A Special Service Campaign is Toyota’s Owner Notification Program, which informs car owners about specific product or technical issues that require inspection and/or repair or replacement. These issues are typically customer satisfaction initiatives or safety-related concerns, and the described services are provided free of charge to the vehicle owner. The affected vehicles are recalled to the respective dealer workshops to carry out the repairs or replacements as part of the service or recall campaign.

There have been many service and recall campaigns in the past. The largest and most complex, and widely discussed, is the Recall Campaign for the Airbags, as it is a safety-related issue. Several incidents have occurred where occupants were injured or killed due to the deployment of the airbag.

The airbags, made by Japan’s major parts supplier Takata, were mostly installed in vehicles from model years 2002 through 2015. Some of these airbags deploy explosively, injuring or even killing occupants. The problem centers around the airbag inflator, a metal cartridge loaded with propellant wafers that, in some cases, ignites with explosive force. If the inflator housing ruptures in a crash, metal shards from the airbag can be sprayed throughout the passenger cabin, resulting in potentially disastrous outcomes from a device meant to save lives.

Nearly 28 deaths and more than 400 injuries have been reported worldwide due to defective airbag deployment. A total of 67 million vehicles with defective airbags have been recalled, and as of the end of 2022, 11 million vehicles still need to be replaced.

What Toyota Lanka will do:

Toyota Lanka will replace the airbag inflator module free of charge. There are 9,026 affected brand-new vehicles imported to Sri Lanka by TLPL, and we have already replaced the inflator modules in 4,030 vehicles. There are still 4,996 vehicles to be addressed, and we have informed the customers of the remaining affected vehicles through personal calls and media. However, many have not contacted us, possibly due to their busy work schedules.

This campaign also covers gray imported Toyota vehicles (Domestic Models) not imported by TLPL. This measure is to safeguard passengers and demonstrate our commitment to Toyota users, regardless of the import method.