2010 Toyota Matrix

Issue: 
This recall is for certain block heater kits installed on certain vehicles or sold as accessories at Toyota or Lexus dealerships. 

On certain vehicles, the engine block heater cable may not have enough heat protection and could be damaged by high temperatures. If this happens, the cable could short circuit while plugged in, and cause the wiring to overheat or melt. 

Note: This recall only affects the following block heater/cord part numbers: 

C014003034                         PK5A408J09                         PU14000904 
C014003151                         PK5A408J13                         PU14000905 
C014000885                         PK5A489J11                         PU14000907 
C014000888                         PK5A489J22                         PU14000909 
C014000907                         PK5A410H00                        PU14000911 
C014100904                         PU14000900                         PU14000913 
C014100907                         PU14000901                         PU14003571 
C014100911                         PU14000902                         PK5A489J14 
PK5A408J05                        PU14000903 

Safety Risk: 
Engine block heater wiring that overheats or melts could create the risk of a fire. 

Corrective Actions: 
Toyota recommends that you should stop using the engine block heater immediately. Toyota will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to disable the engine block heater. For some vehicles, the corrective actions for this recall are under development. For others, a new engine block heater cannot be installed, and the owner will receive a refund of the purchase price of the engine block heater.

Issue: 
On certain vehicles, long-term exposure to high absolute humidity and temperature, combined with high temperature cycling, may eventually degrade the propellant contained in the passenger-front airbag. This could cause the airbag to deploy with more force than normal. If the airbag inflator ruptures, fragments could be propelled toward vehicle occupants or cause damage to the airbag assembly, preventing its proper function. 
 
Safety Risk: 
If the vehicle is involved in a crash requiring an airbag deployment, the airbag inflator could rupture and create a risk of injury. 
 
Corrective Action: 
Owners will be notified by mail and instructed to take their vehicle to a dealer to have the passenger-front airbag inflator or airbag module replaced.  
Note: The Canadian climate results in the propellant degrading slowly. This recall is being conducted as a precaution to address future risk. It is expected that all airbag inflators will be replaced before their function would be affected.

On certain vehicles, inconsistent application of grease during the manufacturing process could cause the driver's side power window master switch to stick or become inoperative due to electrical contact point wear. This could cause debris to accumulate between the contact points, potentially resulting in an electrical short circuit.  If a short circuit occurs, the switch assembly may overheat, produce smoke, melt and/or potentially lead to a fire causing injury and/or property damage. Correction:  Dealers will inspect the driver's power window master switch and apply a specialized grease that inhibits heat build-up, or replace the power window master switch circuit board, as necessary.  Note: This is an expansion of recall 2012-338.

On certain vehicles, electrical circuitry in the steering wheel assembly may become damaged.  As a result, the driver's airbag may not function as intended, causing the instrument panel airbag warning lamp to illuminate.  Failure of the driver's airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the seat occupant.  Correction: Dealers will replace the spiral cable assembly.

On certain vehicles, accelerator pedal movement may become rough, slow to return, or the pedal may stick in a depressed position.  This could result in a loss of throttle control and a vehicle crash, causing property damage, personal injury or death.  Correction: Dealers will install a steel reinforcement bar to the accelerator pedal assembly.  With this reinforcement in place, the excess friction that can cause the pedal to stick is eliminated.