Toyota Hilux and Fortuner recalled for airbag sensor fault

Toyota Australia has issued a recall for 17,554 Hiluxes and 2526 Fortuners produced between June 2015 and December 2015, due to an airbag sensor fault.

This recall, completely unrelated to the Takata airbag fiasco, is caused by two separate manufacturing issues, which can see the insulation layers of the IC chips possibly peel over time and create an open circuit in the IC chip. This could deactivate the side/curtain shield airbags and/or the front airbags.

To rectify the issue, Toyota will begin to contact the owners of affected vehicles in the coming days. Once the replacement part is available in Q2 of this year, owners will be advised to take their Hilux/Fortuner to their preferred Toyota dealer for free reparation.

Initial inspection – to see if the sensors need replacing – should only take 30 minutes. Should the sensors be faulty, repair time will vary between one and seven hours.

Toyota Corolla and Prius models produced during the same period have also been affected by the recall.

Affected owners can contact the Toyota recall campaign helpline on 1800 987 366.