DETROIT — Toyota and General Motors are telling the owners of about 61,000 older Corolla, RAV4, Matrix/ Pontiac Vibe models to stop driving them because their Takata airbag inflators are prone to exploding and hurling shrapnel.
The urgent warning Monday covers:
- Certain Corolla compact cars and Matrix hatchbacks from the 2003 and 2004 model years.
- RAV4 small SUVs from 2004 and 2005.
- Also covered are about 11,000 Pontiac Vibes from 2003 and 2004, that are essentially the identical because the Matrix and were made at the identical California factory.
A lot of the vehicles are within the U.S.
“If the airbag deploys, an element inside is more prone to explode and shoot sharp metal fragments, which could cause serious injury or death to the driving force or passengers,” Toyota said in an announcement.
Owners can go to nhtsa.gov/recalls and enter their 17-digit vehicle identification number to see if their cars are affected. When you’re not the unique owner of the vehicle, the manufacturer’s recall letter may not reach you, so make sure you do the VIN check.
The recalled RAV4s have Takata driver’s airbags while the Corolla and Matrix models have them on the passenger side. The Corolla and Matrix are also under a separate recall because their airbags will be deployed with no crash, the corporate said.
Each corporations said owners should contact an area dealer as an alternative of driving the cars in for repairs. Dealers will provide options similar to mobile repair, towing the automobile to a dealer, or vehicle pickup and delivery.
Takata used volatile ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate airbags in a crash. However the chemical propellant can deteriorate over time when exposed to high temperatures and humidity. It could actually explode with an excessive amount of force, blowing apart a metal canister and spewing shrapnel.
A minimum of 26 people have been killed within the U.S. by Takata inflators since May 2009, and at the least 30 have died worldwide including people in Malaysia and Australia. As well as, about 400 people have been injured. The exploding airbags sent Takata of Japan out of business.
The potential for a dangerous malfunction led to the biggest series of auto recalls in U.S. history. About 100 million inflators were recalled worldwide.
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
