NHTSA Complaint #10946419 — 2011 TOYOTA TACOMA

HORN STOPPED WORKING AT APPROXIMATELY 48,000 MILES. AFTER TROUBLESHOOTING THE PROBLEM, I DISCOVERED THAT THE ISSUE WAS RELATED TO THE SPIRAL CABLE. ABOUT 2 MONTHS AFTER THE HORN STOPPED WORKING, THE STEERING WHEEL CONTROLLED PHONE FUNCTION BEGAN AUTO-ACTIVATING INTERMITTENTLY WITH THE WORDS "TALKING" APPEARING ON THE RADIO DISPLAY (THIS FUNCTION IS ALSO RELATED TO THE SPIRAL CABLE). I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT THE AIR BAG MAY SOON BECOME INOPERABLE IF THE AIR BAG ELECTRICAL CONTACTS ON THE SPIRAL CABLE FAIL. WHILE MY VEHICLE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN A RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE, I UNDERSTAND THAT TOYOTA DID FILE A PART 573 DEFECT INFORMATION REPORT WITH NHTSA FOR SELECTED 2009-2010 TACOMA VEHICLES. THE VEHICLE HORN IS CONSIDERED A SAFETY DEVICE, AND AS A RESULT OF THIS FAILURE, MY VEHICLE HORN BECAME INOPERABLE. MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE AIR BAG WILL NOT FUNCTION AS DESIGNED WHEN THE SPIRAL CABLE CONTACTS FOR THE AIR BAG FAIL. I WOULD EXPECT THAT THIS TYPE OF SAFETY CRITICAL DEVICE BE DESIGNED TO LAST FOR THE USEFUL SERVICE LIFE OF THE VEHICLE. FAILURE AFTER LESS THAN 6 YEARS (AND 48,000 MILES) IS MUCH SOONER THAN SHOULD BE EXPECTED FOR THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE. I WOULD APPRECIATE IF NHTSA WOULD CONSIDER THIS INFORMATION ALONG WITH OTHER RELATED INFORMATION IN YOUR POSSESSION TO DETERMINE IF THERE IS A BASIS FOR FOLLOW-UP WITH TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION TO PROVIDE A REMEDY FOR VEHICLE OWNERS THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED PREMATURE SPIRAL CABLE FAILURE THAT AFFECTS MULTIPLE VEHICLE SAFETY DEVICES. *TR