Toyota is recalling 133 model year 2004-2006 Lexus LS, 2006 Lexus GS, 2006 Lexus IS, 2004-2006 Toyota Prius, 2005 Toyota RAV4, 2005-2006 Toyota Tacoma, 2005-2006 Scion TC, 2005-2006 Toyota Avalon and 2007 Toyota Camry vehicles. On certain vehicles, due to improper assembly of the air bag inflator, which is used in the side air bag, the curtain shield air bag, and the knee air bag assembly, some inflators were produced with an insufficient amount of the heating agents necessary for proper air bag deployment.
In this condition, the expansion force of the gas may be insufficient to properly inflate the air bag when the SRS system is activated during a crash. This may increase the risk of injury to the occupant in the involved seating position in the event of a crash. Dealers will replace the specific SRS air bag. The recall began on April 6, 2006. 06V-096.
This is yet another recall that indicates that Toyota’s quality control measures were inadequate for such a critical safety component. Simply put, safety related parts like air bag should never be shipped from the manufacturing facility if they do not meet specifications. That is the whole purpose of a quality control program: to ensure defective parts never make it to the consumer. Obviously, the quality control system failed, unnecessarily exposing Toyota customers to the risk of serious injury or death.
I was in a total car wreck in my 2005 prius (hit from behind and then hit a car in front of us) and all airbags failed to deploy. I always took my car to Toyota Dealer for service and was never told of any issues around the airbag. My lawyer says it’s not going to be productive to sue Toyota.
Your case may or may not be well-suited for air bag defect litigation. It depends on a variety of factors, including the specifics of the accident, the severity/location/angle of impact, the damage to your car, the severity of your injuries, plus numerous other factors. Perhaps your lawyer is right. However, we have previously found that some defective air bag cases were indeed well-suited for such litigation, even after other lawyers had turned down the cases. A lot depends on the experience of the lawyer in dealing with air bag cases, whether air bag cases represent a significant practice area for that lawyer, whether they are fmiliar with air bag technology, etc. It never hurts to get a second opinion.
My wife and I were in a car accident while driving our 2005 Prius. A motorist was clipped by 18-Wheeler, causing their car to loss control on the freeway. The car eventually hit us causing our car to crash into the guard rail, hitting it head on. After the direct impact in the accident, NOT ONE of the airbags deployed (neither side or front). The car was totaled. Thankfully, our 3-year old son wasn’t in the car at the time. We both survived, our injuries included; concussions, a broken nose, an eye laceration, bruised ribs, extreme neck and back pain. We purchased the car because of the safety specifications when my wife was pregnant and prior to our son’s birth.
My mom was recently in a wreck..she was driving her 2002 Toyota Tacoma and was hit on the driver side. It totaled her truck but her driver side airbag did not deploy.. She had a lot of injuries to her and also we just found out that she has to have neck surgery.
My mother was in an accident in her 2004 Scion xB which was totaled. None of the airbags deployed. 6 months previously she had taken the car to a Toyota [dealer] because the Airbag light was on. They said she needed a $15 part to replace a broken contact under the drivers side seat. They did not have the part in stock but the estimate for labour was $350. The fact that they let my 74 year old mother drive off with defective airbags with an odometer reading of only 15,000 miles was ridiculous. She suffered severe damages as a result. Toyota Sucks! Or at least the Toyota [dealer] for not fixing such a minor problem.
My daughter was just in an accident with our 2005 Toyota corolla. The car hit on the front passenger side and flipped over on the driver’s side landing on the roof of the car. I had 7 airbags in the car. Front, curtain, knee — and not one of them deployed. Thank God she escaped with only minor injuries, the car was totaled.
She could have been injured alot worse. Someone else may have the same problem with their airbags and they might not be so lucky.
I was just in a wreck……hit dead on by a semi truck going at least 50mph. Survived with minor injuries……..airbag on Rav 4 did not deploy