21:25
jcreator
TORRANCE, California — Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. late Tuesday said it is expanding its recalls involving defective Takata airbag inflators to include an additional 637,000 vehicles in the U.S., including the 2004-'05 Toyota RAV4 SUV and 2005-'07 Toyota Corolla sedan.
"The inflators could potentially be susceptible to rupture when deployed in a crash, increasing the risk of injury to vehicle occupants," Toyota said in a statement.
This is part of a larger global recall of about 5 million Toyota vehicles worldwide.
In the U.S., Toyota will recall approximately 160,000 2004-'05 Toyota RAV4 SUVs and an additional 177,000 2003-'04 Toyota Tundra pickup trucks and 2004 Toyota Sequoia SUVs.
Toyota's recall in areas of high absolute humidity launched in 2014 will expand to include approximately 300,000 vehicles, including the 2005-'07 Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix and Sequoia; 2005-'06 Tundra and 2005-'07 Lexus SC coupe.
Areas of high absolute humidity include coastal areas around the Gulf of Mexico for Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Louisiana, along with Florida, Puerto Rico, Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Virgin Islands and Hawaii.
Toyota spokeswoman Cindy Knight says: "To date, Toyota is not aware of any injuries or fatalities caused by this condition in the newly expanded group of recalled vehicles (approximately 5,089,000 globally). We have investigated at least eight reports of injuries alleged from Takata rupture events in the field."
Defective Takata airbags have been linked to six fatalities in Honda vehicles. The defect causes the airbags to deploy with too much force, shooting metal shrapnel at vehicle occupants.
Toyota said "multiple investigations" are looking into the root cause of the problem.
Orbital ATK, an aerospace and defense firm, has been hired by a group of 10 automakers to test potentially defective Takata inflators.
Toyota dealers and Lexus dealers will replace the defective airbag inflators with a new one.
Knight says the front driver airbag inflator will be replaced with a newly manufactured inflator produced by Daicel, and Takata will supply the newly manufactured front-passenger airbag inflator.
A date has not been specified for the expanded recall. Owners can contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331 or Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987.
No information about the expanded Toyota recall has been posted on the Web site of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which oversees vehicle safety in the U.S.
Edmunds says: Toyota is advising affected customers to look for an official notice in the mail to return their vehicles to a Toyota or Lexus dealer for the repair. Those with an immediate concern should contact their dealer now.
View more Consumer Car News articles
Leave a Comment Comment As ... Most Researched Vehicles Most Researched Vehicles Featured Video See All Car Videos
New Car Reviews and Road Tests New Car Reviews and Road Tests Get Pre-Approved for a Car Loan 
Get Pre-Approved for a Loan
Credit Problems?
We can help you get Financing!
What's New on Edmunds
New Car Buying Guides
New Car Ratings
Compare Popular Vehicles
What's Hot ADVERTISEMENT New Cars Calculators Car Finder Compare Cars Find a Dealer Get Monthly Payment Incentives & Rebates True Cost to Own® Used Cars Appraise Your Car Certified Cars Selling Tips True Cost to Own® Car Research What's Hot Car Reviews and Road Tests Tips & Advice Long-Term Road Tests Car Videos Dealer Ratings and Reviews Maintenance Sign Up To Receive Emails from Edmunds Get the latest deals, car buying tips and auto news sent straight to your inbox! Sign Up 
“Highest Ranked Third-PartyAutomotive Website” † - J.D. Power Most Visited Makes Toyota Ford Honda Chevrolet Nissan BMW Mazda Hyundai Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen Audi Lexus Dodge Jeep Subaru Acura Kia Infiniti GMC Cadillac Chrysler Volvo Mitsubishi Buick Porsche Land Rover Lincoln Jaguar Scion Mini Tesla Suzuki Ram Fiat SMART Help | About Us | Contact Us | Careers | Affiliate Program | Dealer Center | Privacy Statement | Visitor Agreement | Membership Agreement Your Ad Choices | Site Map | Glossary | Mobile | Developers Follow Edmunds
© Edmunds.com, Inc. † Edmunds.com received the highest numerical score in the proprietary J.D. Power 2014 Third-Party Automotive Website Evaluation Study℠. Results based on responses from 3,381 responses, measuring 14 companies and measures third-party automotive website usefulness among new and used vehicle shoppers. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of owners surveyed from January 2014. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com. Have a question? We're here to help! Chat* Chat online with us Email Email us at help@edmunds.com *Available daily 8AM-5PM Pacific Phone* Call us at 855-782-4711 SMS* Text us at ED411 Other help options: Get car repair help in our Forums Post your suggestions and feedback Browse our FAQs Are you a dealer? 
