NHTSA Complaint #10703045 — 2010 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER

ACCIDENT OCCURRED IN SOUTHBOUND LANE OF I-95 AT THE DILLON, SC EXIT ON 6/14/14. NORTHBOUND TRAILER LOST A TIRE/RIM DUE TO MECHANICAL FAILURE AND IT CROSSED THE MEDIUM AND IMPACTED OUR VEHICLE BLOWING THREE (3) AIRBAGS. THIS MODEL AND YEAR DID NOT INITIALLY HAVE TAKATA AIRBAGS INSTALLED DURING PRODUCTION. IT IS UNKNOWN, TO DATE, WHETHER THE REPLACEMENT AIR BAGS INSTALLED BY GRIFFIN TOYOTA AT ROCKINGHAM, NC WHERE MANUFACTURED BY TAKATA AND POSE A DANGER TO OCCUPANTS IF ACTIVATED. THE TAKATA AIRBAG PROBLEM DID NOT GET PUBLIC ATTENTION UNTIL THE OCTOBER & NOVEMBER, 2014, TIMEFRAME. I CONTACTED GRIFFIN TOYOTA STATING MY CONCERN IN JANUARY, 2015 AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY THE REPLACEMENT WERE MANUFACTURED BY TAKATA AND COULD BE DEFECTIVE. I HAVE SUBSEQUENTLY CONTACTED TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE AND REPORTED SAME (GIVEN CASE NUMBER [XXX]) AND THEM REFERRED ME TO THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP (CHARLES BARKER TOYOTA IN VIRGINIA BEACH, VA). THIS DEALERSHIP CONTINUES TO "STRUGGLE" TO GET THE INFORMATION FROM THE TOYOTA HEADQUARTERS IN CA TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE AIRBAGS SHOULD BE REPLACED (THAT IS, IF TAKATA REPLACEMENTS WERE INSTALLED AFTER THE WRECK) TO ENSURE THE OCCUPANTS SAFETY. PLEASE INVESTIGATE TO DETERMINE WHAT POTENTIALLY DEFECTIVE AIRBAGS (MANUFACTURED BY TAKATA) WERE INSTALLED IN THE JUNE-JULY 2014 TIMEFRAME. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR