Toyota Recalls Corolla, Matrix, Avalon Models for Air Bag Defect
Toyota is recalling specific 2011-2019 Corolla, Matrix, Avalon, and Avalon Hybrid vehicles because the air bag control unit may malfunction, potentially preventing air bags and seat belt pretensioners from deploying 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 safety restraints may fail to deploy, increasing the risk of injury in a crash, which aligns with the 'Severe' criteria for significant injury reports or structural defects.
Plain-English summary
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing is recalling certain 2011-2019 Corolla, 2011-2013 Matrix, 2012-2018 Avalon, and 2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid vehicles. The recall involves the air bag electronic control unit (ECU), which may malfunction during certain crashes. This malfunction can disable the deployment of the air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners.
If the air bags and seat belt pretensioners do not deploy as intended in a crash, the risk of injury may increase. Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ECU and install a noise filter between the air bag control module and its wire harness, as necessary, free of charge.
Owners were notified of the safety risk beginning March 2, 2020. A second letter notifying owners of the remedy repair will be mailed between March 16, 2020 and June 27, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 20TB03, 20TA03 and 20TA05. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
The recalled product
- Product
- TOYOTA AVALON, AVALON HYBRID, MATRIX, COROLLA
- Brand
- TOYOTA
- Manufacturer
- Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing
- Affected units
- 2,891,976
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 (4)
- AVALON
- AVALON HYBRID
- MATRIX
- COROLLA
Distribution
Distributed nationwide across the United States.
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