More parts for Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles with faulty air bags were available at Hawaii Toyota dealers as of June 1.
Repairs for the dangerous air bags made by Tokyo-based Takata Corp. for the 2010 Toyota Scion xB and the 2010 Toyota Corolla are now available at all Toyota dealerships on Oahu. Parts for the 2010 Toyota 4Runner, the 2010 Toyota Matrix and the 2011 Toyota Sienna are also set to become available this month.
Repairing Hawaii vehicles under recall for Takata air bags is a high priority for Toyota because of the state’s weather, according to Toyota. The humidity and warm temperatures can affect the chemicals used to inflate the air bags, causing them to explode with too much force, rupturing their steel containers and sending shrapnel through the vehicle.
In Hawaii, the ammonium nitrate propellant in the Takata air bags subject to recall can degrade within six to nine years from the time a vehicle is put into service. In arid states like Nevada, it takes that propellant 10 to 15 years to degrade.
In May, the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ Office of Consumer Protection filed a lawsuit against Toyota, Ford Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., saying they knowingly sold cars with dangerous air bags.
All Hawaii Toyota dealers are offering free repairs for vehicles with faulty Takata air bags, said Servco Pacific spokesman Casey Nishimura. However, Toyota service centers are still waiting for the parts for nine different models affected by the Takata recall, Toyota said.
Nishimura said all Toyota dealers in the state are providing replacement vehicles for those models affected by the Takata recall if parts are not available.
As of May, Servco had fixed roughly 14,850 affected Toyota vehicles in Hawaii recalled because of dangerous air bags, or about half the 31,500 vehicles in Hawaii for which Toyota had replacement parts available.
Nishimura said drivers should check whether their car has been recalled by putting in their VIN number at ToyotaHawaii.com/recall.
