2017 Toyota Land Cruiser

Defect. Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2008-2019 Toyota Land Cruiser and Lexus LX 570 vehicles. Over time, the seat belt tension sensor wire harness may break and deactivate the front passenger air bag, knee air bag, and passenger seat-mounted side airbag.

Risk. In the event of a crash, deactivated air bags can increase the risk of injury .

Remedy. Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will modify the front passenger seat belt assembly or replace it with an improved one, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began February 11, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are Lexus Interim J2L and Remedy JLL, Toyota Interim J15 and Remedy J05.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V887000 (AIR BAGS, SEAT BELTS). THE CONTACT CALLED AUTONATION TOYOTA LIBERTYVILLE AT 224-993-9001 (LOCATED AT 1180 S MILWAUKEE AVE, LIBERTYVILLE, IL 60048) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND WAS NOT ABLE TO CONFIRM WHEN THE PARTS WERE TO BECOME AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V887000 (AIR BAGS, SEAT BELTS) EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR REPAIR. THE CONTACT SPOKE WITH HAMPTON TOYOTA (6191 JOHNSTON STREET, LAFAYETTE, LA, 337-984-5010) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THERE WAS NO REMEDY. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS EXHIBITING AIR BAG FAILURE. WHEN A PASSENGER WAS SEATED IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT, THE AIR BAG INDICATOR FLASHED "AIR BAG ON" AND "AIR BAG OFF". THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 42,000. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

PASSENGER AIRBAG SENSOR DEFECTIVE HAS TURNED AIRBAG OFF AND THERE HAS BEEN AN OPEN RECALL SINCE DECEMBER 2018. IT HAS BEEN UNSAFE FOR PASSENGERS TO RIDE IN THE FRONT SEAT.

THE CAR (LIKE MANY OTHERS) ALLOWS PRESET SEATING POSITIONS TO BE STORED IN MEMORY. UP TO THREE PREFERENCES CAN BE STORED. NOTHING IN THE VEHICLE PREVENTS FULL RECLINE OF THE DRIVER'S SEAT FROM BEING PROGRAMMED AS A PREFERENCE. THE CONTROLS FOR THE PREFERENCES ARE ON THE DRIVER'S DOOR. THESE VEHICLES ARE OFTEN EQUIPPED WITH SEAT MOUNTED LCD SCREENS FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT OF SECOND ROW PASSENGERS. THESE SCREENS PIVOT OUTWARD TO ALLOW FOR PASSENGERS OF DIFFERENT HEIGHTS. THIS COMBINATION OF FUNCTIONS ALLOWS (ESPECIALLY WHERE THE VEHICLE IS A RENTAL VEHICLE IN THE CASE I EXPERIENCED) FOR THE FOLLOWING ISSUE TO OCCUR: PREVIOUS DRIVER SETS A PRESET SEATING POSITION IN PARTIAL OR FULL RECLINE. NEXT DRIVER INSTALLS A REAR-FACING CHILD SEAT BEHIND DRIVERS'S SEAT. NEXT DRIVER EXITS THE VEHICLE AND TOUCHES PRESET BUTTON ON DRIVER'S DOOR AS THEY EXIT THE VEHICLE. THE SEATBACK WILL THEN BEGIN TO RECLINE AUTOMATICALLY. AN LCD SCREEN THAT IS TILTED UPWARDS WILL IMPACT THE NECK OF AN INFANT IN A REAR-FACING SEAT AND CRUSH THE INFANT'S THORAX. THE RECLINE FEATURE CONTAINS NO SENSOR TO DETECT AN OBSTRUCTION. THE FORCE OF THE RECLINE MOTOR EXCEEDS NORMAL HUMAN STRENGTH. THE INCIDENT I EXPERIENCED WAS WITH AN OLDER (FOUR-YEAR-OLD) CHILD IN A FORWARD-FACING SEAT. AS I EXITED THE VEHICLE I MUST HAVE TOUCHED ONE OF THE SEATING PRESETS. THE SEAT-BACK BEGAN TO RECLINE CRUSHING MY DAUGHTER'S LEGS. VEHICLE HAD TO BE REENTERED AND RESTARTED IN ORDER TO OVERRIDE THE RECLINE.