Honda, Toyota Announce Major Recalls

Toyota and Honda have announced major recalls affecting a total of around 3.5 million vehicles in the US. Toyota said Wednesday it's recalling 1 million vehicles over a defect that could cause airbags not to deploy, increasing the risk of injury. The recall covers a range of Toyota and Lexus vehicles with model years from 2020 to 2022. Included in the recall are Toyota Avalons, Camrys, Highlanders, RAV4s, Siennas, and Corollas, plus some hybrids of those models. The Lexus models in the recall include the ES 250 sedan and the RX 350 SUV, among others. A full list can be seen here. The vehicles being recalled have sensors in the front passenger seat that may have been manufactured improperly, the AP reports.

Those sensors could potentially short-circuit, causing the airbag system to not determine the occupant's correct weight and potentially not deploy in certain kinds of crashes. Toyota and Lexus dealers will inspect the OCS sensors and replace them if necessary at no cost to owners. Toyota will notify customers by the middle of February if their cars are in the recall.

Honda Motor's American arm, meanwhile, is recalling more than 2.5 million vehicles in the US due to a fuel pump defect that can increase risks of engine failure or stalling while driving, reports the AP. According to documents published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the fuel pump impeller used in 2017-2020 Acura and Honda vehicles was improperly molded. This results in low-density impellers, which "can deform and interfere with the fuel pump body" over time, regulators said, leading to an inoperative fuel pump. If the fuel pump module doesn't work, the car's engine may not start or can stall while driving, the NHTSA said, increasing crash and injury risks.

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The automaker said Thursday that it will replace fuel pumps for all vehicles impacted by the recall at no cost in separate phases, with the first batch of owner notification letters going out in February. "Countermeasure replacement parts are not available in sufficient quantities for all recalled vehicles at the time of this announcement, and American Honda intends to notify vehicle owners in stages," Honda wrote. Drivers can confirm if their specific vehicle is included in this recall using the NHTSA site and/or Honda and Acura's recall lookup platforms. Earlier this week, the NHTSA and Honda also announced a recall of more than 106,000 2020-2022 CR-V hybrid vehicles due to a missing fuse on the power circuit of exterior 12-volt battery cables. (More vehicle recall stories.)