Toyota recalling 209,000 FJ Cruiser vehicles for seat belt defect (Photos)

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS), announced today March 15, that they will conduct a safety recall involving approximately 209,000 FJ Cruiser vehicles from model years 2007 through 2013.

The problem needing to be corrected is with the seat belt retractors which may come loose from their interior attachment points.

The seatbelt retractors for the driver and front passenger seat belts are mounted in the rear doors (access doors) of the vehicle.

Due to insufficient strength of the rear door panel, cracks may develop over an extended period of time if the rear door is repeatedly and forcefully closed.

If cracks occur in the panel around the lower seatbelt retractor anchor, the seatbelt retractor may become detached that could result in injury to occupants in the event of a crash.

The FJ Cruiser is an iconic niche market off-road capable vehicle that has been very popular with off-road enthusiasts for many years. This recall essentially affects all of the FJ Cruiser vehicles that have been sold since 2007.

2007-2013 FJ Cruiser being recalled

Photo credit: 

austinautoboomer

Given the FJ Cruiser is used heavily in rough or off-road conditions, the failure of a seat belt attachment point could present a serious injury risk for occupants.

According to Toyota, there have no accidents or injuries reported for this condition.

Owners of vehicles covered by this safety recall will receive an owner notification letter via first class mail starting in the near future.

Any authorized Toyota dealer will perform this recall at no charge to the vehicle owner. The details of the specific repair and/or replacement work to be performed was not revealed by Toyota in this announcement.

More information is available to customers at www.toyota.com/recall (you will need to enter your VIN number) or you can all the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.