- Vehicles
- 802,769
- Built between
- Aug 2011 – Jun 2013
- Models
- 3
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 5 February 2014
- Repaired
- 86%
- Unrepaired
- 110,950
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between August 2011 and June 2013. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2012-2013 Toyota AvalonBuilt May 2012 to June 2013
- 2012-2013 Toyota CamryBuilt August 2011 to May 2013
- 2012-2013 Toyota VenzaBuilt May 2012 to May 2013
Repair progress
110,950 of 802,769 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q1 2015.
86% repaired — 691,819 of 802,769 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 2012-2013 Avalon, Avalon HV, Venza, Camry, and Camry HV vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the drain hose for the air conditioning condenser may become clogged causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the air conditioning condenser unit housing. The accumulated water may then leak through a seam in the housing onto the air bag control module potentially resulting in a short circuit of the module.
What could happen
A short circuit may cause the air bags to become disabled or inadvertently deploy. An inadvertent airbag deployment can increase the risk of injury or the possibility of a crash. An inoperative airbag can increase the risk of injury in a severe crash. The power steering assist could also become inoperable resulting in increased steering effort and can increase the risk of a crash at low speeds.
What gets fixed
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will seal the air conditioning condenser unit housing and install a protective cover on the airbag control module, free of charge. The recall began on February 5, 2014.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtAugust 2011 to June 2013
- Recall reported to NHTSA17 October 2013
- Owners notified5 February 2014
- Latest repair reportQ1 2015 — 86% 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 17 October 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.