Toyota issued a "do not drive" advisory to Americans who own any of the country's 50,000 oldest vehicles (made between the years 2003 and 2005). The Japanese manufacturer asked owners to bring in their cars for "urgent and free recall repair" due to a fault in the airbags that could explode, causing death:
Toyota is issuing an immediate DO NOT DRIVE advisory for certain … vehicles in the United States involved in the Takata airbag recalls. Approximately 50,000 vehicles are involved in this notice.
Affected models include: " 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla, 2003-2004 Corolla Matrix and 2004-2005 RAV4."
Toyota Issues DO NOT DRIVE Advisory by Veronica Silveri on Scribd
‘Could cause serious injury or death to the driver or passengers’
In the statement, the manufacturer warns that “if the airbag deploys, a part inside is more likely to explode and shoot sharp metal fragments which could cause SERIOUS INJURY or DEATH to the driver or passengers”:
Certain airbags found in the subject vehicles are under an URGENT airbag safety recall. Due to the age of the vehicles, if the airbag deploys, a part inside is more likely to explode and shoot sharp metal fragments which could cause SERIOUS INJURY or DEATH to the driver or passengers. Owners SHOULD NOT DRIVE these vehicles until the FREE safety recall repair has been conducted.
Due to the severity of the situation, Toyota in the statement reiterates that owners should “contact their local dealer instead of driving their vehicle to be repaired. Dealers may provide one of several options FREE of charge, such as mobile repair at the vehicle’s location, towing to the dealership, vehicle pickup and delivery, or other alternate transportation options”:
Toyota will repair or replace the airbag for FREE. Toyota is notifying known owners of these vehicles every month through a variety of communication channels. To see if your vehicle is involved in a safety recall visit Toyota.com/recall or nhtsa.gov/recalls and enter your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or license plate information.
Toyota has faced several problems in recent months. This same week, the manufacturer canceled shipments of some cars due to "irregularities" in the certification of diesel engines.
The investigation found that irregularities occurred during the horsepower output testing for the certification of three diesel engine models for automobiles that Toyota had commissioned to TICO [Toyota Industries Corporation].
