Toyota Recalls 50,000 Vehicles Over Dangerous Airbags

A significant “Do Not Drive” advisory has been issued, and it encompasses several models from one of the world’s most prominent automobile manufacturers: Toyota. This Toyota recall advisory pertains to specific models produced between the years 2003 and 2005. 

In the past decade and a half, particularly since 2009, over 30 fatalities have been attributed to faulty airbag inflators manufactured by Takata. The carmaker has highlighted a severe safety concern, indicating that upon deployment of the airbag, a component inside is highly likely to shatter and project sharp metallic fragments. This puts occupants at a severe risk, as they could be hit by these fragments. 

The cars implicated in this warning are the Corolla of the 2003-2004 production years, the Corolla Matrix of the 2003-2004 production years, and the RAV4 from production years 2004-2005. This safety concern has led to the largest automobile industry recall in history, with more than 100 million products and over 20 automakers affected due to problematic Takata airbag inflators. For Toyota specifically, around 50,000 vehicles are impacted.

The issue with the Takata inflators led to a long series of recalls, lawsuits, and even a criminal investigation within the United States. Ultimately, the sustained pressure forced Takata to declare bankruptcy in 2017. The company’s assets were later sold off to Key Safety Systems, a Chinese-owned firm, for an estimated $1.6 billion.

The current president of Toyota Motor Corporation, Koji Sato, publicly apologized to stakeholders during a press conference held in January. However, this is not the only challenge the automaker has been grappling with in recent times.

Earlier this week, Toyota also put a halt to the shipments of some vehicles due to identified irregularities in certification tests for diesel engines, developed by Toyota Industries. An internal investigation revealed that employees had tampered with horsepower output tests.

These affected engines are incorporated into 10 models sold worldwide, including the Hiace van and Land Cruiser SUV, Toyota has reported. Toyota is also working to amend a misconduct case at Daihatsu, a subsidiary focusing on small cars, which confessed to falsifying safety tests for over 30 years. 

In 2023, despite facing these scandals, Toyota reported record sales of 11.2 million vehicles, maintaining its position as the world’s top automobile seller for the fourth consecutive year. Its closest competitor, Volkswagen from Germany, sold 9.2 million vehicles the same year. 

These recurring issues have raised serious concerns about the pressures in the highly competitive automobile industry, as acknowledged by Sato, signifying the need for more robust safety measures and certifications in the future.