Airbags may not be deployed in some accidents due to faulty airbag control. The recall affects several Corollas, Matrixes, and Avalon.
Toyota issued recalls of nearly 2.9 million vehicles in the United States, including the 2011–2019 Corolla, the Matrix hatchback 2011–2013, the 2012–2018 Avalon hybrid sedan, and the 2013–2018 Avalon hybrid sedan.
The recall is because the airbag control unit does not explain the accident in certain situations and therefore does not deploy the airbag and fasten the seatbelt.
The recall is part of a larger investigation that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began in April last year.
Toyota has ordered a recall of nearly 2.9 million of its vehicles in the U.S. – and an additional 500,000 vehicles overseas – because the airbag control unit may not deploy airbags and fasten seatbelt in a crash. The implementation does not work if the device does not receive or is- misi explain signals from collision sensors.
Toyota says it believes the factors that created this situation in a collision are rare but that it can be created in serious collisions, including head-on collisions (in which the head of the car is under the vehicle it collides with). Affected models include the Corolla 2011–2019, the Matrix hatchback 2011–2013, the 2012–2018 Avalon hybrid sedan, and the 2013–2018 Avalon hybrid sedan. Toyota listed the total number of vehicles “potentially related” but said it could not accurately estimate the number of vehicles affected. The largest figure — 2,576,108 out of a total of 2,891,976 — was the Toyota Corollas.
The airbag control unit affected by the recall was manufactured by TRW Automotive Holdings, now owned by ZF Friedrichshafen. The recall is part of a much larger investigation that began in April when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reviewed 12.3 million faulty airbag control devices. Other manufacturers with these controls include Fiat Chrysler, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, and Mitsubishi; Kia, Hyundai, Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep issued recall orders for the controls.
