Toyota Canada issues ‘Do not drive’ warning for 7,300 cars over airbag defects
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/01/2024 (980 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
TORONTO – Toyota Canada Inc. reissued an urgent “Do not drive” warning for about 7,300 cars as part of a decade-old campaign to remind customers their vehicles may have a defective Takata airbag.
Phillip Crowe, media spokesperson for Toyota Canada, said in an email on Tuesday that the recall isn’t new and is instead a repeat of an existing recall for Takata airbags at risk of exploding and hurling shrapnel.
The warning affects the 2003 and 2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix models as well as 2004 and 2005 RAV4s.
“If the airbag deploys, a part inside is more likely to explode and shoot sharp metal fragments, which could cause serious injury or death to the driver or passengers,” Toyota said in a statement.
The company is hoping the advisory reaches people who didn’t respond to their first recall in 2013, later expanded in 2015, Crowe said.
Owners can check on Toyota’s recall website to see if they’re affected, and contact a Toyota dealership to have their cars fixed for free.
Takata used volatile ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate airbags in a crash. But the chemical propellant can deteriorate over time when exposed to high temperatures and humidity. It can explode with too much force, blowing apart a metal canister and spewing shrapnel.
At least 26 people have been killed in the U.S. by Takata inflators since May 2009, and at least 30 have died worldwide including people in Malaysia and Australia. In addition, about 400 people have been injured. The exploding airbags sent Takata of Japan into bankruptcy.
Crowe said the company is not aware of any airbag inflator ruptures or injuries to Canadian drivers related to the recall.
Takata airbag malfunctions led to the largest series of auto recalls in history, with about 100 million vehicles affected worldwide.
— With files from The Associated Press.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2024.