The FINANCIAL -- On Jan. 31, 2012, Toyota filed a Defect Information Report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicating it will conduct a voluntary safety recall of approximately 427 – 2011 model year RAV4 vehicles to replace the side curtain airbag.

According to Toyota -- it was informed by its supplier on Jan. 13, that propellant with an incorrect specification was used for the airbag inflator initiator assembly in the side curtain airbags in these specific vehicles and the inflator may not perform properly, causing one or both side curtain airbags to not deploy in the event of a crash. No accidents or injuries have been reported for this condition.

Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a safety recall notification by first class mail beginning in early March, 2012.

Any authorized Toyota dealer will perform this repair at no charge to the vehicle owner. The repair is expected to take approximately 3 hours depending on the dealer’s schedule.

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