Eight Toyota Models Present Potential Safety Hazard
North American dealerships were notified of temporary sales halt due to recently revealed fire risk.
The hazardous range extends from two Camry and Avalon modifications to Sienna minivan and pickup trucks.
Seat warmers of the cars are the main sources of concern. After a test conducted by homeland safety department of the brand it was revealed that the upholstery material had low fire retardation figures. Korean colleagues of the officials of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have come to the conclusion that the physical and chemical characteristics of the seat heaters are insufficient to prevent inflammation of the material. Thus, the international standards were not met and the car detail was acknowledged as potentially hazardous.
In its turn, the automaker presented a list of cars models manufactured since the change of fabric suppliers, i.e. those vehicles which were produced in the model years 2012-2013. The final decision of the safety committee might imply a recall of the aforementioned cars.
The company’s representative claims that the revealed defect did not lead to any related accidents across North America. He expressed confidence that the recall would be an unnecessary step. However, it was made clear that any individual requests from car owners to replace the malfunctioning part will be fulfilled by Toyota free of charge.