NHTSA Complaint #11694365 — 2018 TOYOTA COROLLA

On October 17, 2025, a 2018 Toyota Corolla LE was delivered to an authorized Toyota dealership for an airbag recall repair. The recall involved the airbag electronic control unit (ECU), which, according to Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), may fail to deploy the airbags and/or seatbelt pretensioners during certain types of crashes due to inadequate protection against electrical noise. The vehicle was picked up on October 18, 2025, after the dealer reported the recall repair as completed. Before the recall, the vehicle displayed a clear and consistent safety issue: the “Passenger Airbag OFF” indicator stayed illuminated even when a full-size adult occupant (approximately 208 lbs) was seated in the front passenger seat. After the recall repair, the exact same issue persisted with no improvement. The repair was ineffective, as the system still failed to recognize an occupied seat, and the passenger airbag continued to show “OFF.” When this was reported to the dealership immediately after pickup, staff incorrectly stated that the recall concerned metal fragments inside the airbags. This is inaccurate. The official recall documentation from Toyota and NHTSA clearly identifies the defect as non-deployment of airbags and seatbelt pretensioners, not metal fragments. The dealership then advised that a diagnostic inspection would be needed for a $175 fee. However, since this issue directly involves the same safety components addressed by the recall and remains unresolved after the recall repair, it should be re-inspected free of charge under recall coverage. Charging a diagnostic fee in this case is unreasonable, given that the recall repair did not correct the problem as intended. This ongoing malfunction presents a serious safety risk, as the airbag may fail to deploy in a crash. The problem likely involves a defective occupant detection sensor or an improperly functioning ECU/noise filter following the recall service.