2011 Toyota Matrix

The defect

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2011-2019 Corolla, 2011-2013 Matrix, 2012-2018 Avalon, and 2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid vehicles. During certain crashes, the air bag electronic control unit (ECU) may malfunction, possibly disabling the deployment of the air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners.

The risk

In the event of a crash, air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners that do not deploy as intended may increase the risk of injury.

The remedy

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ECU and install a noise filter between the air bag control module and its wire harness, as necessary, free of charge. Owners were notified of the safety risk beginning March 2, 2020. A second letter notifying owners of the remedy repair will be mailed between March 16, 2020 and June 27, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 20TB03, 20TA03 and 20TA05.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing · up to 2,891,976 vehicles across all model years covered

The defect

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Scion xB and Lexus IS F, 2009-2011 Toyota Corolla and Corolla Matrix, 2006-2011 Toyota Yaris, Lexus IS250 and Lexus IS350, 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner, Lexus IS250C, Lexus IS350C and Lexus GX460, 2011 Sienna, 2007-2011 Lexus ES350, and 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe vehicles, originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 Scion xB and Lexus IS F, 2007-2008 Toyota Yaris, 2006-2008 Lexus IS250 and Lexus IS350 and 2007-2008 Lexus ES350 vehicles, originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Vehicles of these model years and models that were not originally sold or ever registered in either Zones A or B are not subject to this safety recall. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

The risk

An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

The remedy

Toyota will notify the Toyota and Lexus owners. General Motors will contact the Pontiac owners. Depending on the model, dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator or the air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began on December 6, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for interim notification for this campaign are G1P (Toyota Zone A), G1R (Toyota Zone B), G2G (Lexus Zone A), and G2H (Lexus Zone B). Toyota's numbers for final remedy for this campaign are G0P (Toyota Zone A), G0R (Toyota Zone B), GLG (Lexus Zone A), and GLH (Lexus Zone B).

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing · up to 1,754,517 vehicles across all model years covered

Still open engineering analysis · opened September 17, 2021

the air bags

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been no reported field ruptures in any non-recalled desiccated PSAN inflators.It is understood that desiccants fully saturate at some threshold, at which point any additional moisture will not be captured. This means the degradation process observed in non-desiccated inflators using propellant 2004 may also occur in non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004, assuming additional moisture enters the inflator and high temperature cycling occurs. Based on available information, desiccant saturation can occur within the first five years in the worst environments, and the time required for full saturation is affected by multiple factors. While no present safety risk has been identified, further work is needed to evaluate the future risk of non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004.Three entities -- Takata (now known as TK Global), the Independent Testing Coalition, and Exponent -- have been studying the long-term behavior of Takata desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004L (as well as 2004) in the presence of moisture and temperature cycling. The research efforts, which include development of predictive modeling techniques and field sample analysis, are ongoing. To date, none of the researchers have identified field evidence showing that propellant 2004L is undergoing a degradation process that leads to aggressive deployment and potential rupture. However, the time in service of such inflators remains short compared to that of the inflators using propellant 2004. Further study is needed to assess the long-term safety of desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L.The Office of Defects Investigation is opening this investigation to examine whether a safety defect related to propellant degradation exists in non-recalled desiccated PSAN frontal inflators manufactured by Takata. This investigation will require extensive information on Takata production processes and surveys of inflators in the field. Lists of recall actions that may have used desiccated PSAN inflators as remedy parts, as well as the makes and models originally manufactured with them, is available with the downloadable version of this document (see nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=EA21002 -- note this information is subject to change/revision as the investigation proceeds). This investigation does not supersede EA15-001, which remains open.

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA MATRIX. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V340000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PART NEEDED FOR THE REPAIR WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE CONTACT CALLED WEST KENDALL TOYOTA AT (786) 619-3668 (LOCATED AT 13800 SW 137TH AVE, MIAMI, FL 33186) WHERE IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER ALSO INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

NHTSA complaint 11066468. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA MATRIX. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 17V006000 (AIR BAGS). THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE CONTACT CALLED IRA TOYOTA (468 MAIN ST TEWKSBURY, MA) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE PART WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

NHTSA complaint 11024229. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA MATRIX. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V340000 (AIR BAGS). THE PARTS TO DO THE REPAIR WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO SAN FRANCISCO TOYOTA (3800 GEARY BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118 (415) 750-8300) WHERE IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE RECALL REMEDY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

NHTSA complaint 11022639. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

70,000 miles

TAKATA RECALL: IN JULY 2016 I RECEIVED NOTICE FROM TOYOTA OF PASSENGER AIR BAG RECALL & TOLD NO ONE CAN RIDE IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. I HAVE A DISABLED DAUGHTER WHO CANNOT SIT IN THE BACK. I CALLED TOYOTA CORP AND THEY ARRANGED WITH THE LOCAL DEALER TO PROVIDE ME WITH A RENTAL CAR. MY CAR HAS BEEN SITTING OUTSIDE IN THE DESERT HEAT, BLOWING SAND AND SUN FOR A YEAR NOW. IN DECEMBER 2016 THE DEALER REFUSED TO PAY THE RENTAL BILL OF $1085 AND MY CREDIT CARD WAS CHARGED. I FOUGHT FOR A MONTH AND A HALF WITH THE DEALER, THE RENTAL COMPANY AND TOYOTA CORP AND FINALLY RECEIVED A CHECK FOR $1085. THE JANUARY 2017 BILL WAS PAID BUT NONE SINCE AND I NOW HAVE ANOTHER $1085 ON MY CREDIT CARD AND THE …

NHTSA complaint 11006578, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

75,000 miles

TAKATA RECALL- THIS CAR HAS HAD A RECALL FOR THE FAULTY PASSENGER AIRBAG AND I USE THIS CAR FOR TRANSPORTING MY CHILD. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM FIXED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AS I'M PUTTING MY CHILD'S SAFETY AT RISK IN ITS CURRENT CONDITION. IF TOYOTA CAN'T RESOLVE THIS IN A TIMELY MANNER I NEED A RENTAL CAR UNTIL THEY ARE ABLE TO RESOLVE IT. THANKS

NHTSA complaint 10934807. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.