Toyota could be facing yet another embarrassing recall in the United States – this time because materials used in seat heater pads do not meet fire retardant standards.
The automaker has alerted the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that seat material in several vehicles, including the Camry – the country’s top selling passenger car last year – fails to meet fire retardation standards and could result in a recall, Reuters reported.
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Toyota Motor Sales USA (TMS) said last night (30 January, 2014) it had stopped selling eight recent model vehicles equipped with seat heaters in North America following an advisory about fire risk from South Korean safety officials. The automaker said, however, it did not believe a recall was necessary.
Affected vehicles are the 2012-2014 Camry sedan and hybrid; 2013-2014 Avalon sedan and hybrid, Sienna minivan, and Tacoma pickup truck; and 2014 Corolla and Tundra pickup equipped with seat heaters that have been sold since August 2012 when the fabric supplier was changed, according to a TMS spokesman and NHTSA.
From the start of August 2012 to the end of 2013, Toyota sold 1,396,807 of the affected models, including those without seat heaters, according to Kelley Blue Book (KBB). Eight percent of the 2013 and 2014 vehicles were sold with seat heaters, suggesting more than 111,000 in the United States have the noncompliant parts, KBB added.
South Korea applies the same fire retardation standards as those used in the United States, where the cars were built starting in August 2012. Some of the US built models were exported to South Korea as shipments there have increased following a free trade agreement.
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By GlobalDataToyota told Reuters there had been no reports of fires or injuries related to the problem. The safety standard requires a certain burn rate as a flame moves across the seat heater’s cloth pad.
Toyota said the number of affected vehicles at its US dealers was about 36,000, or about 13% of dealer stock but that did not include vehicles in transit to dealers or those already sold to consumers..
“Toyota has learned from its experience with unintended acceleration that it needs to proactively take charge of safety issues involving its products,” KBB analysts said in comments emailed to just-auto.
“To its credit Toyota is being very proactive in dealing with the seat heater issue in many of its most popular models. Putting a sales stop on high volume vehicles is a serious and costly decision but the Japanese automaker seems intent on doing everything it can to allay consumer fears about what at this stage is only a potential problem.
“Since there have been no reports of incidents related to the issue, which revolves around the fire retardant nature of some of its seat fabrics, Toyota is exhibiting an abundance of caution.”
Senior analyst Karl Brauer added: “The timing of this issue, and its impact on Toyota’s most popular models, couldn’t be much worse. Given that much of the US is currently in the grips of a record cold snap there’s sure to be high demand for models with seat heaters.
“Toyota’s stance in halting sales of affected models is prudent though more information about cars already in consumer hands would be welcome. Should owners of those vehicles stop using the seat heaters? Hopefully more information will become available quickly, as many Toyota customers are likely using those seat heaters right now.”
Reuters noted that, from late 2009 to early 2011, Toyota recalled nearly 19m vehicles globally related to unintended acceleration claims. In 2010, Toyota President Akio Toyoda apologised for the company’s handling of the recalls and said he would insist on customer safety first.
Toyota was fined $17.35m in December 2012 for being slow on a recall, still the single highest civil penalty ever paid to NHTSA for violations stemming from a recall.
In July 2013, a US judge approved a settlement valued at more than $1.6bn to resolve economic loss claims resulting from the alleged safety defects. The company is still trying to settle related personal injury lawsuits.
Toyota spokesman John Hanson told Reuters the company has informed NHTSA of the fire retardation problem and would file an official report outlining the non-compliance with the standard. He added that Toyota did not feel a recall was necessary.
The petition that Toyota will file with NHTSA says the problem is “inconsequential” in terms of vehicle safety, even though the cars are no longer being sold by dealers because they do not meet US safety standards, he said.
NHTSA said it was aware of the upcoming petition and would seek public comment once it had been filed.
“NHTSA is monitoring the risk associated with this non-compliance and will evaluate Toyota’s petition once it is received,” the agency said in a statement emailed to the news agency. “As always, safety is our top priority and NHTSA will take appropriate action as warranted.”
Toyota dealers have been told to stop selling any of the affected vehicles until the seat heaters can be replaced, Hanson said. The automaker will address requests by individual owners to replace the part at no cost on a case by case basis.
