Toyota recalls over 1 million vehicles

USPA News - Toyota on Wednesday issued a recall of over 1 million vehicles in the United States, including luxury cars, due to faulty airbags and wipers. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. in a statement said it will be conducting two separate safety recalls involving approximately 752,000 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles sold in 2003 and 2004, as well as approximately 270,000 Lexus IS vehicles from 2006 through early 2012. For the recalled Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles, the airbag control module for the supplemental restraint system (SRS) could be susceptible to internal shorting if manufactured with application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

"These ASICs could experience an internal short that creates abnormal current flow and increased heat," the auto company stated. "If this occurs, there is a possibility that the ASIC could become damaged.  In some instances, the front airbag(s) and/or seat belt pretensioners could inadvertently deploy." In the second recall involving Lexus IS, the front wipers on certain vehicles where the wiper arm nut might not be sufficiently tight. Toyota said if movement of the wipers is restricted by an external load, such as a buildup of heavy snow on the windshield, one or both of the wipers could become inoperative. Toyota recalls made international headlines at the end of 2009 and early 2010, when over 5 million vehicles were recalled due to probles with the foot pedal being trapped with the floor mat, while more than 2 million others were also recalled for accelerator pedal issues. A number of accidents were reported, but the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in collaboration with NASA, later released its findings into investigations in which it concluded that no electronic defect was found, rather driver error or misapplication of the pedal in most incidents, as well as mechanical failure.