order to comply with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recent order to get more affected vehicles off the road.
The recall, which affects 1.58 million vehicles in the U.S., covers model year 2009 to 2011 Corolla and Matrix, model year 2006 to 2011 Yaris, model year 2010 to 2011 4Runner, model year 2011 Sienna, model year 2008 to 2011 Scion, model year 2007 to 2011 Lexus ES, model year 2010 to 2011 Lexus GX, and model year 2006 to 2011 Lexus IS.
The carmaker says that owners of the affected vehicles will be notified by mail and depending on the model, dealer will replace the airbag inflator or airbag assembly.
In all, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has recalled up to 68 million airbags. Of those, 4.7 million are Toyota vehicles.
Takata airbags have been at the center of a years-long worldwide recall of millions of vehicles from 14 automakers. The safety devices can explode with enough force to spray pieces of metal into passengers and drivers.
Researchers determined earlier this year that three factors contribute to the explosive airbags: the use of propellant ammonium nitrate, manufacturing issues, and prolonged exposure to humidity work together to cause the airbag ruptures
So far, the issue has been linked to ten deaths in the U.S. — 11 worldwide — and hundreds of injuries.
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
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