How to check if your Toyota was affected by the airbag recall

By Martin Pretorius 

If you've been following international motoring news at all, you will be aware of the Takata airbag scandal – a mishap so massive that it's seen tens of millions of vehicles being recalled world-wide over the past five years. This is the biggest vehicle recall in motoring history, and just about every manufacturer is involved in some way. Some locally available cars are also affected by these errant airbags, such as the more than 700 000 Toyota vehicles currently being recalled by the manufacturer.

What went wrong

As you may know, airbags are basically large canvas-like bags which pop out of your steering wheel or cabin trim to cushion your body and head against the effects of a collision. To make this happen, an airbag will be triggered by its control unit, which then ignites a small explosive charge, known as the inflator. The inflator quickly releases a large volume of gas, which is then channeled into the airbag to inflate it. 

This is where the plan wobbles: many millions of these inflators were manufactured by a Japanese company named Takata, and the inflators were then used by various motor manufacturers to make their airbags pop. What the motor manufacturers didn't know (at that stage) was that there was either a design flaw in the Takata inflators, or the chemicals which are used in the inflators weren't stored properly at the Takata factories.

Both of these possibilities would introduce moisture into the inflators, which would lead to the inflator malfunctioning: ripping itself to shreds, the inflator would send metal shrapnel all through the car's interior. The injury risk is obvious: this malfunction effectively turns the airbag into a small bomb.

Which Toyotas are affected?

The airbag recall affects Toyotas produced between 2002 and 2014 – yes, that's how long Takata made these defective inflators before somebody figured out what was going on. Toyota acted quickly and changed suppliers at the first whiff of a problem, but by then, many millions of cars were already on the road with potentially-lethal airbags. It must be noted that there have been no incidents or fatalities on local soil due to this defect, and this recall is purely a precautionary measure on Toyota's part. 

Locally, around 730 000 Toyotas are affected, along with a very small number of Lexus vehicles. The vehicles at risk include:

• Corollas produced from 2002 to 2014. (Two generations of Corollas we built in this timespan),
• RunX models produced from 2002 to 2007,
• Auris models produced from 2007 to 2012 (The first-generation Auris),
• Hiluxes and Fortuners produced from 2006 to 2014,
• Avensis models produced from 2003 to 2007 (the only Avensis ever available in SA),
• RAV4 produced from 2003 to 2007. 

My car is on this list. What do I do?

Toyota, as well as your dealer, should have contacted you by now, to arrange for your vehicle to visit the dealership for the repair. This won't cost you anything, by the way. If Toyota hasn't contacted you yet, there's a chance that your vehicle isn't affected, but you can check that for yourself in three different ways. These instructions come directly from Toyota South Africa: 

• Contact the Toyota Call Centre on 0800 139 111 (have your VIN number to hand – located on your vehicle licence disc);
• Go to Toyota.co.za/recall once again have your VIN number handy);
• Download the MyToyota app, where you will automatically be notified if your vehicle is affected. In addition, the app will enable you to scan any Toyota licence disc to establish if it is affected by the Takata recall.

If your car is affected, arrange to visit your nearest Toyota dealer as soon as possible.