Toyota Recalls 2012 Avalon Vehicles for Seat Belt Sensor Defect
Toyota is recalling 2012 Avalon vehicles because seat belt inner buckles may incorrectly signal the airbag system that the belt is buckled, potentially preventing proper airbag deployment in a crash.
What this means for you
Our assessment, not the agency’s: severity 4/5 (Severe).
The hazard poses a serious risk of illness, injury, or structural failure. Stop using the product immediately and contact the manufacturer for a refund or repair.
Our severity reasoning: The recall involves a structural vehicle defect where the airbag system may fail to deploy properly in a crash, which aligns with the rubric criterion for 'structural vehicle defect' or 'significant injury' risk.
Plain-English summary
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing is recalling certain 2012 Toyota Avalon vehicles. The recall addresses a defect where seat belt inner buckles may have been replaced with parts that incorrectly tell the air bag management system that the seat belt is always buckled.
If the seat belt is falsely interpreted as being buckled, the air bags may not deploy appropriately in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury. This defect affects 19,354 vehicles.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the seat belt assembly to verify that it is properly detecting being unbuckled, replacing the inner seat belt assembly as necessary, free of charge. The recall began September 19, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236.
The recalled product
- Product
- TOYOTA AVALON
- Brand
- TOYOTA
- Manufacturer
- Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing
- Affected units
- 19,354
Is your product affected?
Check your packaging against the codes below. If any of them match, the product is part of this recall.
Model numbers (1)
- AVALON
Distribution
Distributed nationwide across the United States.
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