Toyota Canada has announced that it is conducting the final phase of the safety recall involving Takata airbag inflators, pushing the recall ahead of schedule.
The automaker chose to issue the recall earlier than planned as the final remedy inflators are now available.
Affected models include the 2003-2008 Corolla, 2002-2007 Sequoia, 2003-2006 Tundra, and 2002-2010 Lexus SC 430. In total, about 37,591 vehicles in Canada are being recalled.
According to Takata, the airbag inflators located in the front passenger side in some of the affected vehicles can become defective due to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, or high temperature cycling. Prolonged exposure to these conditions may lead to propellant degradation.
When propellant degradation occurs in a non-desiccated ammonium nitrate inflator – the exact type found in the affected cars – the contraption might rupture, causing metal fragments to shoot through the airbag and into the vehicle interior at high speeds.
The process to repair the defective front passenger airbag inflators only takes an hour, The News Wheel reported.
During an initial recall phase, Toyota repaired the front passenger inflators by replacing them with non-desiccated phase stabilized ammonium nitrate inflators – components which were co-developed by Takata and Toyota. At the time, final remedy inflators produced by other suppliers were not yet available.
