Toyota has recalled 6.4 million vehicles of 30 different models to address five safety issues.
Toyota, the world's largest car maker, is taking precautionary measures to avoid ending up in a situation like GM. The Japanese car maker issued a voluntary recall of 6.4 million vehicles involving almost 30 different models across the globe. The recall, which is the second-largest by the automaker, will address five different technical problems. The largest of the recalls is for a spiral cable attached to the driver's side airbag that affects 3.5 million cars worldwide and 1.3 million cars in the United States.
"The driver's airbag module in the involved vehicles is attached to a spiral cable assembly with electrical connections that could become damaged when the steering wheel is turned," Toyota said in a statement, Wednesday. "If this occurs, the air bag warning lamp will illuminate. In addition, the driver's air bag could become deactivated, causing it to not deploy in the event of a crash."
Models affected with this problem include model year 2009 and 2010 Corolla, 2009 and 2010 Matrix, 2008 through 2010 Highlander, 2009 and 2010 Tacoma, 2006 through 2008 RAV4, and 2006 through 2010 Yaris vehicles, CSI Monitor reports.
Toyota is also addressing four other technical faults that include problems with passenger side seat rail lock, steering columns, windscreen wipers and a glitch with the engine starter that could potentially lead to fire. The car maker said there were two reports of fire due to engine starter problem, but was not aware of any vehicle crashes or injuries.
Toyota said the malfunctioning in the engine's starter is due to the accumulation of metallic particles due to contact within the relay, which over time could wear off and enter the relay's circuit and lead to fire. According to BBC, 20,000 vehicles involving six Toyota models and the Subaru Trezia, will undergo free replacement of engine starter relays and engine starter motor.
Overall, the latest recall affects 2.3 million cars in North America, 1.09 million in Japan, 810,000 in Europe, 62,000 in China with the rest sold in Africa, South America and the Middle East. Toyota will contact all the customers with affected vehicles via mail and repairs will be done at its own dealerships.
