Toyota Recall Fueled By Spiderwebs

Airbag issue may affect 885K Camrys, Venzas, Avalons
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 18, 2013 2:01 AM CDT
Toyota Recall Fueled By Spiderwebs
Toyota has a spider issue.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

It's another recall for Toyota, this time over a potential airbag flaw—a problem exacerbated by rogue spiders. Spiderwebs, CNNMoney explains, can block air conditioning drainage tubes in the affected 2012 and 2013 Camrys, Venzas, and Avalons (including hybrid models). Water can end up dripping into airbag controls; warning lights may then turn on, and airbags may "become disabled or could inadvertently deploy," the company says, per the BBC.

Warning lights have turned on in 35 cases, to Toyota's knowledge, and airbags have inflated three times. When the company probed the issue, spiderwebs were "the only consistent cause," CNNMoney notes. The company is recalling 847,000 vehicles in North America and tens of thousands more worldwide, for a total of 885,000, according to the BBC. Mazda had a spider problem in 2011. (More Toyota stories.)

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