Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Avalon, Avalon HV, Venza, Camry, and Camry HV vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the drain hose for the air conditioning condenser may become clogged causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the air conditioning condenser unit housing. The accumulated water may then leak through a seam in the housing onto the air bag control module potentially resulting in a short circuit of the module.
Safety risk
A short circuit may cause the air bags to become disabled or inadvertently deploy. An inadvertent airbag deployment can increase the risk of injury or the possibility of a crash. An inoperative airbag can increase the risk of injury in a severe crash. The power steering assist could also become inoperable resulting in increased steering effort and can increase the risk of a crash at low speeds.
Manufacturer remedy
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will seal the air conditioning condenser unit housing and install a protective cover on the airbag control module, free of charge. The recall began on February 5, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.
Safety risk
If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.
Manufacturer remedy
Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
Owner complaints
A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.
Component
Complaints
Median mileage
Power train
129
80,000 mi
Unknown or other
81
56,240 mi
Air bags
76
36,000 mi
Vehicle speed control
65
29,450 mi
Electrical system
61
54,000 mi
Engine
59
48,000 mi
Steering
58
33,000 mi
Service brakes
53
28,000 mi
Structure: body
44
27,000 mi
Fuel/propulsion system
23
35,000 mi
Suspension
16
650 mi
Wheels
16
10,921 mi
Seat belts
12
45,000 mi
Seats
10
25,500 mi
Visibility: sun/moon roof assembly
9
25,000 mi
Electronic stability control (ESC)
8
20,000 mi
Structure
8
15,600 mi
Power train: automatic transmission: torque converter
Power train: automatic transmission: lever and linkage: column shift
1
12,000 mi
Seats: front assembly: seat heater/cooler
1
—
Service brakes, hydraulic: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip: ABS warning light
1
130,000 mi
Structure: body: door: handle: exterior
1
10,000 mi
Structure: body: roof and pillars
1
13,000 mi
Tires: pressure monitoring and regulating systems
1
6,314 mi
Tires: tread/belt
1
25,000 mi
Visibility: glass, side/rear
1
13,500 mi
The 2011 model has roughly the same number of complaints as this one. The 2013 model has 2 times as many complaints as this one. These figures reflect raw complaint counts, not failure rates. Higher-selling model years naturally receive more complaints.
Safety recall repairs are provided free of charge by franchised dealers, regardless of vehicle age or mileage. This page displays aggregated data for the model year. To check recall status for a specific vehicle, search its VIN at nhtsa.gov.
