The first two recalls affect nearly 90,000 Toyota Land Cruisers and Lexus LX 570 SUVs from model years 2008-2019, a full decade’s worth of automobiles. The problem here is related to airbag systems, in which a seat belt tension sensor could malfunction over time, causing airbag warning lights to illuminate. It can also potentially deactivate the front passenger airbag, knee airbag and passenger side airbag, which increases the risk of injury or death in the event of a crash.
There is no fix for the problem yet, but Toyota said it’s working on one. Owners of affected vehicles will be notified by snail mail by Mid-February, the automaker said.
Toyota’s third recall of the day covered about 44,000 Tacoma midsize pickup trucks from the same model years, 2008-2019. These Tacomas may have a problem with their brake master cylinder, which pushes the fluid used to engage the brakes at each wheel.
A seal in the master cylinder might begin leaking brake fluid in affected models, NHTSA said. When this occurs, the brake feel could change and the front brakes may have reduced performance, leading to greater stopping distances and possibly increasing the risk of a crash.
Luckily, Toyota says it knows how to fix this problem. Take the truck to a dealership and technicians will replace the brake master cylinder with an updated version that doesn’t have a potentially leaky seal. Owners should start receiving notifications by late January.
Source: CNET