5th Generation Land Cruiser News and Notes

Bite-sized content about all the recalls, lawsuits, and investigations surrounding the 2008-2020 Land Cruiser.

  1. There’s a good chance the seatbelt tension sensor is going to fail in the 2008-2019 Land Cruiser.

    And when it goes to the big scrapyard in the sky, multiple airbags that rely on information from that sensor will fail along with it. But more serious trouble arises when the knee airbags, front passenger airbags and passenger seat-mounted side airbags deactivate. Toyota will recall the issue, but because they don’t have fix in place they don’t plan on notifying owners until February 2019.

    Maybe they’re buying time to come up with enough replacement sensors. The trouble is you might see an airbag warning light pop up while waiting around. The problem also affects the Lexus LX 570.

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  2. Toyota has blamed a musty A/C smell on microbes [i.e., mold] growing o the evaporator surface and now a lawsuit wants them to do something about it.

    The plaintiffs claim the vehicles have defective heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that cause smells and health problems from mold that collects on the evaporators. Numerous complaints have allegedly been filed with the government, Toyota and Lexus dealerships nationwide since at least 1999.

    This isn't the first time Toyota has been sued for musty A/C units.

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  5. When Toyota switched away from using plastic or glass-based inulation in favor of soy, it invited in some very unwelcome Toyota loyalisits.

    According to the plaintiff, she learned the hard way about the soy wiring when her Avalon wouldn't start and a look under the hood showed wires chewed, so she had the car towed to a dealer. Toyota told her rodents had caused the damage and it would be no problem to repair the problems as long as she could cough up $6,000 to cover the bill.

    The soy-based wiring is allegedly attracting in rodents, who love to chew it up and use it for nesting material. The lawsuit, Heidi Browder vs. Toyota Motor Corporation, et al. follows a similar lawsuit filed against Honda earlier this year.

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  6. If your car or truck has an optional accessory like running boards, chances are Southeast Toyota distributors put them on ... and I use that term loosely.

    The distributor recently admitted that many accessories probably weren't attached with the proper torque and can fall off. Whoops! Since dropping a running board at 70mph on the highway is a serious safety concern, Toyota is recalling 3,942 vehicles to address the problem. That includes some:…

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