Toyota stopped the production of the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander after the automaker realised that the driver’s side curtain airbag might not deploy in case of a crash.
It also issued a recall of the Highlander model and is working on a remedy.
The Toyota Grand Highlander could have a faulty airbag and the carmaker is conducting a noncompliance safety recall over a potential airbag issue affecting approximately 145,000 vehicles, manufactured in the United States, at the Princeton manufacturing plant.
According to a report issued by Toyota, the curtain shield airbag on the driver’s side might not deploy as intended in case of certain crashes if the driver’s window is rolled down.
The fault caused the Grand Highlander to fail to meet the federal safety standard and increased the risk of injury for the one behind the wheel.
Production and delivery of the Toyota Grand Highlander and Lexus TX large SUVs stopped at the Princeton plant in Indiana for a while, according to the automaker’s officials.
The Grand Highlander’s twin, the Lexus TX, is also involved in the recall. Both of them roll off the same assembly line in Indiana. The centre has been operational since 1996.
Toyota invested $6.6 million to upgrade the facility, where human operators and robots work together to increase efficiency and about 363,060 cars have rolled off the production line in Princeton.
Now, around 145,000 of them will be recalled. Toyota experts should make the driver’s side curtain airbag work properly in case of a crash in that particular area.
Customers affected by the recall will be notified about the issue by the middle of August 2024.
Toyota introduced the Grand Highlander for the North American market on February 8, 2023, offering more space than the Highlander. The three-row SUV is built on the TNGA-K platform, which it shares with the regular Highlander.
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The Grand Highlander is, however, longer, wider, and taller, being positioned between the Highlander and the Tundra-based Sequoia SUV. Customers can order it in one of the three grade levels available: the entry-level XLE, the intermit Limited, and the range-topping Platinum.
Its twin, the Lexus TX, was also introduced in 2023, but four months later, sitting on the same platform and being powered by the same engines.
The entire lineup is built around the 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine, which is also integrated into the hybrid powertrains. The 2.5-liter engine remained in the lineup of the Toyota, but the Lexus got the 3.5-liter unit
Confirming, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander crash test reveals insufficient protection for the driver.
It revealed that the family-sized crossover utility vehicle could do better in the driver-side small overlap front.
More specifically, the head of the dummy used for the test rolled off the left side of the front airbag toward the gap between said airbag and the side curtain airbag, therefore resulting in a potentially serious head injury.
