More than 50Â 000 Toyota Yaris vehicles have been recalled in South Africa due to a seatbelt defect, Toyota SA said on Wednesday.
A total of 51Â 048 Yaris models from June 2005 to April 2007 would be recalled to remove a piece of ”sound insulation material” under the seatbelt retractor, the company said in a statement.
”This action is necessary due to the possibility that the sound insulator may become damaged by the high temperature gas generated from the seatbelt pre-tensioner when it is activated in the event of a crash. In the worst case, if the insulator ignites, this condition may result in a post-collision fire,” it said.
Toyota SA said it would be contacting customers to ask them to bring in their vehicles so the defect could be corrected.
It said the procedure should not take more than an hour, depending on the dealer’s schedule, and would be corrected free of charge.
The Toyota Motor Corporation on Wednesday recalled more than 1,35-million cars worldwide because of the seatbelt and exhaust defects, Agence France-Presse reported.
The recalls are mostly due to problems linked to the seatbelt tensioner that may cause a fire in the case of a collision, but some cars sold in Japan may also have problems with a pipe in the exhaust system that could crack due to heat, the company said. — Sapa