Toyota Recalls Over 200,000 RAV4 & 90,000 Highlander Vehicles Over Airbag Concerns

The Toyota recall parade continues with the announcement of a recall of approximately 214,000 of its 2007 and 2008 model year RAV4 and 94,000 of its 2008 model year Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles due to faulty roll-over sensors in their side airbag systems.

Toyota says those vehicles, sold only in the U.S., use two sensors to detect roll angle. If one sensor fails, an airbag warning light will appear and the vehicle’s roll-over detection system will be disabled. The airbags will deploy in a collision involving side impacts, but not in a roll-over situation. If both sensors fail simultaneously after an initial airbag system check, the vehicle’s seat belt pretensioner and air bags could inadvertently activate.

The Japanese car maker says it will begin notifying customers affected by the recall next month and owners will be instructed to take their vehicles to a dealership where mechanics will replace the sensors for free.

More information can be found on Toyota’s website (http://www.toyota.com/recall) or by calling the Toyota customer hotline: 800-331-433.

In other airbag-related recall news, Ford recently recalled over a million F-150 trucks for potentially faulty airbags.

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