SAFETY RECALL 20TA14 – Potential Improper Deployment of Seat Mounted Side Air Bag – 2020 Toyota Highlander

October 14, 2020 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V633000

Seat Trim Can Interfere with Air Bag Deployment

Improper deployment of the seat-mounted side air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V633

Manufacturer Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

Components AIR BAGS, SEATS

Potential Number of Units Affected 3,121

 

Summary

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020 Highlander and Highlander hybrid vehicles. Incorrect seat trim covers on one or both of the front seats can prevent the seat-mounted side air bag from deploying properly.

 

Remedy

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front seats and replace the seat trim covers as necessary, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota’s number for this recall is 20TB14 / 20TA14.

 

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

 

Check if your Vehicle has a Recall

 


SAFETY RECALL 20TA14

There is a possibility that one or both of the front seats were equipped with an incorrect trim cover. If these trim covers are incorrect, the cover could prevent the seat-mounted side air bag from deploying properly when the air bags are commanded to deploy, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

 

Please call your dealer ASAP to schedule a FREE repair. For more information, please visit Toyota.com/recall.

 


 

On October 14, 2020 Toyota filed a Defect Information Report (DIR) with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) informing the agency of our intent to conduct a voluntary Safety Recall on certain 2020 model year Highlander and Highlander HV.

 

Condition

There is a possibility that one or both of the front seats in the subject vehicles were equipped with an incorrect trim cover.  If these trim covers are incorrect, the cover could prevent the seat-mounted side air bag from deploying properly when the air bags are commanded to deploy, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

 

Remedy 

Toyota dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the seat trim cover(s) with a correct one FREE OF CHARGE.

 

Covered Vehicles

There are approximately 3,100 vehicles covered by this Safety Recall. Approximately 40 vehicles involved in this Safety Recall were distributed to Puerto Rico.

 

Owner Notification Date

Toyota will notify owners by mid-December, 2020. Certain vehicles are capable of Head Unit notification and may receive a Head Unit notification prior to the owner notification letter.

 

 


Certain 2020 Model Year Highlander and Highlander HV
Potential Improper Deployment of Seat Mounted Side Air Bag
NHTSA Recall No. 20V-633

 

Frequently Asked Questions
Original Publication Date: October 15, 2020

 

Q1: What is the condition?

There is a possibility that one or both of the front seats in the subject vehicles were equipped with an incorrect trim cover.  If these trim covers are incorrect, the cover could prevent the seat-mounted side air bag from deploying properly when the air bags are commanded to deploy, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

 

Q2: What is Toyota going to do?

Toyota will send by mid-December 2020, an owner notification by first class mail advising owners to make an appointment with their authorized Toyota dealer to have the front seat trim covers inspected and, if necessary, replaced with a correct one FREE OF CHARGE.

 

Q3: Which and how many vehicles are covered by this Safety Recall?

There are approximately 3,100 vehicles covered by this Safety Recall.

Model Name Model Year Production Period
Highlander2020Early December 2019 – Late August 2020
Highlander HVEarly February 2020 – Late August 2020

 

Q3a:Are there any other Lexus/Toyota/Scion vehicles covered by this Safety Recall in the U.S.?

No, there are no other Lexus/Toyota/Scion vehicles covered by this Safety Recall.

 

Q3b:Why is my 2020 Highlander/Highlander HV vehicle not included?

This issue only affects vehicles equipped with front seats of a certain design that were manufactured by a specific supplier on specific production lines and were affected by certain processing errors during a specific time period.

 

Q4: How long will the repair take?

The repair can take approximately 45 minutes to 2 hours. However, depending upon the dealer’s work schedule, it may be necessary to make the vehicle available for a longer period of time.

 

Q5: What if I previously paid for repairs related to this Safety Recall?

Reimbursement consideration instructions will be provided in the owner letter.

 

Q6: How does Toyota obtain my mailing information?

Toyota uses an industry provider who works with each state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to receive registration or title information, based upon the DMV records. Please make sure your registration or title information is correct.

 

Q7:What if I have additional questions or concerns?

If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact the Toyota Brand Engagement Center at 1-888-270-9371 Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, Saturday 7:00 am to 4:30 pm Central Time.

 


 

Description of Problem:

The subject vehicles are equipped with driver and front passenger seats that contain seatmounted side air bags that are covered by a trim cover.  These covers are designed to tear during deployment of the seat-mounted side air bag.  Due to certain processing errors in the seat trim cover installation process at a supplier, there is a possibility that one or both of the front seats (subsequently installed in the subject vehicles) were not equipped with the correct trim cover.  In this condition, the cover could prevent the seat-mounted side air bag from deploying properly when the air bags are commanded to deploy, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

 

Chronology of Principal Events:

Late August 2020 through September 2020

During pre-production testing of a front seat with a seat-mounted side air bag in a different Toyota vehicle, it was observed that, although the air bag was commanded to deploy and inflated properly, a post-test inspection identified an abnormal condition of the seat trim cover.  The results from the pre-production seat testing were sent to the supplier, who assembled the pre-production seat, to investigate the seat trim cover condition observed during the post-test inspection.  The supplier determined that the trim cover on the seat from the test was incorrect for the seat in this case.

 

The supplier began checking their seat assembly process to determine if the same error could occur on production seats.  As a result of the investigation, it was identified that a seat trim cover for the incorrect side (driver vs. front passenger) could be installed on seats of a certain design and not detected by the quality control process due to certain processing errors in the system.  It was also identified that production seats could be affected.  The supplier communicated these findings to Toyota.

 

Based on production seat traceability information provided by the supplier, Toyota began a containment activity to inspect completed vehicles that could potentially be equipped with incorrectly assembled seats and also began to analyze the potential effect of an incorrect seat trim cover on a seat assembly.  During the containment and inspection activities, two vehicles identified, based on production records, as having an incorrect seat trim cover, were determined to have the correct trim covers as a result of rework during manufacturing.  The supplier further investigated the rework process and found that the traceability information during the rework process may not be accurately recorded.  As a result, the scope of the containment and inspection activity was expanded to also include all vehicles that had been through the rework process.

 

To analyze the potential effect of the incorrect seat cover, Toyota decided to conduct testing of seat-mounted side air bags installed in front seat assemblies with incorrectly installed seat trim covers.  These trim covers are designed with a specific seam located above the seat mounted side air bag because they are designed to tear when the seat mounted side air bags are deployed.  Because the identified incorrect trim covers would not have the specific seam at the correct location above the seat side air bag, Toyota conducted testing to understand how the different location of the seam would affect air bag deployment.

 

In late September, Toyota conducted testing on four front seats from the suspect vehicles with seat-mounted side air bags with incorrectly installed trim covers.  Three of the air bag tests deployed normally.  However, one of the air bag tests had a partial deployment in which less than half of the air bag deployed through the seat trim cover.  The results of these tests were then analyzed and it was determined that a partial seat side-mounted side air bag deployment condition could occur when the air bags are commanded to deploy, which could increase the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

 

October 8, 2020

Based on the results of the above investigation, Toyota decided to conduct a voluntary safety recall campaign.

As of September 30, 2020 based on a diligent review of records, Toyota’s best engineering judgement is that there are 0 Toyota Field Technical Reports and 0 warranty claims that have been received from U.S. sources that relate or may relate to this condition and which were considered in the decision to submit this report.

 

Description of Corrective Repair Action:

For all involved vehicles, Toyota dealers will inspect the trim covers installed on the front seats and replace any incorrectly installed trim covers with correct one(s) if necessary.

 



2 Affected Products

Vehicles

MAKEMODELYEAR
TOYOTAHIGHLANDER2020
TOYOTAHIGHLANDER HYBRID2020

 


13 Associated Documents

Recall Quarterly Report #1, 2020-4

RCLQRT-20V633-2661.PDF 211.162KB

 


Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc) – Date: October 15, 2020 SAFETY RECALL 20TA14 (Remedy Notice)

RCMN-20V633-6231.pdf 288.76KB

 


Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-20V633-6291.PDF 215.204KB

 


October 14, 2020 DEFECT INFORMATION REPORT

RMISC-20V633-9109.pdf 164.429KB

 


Remedy Instructions and TSB

RCRIT-20V633-0642.pdf 679.372KB

 


Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc) – Date: October 14, 2020 SAFETY RECALL 20TA14 (Interim Notice 20TB14)

RCMN-20V633-7005.pdf 261.36KB

 


Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-20V633-5446.pdf 287.415KB

 


ISSUED Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RCONL-20V633-6723.pdf 357.347KB

 


Recall Quarterly Report #2, 2021-1

RCLQRT-20V633-9373.PDF 211.269KB

 


20TA14-HU Message-Final

RMISC-20V633-2860.pdf 42.349KB

 


Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc) – DATE 10/20/2020 TOPIC The warranty reimbursement procedure section has been updated with revised Op code descriptions

RCMN-20V633-2759.pdf 306.397KB

 


Recall Quarterly Report #3, 2021-2

RCLQRT-20V633-0605.PDF 211.351KB

 


Recall Quarterly Report #4, 2021-3

RCLQRT-20V633-8216.PDF 211.458KB

 


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