Toyota Recalls 110k Trucks, Crossovers, and Cars Due to Potentially Deactivated Airbag

Furukawa American Inc., a subsidiary of Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd., informed Toyota of contamination in the washing station for certain parts of the spiral cable assembly. Said contamination leads to a poor welding condition between the aforementioned flexible flat cable and bus bar. The flexible flat cable has two big roles. Not only does it provide connectivity to the buttons on the steering wheel, but also connects the steering wheel airbag to the airbag control module.

The insufficient welding condition means a high possibility of the flexible flat cable separating from the bus bar, therefore resulting in open circuits. In case of an open circuit between the airbag and module, a warning light will pop up to inform the driver of an SRS fault. Said light actually stands for a deactivated airbag, which – as you're well aware – increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash. The deactivated airbag is a noncompliance as well, as per the attached report.

No fewer than four spiral cable assembly part numbers are listed in documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, spiral cable assemblies fitted to an estimated 110,047 vehicles. Of those, 11 percent are believed to require a brand-new assembly.

Dealers have already been told to inspect and – if necessary – replace the spiral cable assembly with one produced outside of the suspect period. Owners will be informed of this recall (number 23V-480) by first-class mail sometime between August 27 and September 10.

As you can tell from the featured pic, the 2023 Toyota Tacoma opens the list, namely vehicles produced from March 24 through June 22 this year. The 2023 Toyota Corolla is up next (February 21 through June 7), including the Corolla-based crossover known as Corolla Cross. The list further includes the 2023 model year Toyota Highlander (March 14 through May 18), 2023 Lexus NX (February 21 through May 31), as well as the 2023 Lexus RX (February 21 through June 1).

The only nameplate from the recall population that's been refreshed from the ground up for 2024 is the good ol' Tacoma, which is now twinned with the Tundra on the TNGA-F (Toyota New Global Architecture – Frame) platform introduced by the Land Cruiser 300 series. Rather than free-breathing I4 and V6 engines, the newcomer comes with turbo I4 and turbo I4 hybrid powertrains. The good news? A manual continues to be offered, albeit only in select non-hybrid trim levels.