Toyota recalls more than 20 thousand vehicles with defective airbag inflators

It is estimated that about 20,015 Toyota Vios and Yaris vehicles imported and officially distributed by Toyota Vietnam Automobile Company will be recalled to repair and replace the airbag inflator assembly of the front passenger airbag.

Dealers of Toyota Vietnam Automobile Company, the official importer and distributor, will inspect and replace free of charge the entire air pump assembly in the front passenger airbag on the above-mentioned affected domestically manufactured and assembled Toyota Vios vehicles and imported Toyota Yaris vehicles.

Of these, there are 18,138 Toyota Vios cars manufactured from January 5, 2009 to December 29, 2012 and 1,877 imported Toyota Yaris cars manufactured from September 1, 2009 to August 31, 2012.

Toyota Vietnam Automobile Company said that the inflator is a component of the airbag assembly. It contains a solid fuel pad that is burned in case the airbag is activated. This process releases an inert gas that inflates the airbag.

In the affected vehicles, the inflator assembly may be manufactured with a risk of moisture intrusion over time. In the event of a crash and the airbag system is deployed, depending on the circumstances, the release of inert gas may create excessive internal pressure and result in the possibility of the inflator assembly rupturing.

In the event of a rupture of the inflator assembly, metal fragments of the inflator could be ejected through the inflated airbag, posing a risk of serious injury to passengers in an accident./.

According to Inspectorate Newspaper