Toyota Recalls 90,000 Highlanders for Repair

If you own a Toyota Highlander hybrid, or know someone who does, you might be alarmed by a recall to replace (for free) seatbelt components.

There haven’t been any accidents which caused the recall, and there is no potential for the seatbelts to fail during the crash. Because of a small number of rear-facing child seats with the potential to move during regular driving (but no evidence this would lead to a failure during a crash) the NHTSA asked for the belts to be replaced at manufacturer’s cost.

This is what they had to say about the belt problem:

 This could discourage the use of a child restraint and in the event of a crash, the child may not be adequately protected, possibly resulting in injury.

So there you have it. They’re worried that parents are going to say, “Screw this,” and endanger their kids. I’m not sure how legitimate that fear is, but regardless, this recall isn’t something that should rattle your faith in your auto.

Please do have the repair work done though. It’s at the manufacturer’s expense, and while it might not be a problem for you, there’s no way of telling what kind of person you might sell your car.