UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd (UMWT) the distributor of Toyota and Lexus Vehicles in Malaysia announced its support today towards the government’s seriousness in handling the Takata Airbag replacement issue.
Understanding the urgency of the situation, the Minister of Transport, YB Anthony Loke, has instructed Road Transport Department (JPJ) offices not to allow the renewal of roadtax if a
vehicle has not had the affected module replaced.
The replacement of the Takata SRS airbag system’s inflator module is necessary because of propellant degradation within the module which can cause the airbag to break up when inflating. This may result in sharp metal pieces being sprayed towards the driver and/or front passenger, causing serious injuries or even death. The defect affects millions of vehicles worldwide made
over the past 15 years by many different vehicle manufacturers.
“Since 2013, Toyota Motor Corporation has been actively addressing this issue. The affected vehicles have been identified and distributors worldwide have been informed to initiate Special Service Campaigns. During these campaigns, the airbag inflator modules have been replaced at no charge to the owners,” explained Mr. Akio Takeyama, Deputy Chairman of UMW Toyota Motor.
UMWT has reported a high completion rate of 91% for Lexus vehicles that are below 3 years old and 53% for Toyota vehicles that are below 6 years old for the replacement of the inflator modules. It urges owners of older Toyota and Lexus vehicles to come forward to have the affected airbag inflator modules replaced quickly. The vehicle range for affected Toyota vehicles are from 2001–2014 and 2007-2016 for affected Lexus vehicles.
UMWT further assures its customers that efforts have been made to request owners to bring their vehicles to authorised service centres for the free replacement of the module and notification letters have been sent to owners based on their contact details in its database.
“Safety is our highest priority and we have made every effort to contact owners through various means. We are grateful to the Transport Minister for his concern and will fully support this
initiative,” said Mr. Ravindran K., President of UMW Toyota Motor.
