Toyota Air Bags: On-Off Switch Assembly

Toyota is recalling about 84,323 vehicles over a problem with the air bags. If the air bag switch is "off," the seat occupant who is not a member of the passenger risk group would be subject to increased injury in the event of a vehicle crash.

Campaign
98V188000
Manufacturer
TOYOTA MOTOR CO., LTD.
Reported
6 August 1998
Vehicles
84,323
Built between
Jan 1998 – Aug 1998
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
16 November 1998
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between January 1998 and August 1998. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1998 Toyota TacomaBuilt January 1998 to August 1998

What the defect is

Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The statement required in the owner's manual that "...the on-off switch should only ben used when a member of a passenger risk group identified in the request form in appendix b......is occupying the right front passenger seating position..." is mis-stated. This does not comply with the requirements of FMVSS 208, "occupant crash protection."

What could happen

If the air bag switch is "off," the seat occupant who is not a member of the passenger risk group would be subject to increased injury in the event of a vehicle crash.

What gets fixed

OWNERS WILL BE SENT A CORRECTED OWNER'S MANUAL.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJanuary 1998 to August 1998
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA6 August 1998
  3. Owners notified16 November 1998

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 6 August 1998.

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.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
TOYOTA MOTOR CO., LTD.
Safety standard
FMVSS 208
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

Owner notification began november 16, 1998.OWNERS who do not receive the corrected owner's manual within a reasonable time should contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

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