2022 Toyota Highlander

Water leaking into airbag area. Known leak issue per NHTSA [XXX] ) from defective roof rack attachment clips. Per Toyota, not covered by Toyota unless car still under warranty. Leak issue is common issue with many Toyota (RAV4, Highlander). I cannot tell if the potentially waterlogged airbag area is defective unless I get into an accident to test it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The component that failed is the roof rail clips that hold the roof rack to the vehicle (Toyota Service Bulletin T-SB-0040-24). The clips under the rail fail and cause water to leak into the headliner and down the A-pillars on both sides of the vehicle. It presents itself by causing water staining where the headliner meets the A-pillar cover. This issue presented itself in January of 2023, a few months after we bought the vehicle. Toyota Bountiful (Utah) tried to tell us that it is the sunroof drain lines that are clogged and required a $100 service to clear them which is an annual service. After some push back they found the problem with the roof rack clips. However, they only replaced the passenger side and neglected to repair both sides. April of 2025 the driverside failed and Toyota Bountiful once again confirmed that the driverside clips failed. This creates a danger to the front occupants of the vehicle by allowing a possible mold issue within the cabin. Secondly, it allows water into the front curtain airbags of the vehicle.

On or about 9/22/24 I was driving on a parkway and was alerted by a high pitched alarm in the vehicle’s dashboard that the airbag had a malfunction and that the seatbelt was not engaged. I removed my seatbelt and clipped it back in but that did not stop the alarm. The vehicle continued to beep and say the airbag was malfunctioning. I made an appointment with Toyota service for 9/26/24 and when I arrived I was told they do not do diagnostic tests on Thursdays. They proceeded to give me a new appointment for today 9/28/24, and when I arrived they once again turned me away explaining that today was not a good day for a diagnostic. They mockingly told me that my vehicle warranty was about to expire. Furthermore, the Toyota has refused to fix the recall issue, and now is refusing to even run a diagnostic test to see what the problem is with the airbags. I am afraid the airbags will fail if I am in an accident. This is a very dangerous situation. Please help me!

The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact's vehicle was involved in a crash. The contact stated that the other vehicle that crashed into the contact stated the vehicle's speed was about 75 MPH. The contact stated that when the contact's vehicle was impacted, the contact's vehicle air bags failed to deploy. The contact stated that after the crash, the ABS warning light illuminated. The contact's vehicle was occupied by the contact's husband, who was seated in the front passenger's seat. The contact's two children, ages [XXX] and [XXX] old, were seated in the rear seat. The Police and Fire departments arrived on the scene. The contact stated that medical attention was provided at the scene. The contact sustained injuries included a concussion, a sprained left ankle, and a sprained right wrist. The contact's husband sustained injuries, including a sprained right wrist and a sprained left ankle. In addition, the contact's children sustained cuts and bruises. A Police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and later towed to an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 70,765. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)