It’s one of the most iconic Aussie vehicles on the roads – the Toyota LandCruiser. Mums love them, tradies love them, adventurers love them, city dwellers love them. But there’s a whole lot less to love about them with news that certain LandCruiser models come with a fire hazard.
Toyota LandCruiser Recall
Toyota Australia has issued a recall for 22,971 of its LandCruiser 70 Series models built between 13 June 2016 and 5 November 2018.
The problem? The vehicles come with an increased risk of fire. It all comes down to the design of the exhaust pipe heat shield, which Google tells me is a protective titanium thingy that goes around the exhaust pipe. Kind of like a jumper for your pipe. But made of steel, not cotton.
According to the ACCC, “vegetation may accumulate during off-road usage if the debris is not routinely removed.”
If the vegetation combusts, there is a risk of a vegetation fire, which may increase the risk of injury to bystanders or damage to property.”
In other words? The car could catch on fire if you’re driving off-road or in grass. Scary!
Is your car affected?
Toyota Australia is in the process of contacting owners of affected vehicles via SMS, email or postal mail but you can also check your Vehicle Identification Numbers to see if your car is impacted. The ACCC has a full VIN list (it’s pretty lengthy) but below are the Model Codes, VIS range and production dates to be aware of:
Model Codes (first digits of your VIN):
- VDJ7 JTE
- VDJ78 JTE
- VDJ79 JTE
Production Ranges:
- 29 August 2016 – 5 November 2018
Models affected include both the two-door ute, four-door ute and seven-seater SUV aka “mum-mobile”.
What should owners do?
Those affected by the recall will be able to seek assistance from all authorised Toyota dealerships. Toyota will rectify the problem free of charge. It should take around three hours per vehicle.
If you’re interested in the nitty-gritty of how they will fix it, the ACCC explains that mechanics will “install modified exhaust system heat shields to parts of the vehicle’s exhaust area which allows owners to conduct manual regeneration in a safe location prior to entering off-road, dry vegetation environments. Further to this, Toyota will enable a manual DPF regeneration mode, allowing owners to do a DPF burn-off in a safe location away from tall grass or other vegetation.”
You can find out more information on the ACCC website or by calling Toyota Australia on 1800 987 366.
Additional cars added to Takata airbag recall
Another vehicle recall to be aware of is the ongoing Takata airbag recall which has impacted over 4 million cars in Australia so far. There are new additions to the recalled cars list – have a read to see if your vehicle is impacted.
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