Toyota is recalling more than 1 million vehicles because of safety problems involving defective airbags and faulty windshield wipers. This, in the new year after Toyota had more recalled vehicles than any other automaker in the United States last year, according to NBCNews.
So the biggest question is, which cars are affected by the recall, and what do you do if you have one of those cars? Here's the rundown of Toyota's new recall.
The recall involves Corolla and Corolla Matrix cars that were sold in the United States in 2003 and 2004. For these models in the recall, according to Toyota, the defect is a control module that can short-circuit. If a short-ciruit occurs, airbags in the front and pretensioners on safety belts will deploy accidentally. There are about 752,000 Corolla and Matrix cars affected by this recall.
The second recall affects Toyota's luxury line-up. Lexus IS models that were sold between 2006 and early last year. This one isn't such a big deal: according to Toyota, "the wiper arm nut might not be sufficiently tight." This can cause wipers to become restricted when loaded down with snow, ice, or other heavy loads. The wipers can become inoperative. Not such a big deal, but you do need to be able to see while you're driving.
If you think you have one of these vehicles, Toyota says it should be reaching out to you and notifying you soon. But if you really want to get a hold of someone, Toyota Corolla and Corolla Matrix owners can call the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331. If you have a Lexus IS, you can call Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-255-3987. Or you can go to Toyota's website at www.toyota.com/recall and the Lexus website at www.lexus.com/recall for more information.