More Than a Million Toyota and Lexus Models Recalled for Airbag Sensor Issue

by Chris Teague

Published: December 21st, 2023

more than a million toyota and lexus models recalled for airbag sensor issue

Despite having been around for decades, vehicle airbags are not infallible or immune to manufacturing defects. There was the massive and ongoing Takata airbag recall, and automaker continue issuing recall actions to correct or prevent failures of airbag sensor systems. Toyota is the latest, as its most recent action involves around 1.1 million vehicles from between 2020 and 2022 for malfunctioning airbag sensors.

The recall includes:

· 2020-2021 Toyota Avalon and Avalon Hybrid

· 2020-2022 Camry and Camry Hybrid

· 2020-2021 Corolla

· 2020-2021 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid

· 2020-2021 RAV4 and RAV4 Hybrid

· 2021 Sienna Hybrid

· 2021 Lexus ES 250

· 2020-2022 ES 300h

· 2020-2021 ES 350

· 2020-2021 RX 350 and RX 450h

The problem stems from the airbag’s Occupant Classification System, which is a system of sensors in the front seats that tell the airbag how to deploy based on the weight of the person sitting in the seat. The sensors in affected Toyota models may have been improperly manufactured, “causing a short circuit.” The automaker said that the failure “would not allow the airbag system to properly classify the occupant’s weight, and the airbag may not deploy as designed in certain crashes, increasing the risk of injury.”

Toyota is not the first and won’t be the last automaker to recall vehicles for issues with their occupant classification systems. Last year, GM recalled several SUVs for the same problem, and several years before that, Nissan recalled vehicles to replace some sensors in select vehicles.

[Image: Toyota]

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Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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5 of 16 comments

Tassos on Dec 21, 2023

Is this new batch of faulty airbags also Damned Takatas? Not clear from speedreading the article (which is all the time I am willing to invest in it)

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- NormSV650 on Dec 22, 2023
  
  No, that would be Honda's problem. I'm not sure it is the sensor or the pad but most sensors are made by Denso, Nippon, or Aisin.
  
  2
- Johnds on Dec 26, 2023
  
  Norm does Honda own General Motors too? https://www.gmtakataairbag.com/product/public/eg/en/takata_recall/home.html#:~:text=GM%20has%20announced%20various%20Safety,if%20you%20have%20any%20questions.
  
  Like
Ted Lulis on Dec 21, 2023

Toyota likes to Stall things until they don't have to pay up and fix their Junk

3 Reply
- Tassos on Dec 21, 2023
  
  Unlike Ford, who took the bold decision not to fix the Pinto's fuel tank (it would cost $50 a car) so it did not go up in flames.
  
  2

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