Toyota Seat Belts

Toyota is recalling about 342,451 vehicles over a problem with the seat belts. If the seat belt pre-tensioner detaches from the seat belt assembly, the seat belt pre-tensioner will not perform as designed, increasing the risk of injury in a severe crash.

Campaign
13V337000
Manufacturer
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing
Reported
7 August 2013
Vehicles
342,451
Built between
Sep 2004 – Sep 2011
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
24 February 2014
Repaired
50%
Unrepaired
172,104

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between September 2004 and September 2011. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2005-2011 Toyota TacomaBuilt September 2004 to September 2011

Repair progress

172,104 of 342,451 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q2 2015.

50% repaired — 170,347 of 342,451 reported

Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.

What the defect is

Toyota is recalling certain model year 2005-2010 Tacoma Access Cab vehicles manufactured September 14, 2004, through March 29, 2010; and model year 2011 Tacoma Access Cab vehicles manufactured July 1, 2010, through September 7, 2011. If the access doors are repeatedly and forcefully closed, the screws that attach the seat belt pre-tensioner to the seat belt retractor can loosen over time. If the screws loosen completely, the seat belt pre-tensioner and the retractor spring cover could detach from the seat belt retractor.

What could happen

If the seat belt pre-tensioner detaches from the seat belt assembly, the seat belt pre-tensioner will not perform as designed, increasing the risk of injury in a severe crash.

What gets fixed

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the seat belt assemblies. Based on the inspection, the seat belt assembly will be replaced or new pre-tensioner screws will be installed with thread-locking sealant and a retractor spring cover with stopper ribs to prevent loosening of the screws. These services will be provided at no cost to the owner. The recall began during February 2014.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtSeptember 2004 to September 2011
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA7 August 2013
  3. Owners notified24 February 2014
  4. Latest repair reportQ2 2015 — 50% repaired

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 7 August 2013.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional 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 your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand