Toyota Canada issues ‘do not drive’ notice to 7.3K owners. Here’s why

Toyota Canada is urging roughly 7,300 Canadian owners to “stop driving” their vehicles due to a potentially fatal airbag fault.

The recall dates back to almost a decade ago, but still some owners have not yet had their vehicles repaired, said spokesperson Philippe Crowe.

“The ‘stop driving’ notice is being sent to owners of vehicles who have not, after many communications attempt, had the recall procedure done on their vehicle,” Crowe told Global News in an email Tuesday.

“Next step is for owners of affected vehicles to contact a Toyota dealership to have the recall procedure done free of charge.”

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The recall isn’t just for Canadian owners.

Toyota on Monday said some 50,000 older U.S. vehicles still need repairs given the Takata air bag inflators could explode and potentially kill motorists.

More than 30 deaths worldwide, including 26 U.S. deaths, and hundreds of injuries in various automakers’ vehicles since 2009 are linked to Takata air bag inflators that can explode, unleashing metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks.

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Over the last decade, more than 67 million Takata air bag inflators have been recalled in the United States by more than 20 automakers, and more than 100 million inflators worldwide, in the biggest auto safety callback in history.

There have been prior “do not drive” warnings issued by other automakers for vehicles with older Takata air bag inflators after fatal crashes.

In Canada, some 5,000 2003-04 Corolla models need repairs, as well as 1,600 2003-04 Corolla Matrix and 700 2004-05 RAV4.

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Toyota said the RAV4 recall involves the driver’s airbag while the other recalls involve the front passenger airbag only. In some Corolla and Corolla Matrix models, certain vehicles are also involved in a second recall that can cause the airbag to deploy even without a crash.

Crowe said owners who believe their vehicle could be affected can check toyota.ca to see if their vehicle is impacted.

— with files from Reuters