Urgent Recall: California Drivers Should Stop Driving These Vehicles IMMEDIATELY

One of the best selling vehicles in Idaho, California, Utah and Washington State is the subject of an urgent recall. The vehicle’s manufacturer is asking drivers to stop driving certain model years immediately. 

On January 25, Toyota posted an urgent recall affecting about 50,000 of their older model vehicles. According to the recall notice, because of how old these vehicles are, there’s a chance that if the airbag deploys, it may explode and shoot sharp metal fragments at the driver or passengers. The blast is forceful enough that the shrapnel could seriously injure or even kill people who are in the car when the airbags deploy. 

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CBS News explains that the affected vehicles have airbags manufactured by Takata, a Japan based company that’s been at the center of several major recalls dating back the early 2000s. The Ruth Law Team tracked an in depth history of those recalls from 2001-2016 and listed several incidents where drivers had their carotid artery severed when shrapnel propelled out of the airbag. Several of those people bled to death, while others developed life long health complications. 

This time around, the recalled vehicles include: 

2003-2004 Corolla

2003-2004 Corolla Matrix

2004-2005 RAV4

According to GoBankingRates, the Toyota RAV4 is extremely popular in our region. In 2022, it was the #1 most popular car in Washington State, #4 most popular car in Idaho and #5 most popular car in both California and Utah. 

In the original recall notice, Toyota recommended calling a local Toyota dealer rather than driving the vehicle to the location to be repaired. They say that dealers may offer to repair the vehicle where it’s at, have it towed to the dealership or offer some other alternate transportation option that does not involve driving the recalled vehicles. The repairs are, of course, free to drivers.