NHTSA Complaint #11546626 — 2012 TOYOTA COROLLA

Context: My wife replaced the driver’s side airbag per the 2019 Toyota Corolla recall at a Columbia, MO dealership. We’ve since moved to North Carolina. The airbag light and maintenance light came on, and we took it to the mechanic (Christian Brothers Automotive) close to our new home. They ran a diagnostics report on 9/14/2023 to determine the airbag on the driver’s side needed to be replaced. I have documentation of this report with the error code. I got the work done at the mechanic because my wife did not feel comfortable knowingly driving with a faulty vehicle. I tried contacting corporate customer service as well as the dealership that did the original replacement in 2019. I was told that all repairs only have a 12-month warranty. While I understand this is the policy, I do not agree that an airbag replacement should be charged out of pocket after 4 years of replacement. Studies have shown that airbags should last the lifetime of the vehicle. Either the original 2019 replacement was not correctly executed, or the vehicle manufacturer needs to issue another recall. I also tried contacting the “goodwill” department of Toyota Corporate and was unsuccessful in getting a reimbursement. I am requesting a full reimbursement of the airbag replacement cost and labor for a grand sum of $1,166.77.