Toyota Highlander & RAV4 Recall

Toyota Motors announced a recall of approximately 214,000 of its 2007 and 2008 model year RAV4 and 94,000 of its 2008 model year Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles due to faulty roll-over sensors in their side air bag systems. Toyota says those vehicles, sold only in the U.S., use two sensors to detect roll angle. If one sensor fails, an air bag warning light will appear and the vehicle's roll-over detection system will be disabled. The air bags will deploy in a collision involving side impacts, but not in a roll-over situation. If both sensors fail simultaneously after an initial air bag system check, the vehicle's seat belt pretensioner and air bags could inadvertently activate. The Japanese car maker says it will begin notifying customers affected by the recall next month and owners will be instructed to take their vehicles to a dealership where mechanics will replace the sensors for free.