Toyota Motor North America, Inc. today announced that it is conducting a safety recall involving certain 2012 model year Toyota Avalon vehicles. Approximately 19,400 vehicles are involved in the United States.
Due to a service part manufacturing error at a Toyota supplier, some vehicles may have had a front seat belt inner buckle replaced with one that does not correctly identify if the seat belt is buckled. This could affect how the airbag system determines the appropriate airbag deployment method in a crash, and could increase the risk of injury to the occupant where the front seat belt inner buckle was replaced.
At most, 97 vehicles (out of the approximately 19,400 vehicles involved in this recall) may have had a front seat belt inner buckle replaced by a dealer (or possibly a non-Toyota service provider) with an involved service part.
For all involved vehicles, Toyota dealers will inspect the front seat belt inner buckle(s) and if necessary, replace it with a new one(s) at no cost to customers. All known owners will receive a notification by first class mail starting in mid-September.
Information about automotive recalls, including but not limited to the list of involved vehicles, is subject to change over time. For the most up-to-date Safety Recall information on Toyota, Lexus or Scion vehicles, customers should check their vehicle’s status by visiting toyota.com/recall and entering their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or license plate information. Safety Recall inquiry by individual VIN is also available at the NHTSA site: nhtsa.gov/recalls.
For any additional questions, customer support is also available by calling the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1.800.331.4331 or the Lexus Guest Experience Center at 1.800.255.3987.
