If you haven’t yet had your defective Takata airbags replaced, you are not alone. Toyota Canada is taking a more aggressive approach in hopes of persuading thousands of Toyota owners across the country to have their Takata airbag inflators replaced, and potentially prevent injuries.
Despite the several worldwide recalls related to defective Takata airbag inflators that have affected nearly every automaker, Toyota says that fewer than half of all owners have responded to the company’s requests to have the inflators replaced.
“Canadians have not responded as quickly as we had hoped, so we’re looking to grab their attention. The greater the effectiveness of our campaign, the lower the risk of injury, so we’re working hard to have an impact.”
- Stephen Beatty, Vice President, Corporate at Toyota Canada
The campaign, just announced by Toyota Canada, will include phone calls, an email message and three increasingly insistent postcards to be sent to the known owners of the Toyota vehicles in Canada affected by the Takata recalls.
Risk increases with age
One of the factors motivating the manufacturer to take this more aggressive action is the fact that the risk of failure of the airbag inflators can increase over time, as the part gets older.
“Along with long term exposure to fluctuating high temperatures and environmental moisture, the risk of a defective Takata airbag inflator rupture increases with the amount of time a vehicle is in service. Since the involved vehicles may now be 10-15 years old, Toyota is taking more emphatic steps to get the attention of the vehicle owners and persuade them to bring their vehicles in for the free remedy.”
- Toyota Canada statement
The company is also alerting the many consumers who have bought a used Toyota or other vehicle that they should make sure to get informed about the recalls and whether their purchase is affected. It is encouraging used-car buyers to take the following two measures:
1) ask about its recall status when buying the car
2) register their name and contact information with the automaker’s Canadian customer relations department. This way, they’ll be connected to the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and will receive important advisories about the vehicle.
