2008 Toyota Avalon Air Bags & Restraints Problems

Car was rear ended by semi truck, crushed trunk into vehicle rear seat. Car was the pushed forward into truck in front crushing right fender. Pelvic fracture in right rear passenger. Air Bags did NOT DEPLOY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. AFTER LEAVING THE DENTIST AND DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE CONTACT FELL ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL. WHEN THE CONTACT WOKE UP, HE REALIZED THE VEHICLE WAS HEADED TOWARDS THE MEDIAN. TO AVOID THE MEDIAN, THE CONTACT TURNED THE STEERING WHEEL AND DROVE INTO A DITCH ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE FLIPPED OVER SEVERAL TIMES, BUT NO AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED AND DEEMED TOTALED. THE CONTACT RECEIVED INJURIES TO THE NECK, ELBOW, LEG, AND HEAD. MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS NEEDED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALER WERE NOT AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 130,000.

OUR 2008 TOYOTA AVALON WAS RAMMED FROM THE REAR WITH FULL FORCE FROM A HONDA CRV GOING 40 MPH. THE AVALON WAS SLOWING DOWN TO ALLOW A GROUNDHOG TO CROSS ON A STRAIGHT 2 LANE ROAD AT THE TIME, BUT THE DRIVER OF THE HONDA BEHIND SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN A DISTRACTED DRIVER BECAUSE SHE DID NOT STOP ACCELERATING. THE DRIVER OF THE AVALON SUFFERED HEAD, NECK, BACK AND HIP INJURIES AND WAS TRANSPORTED BY AMBULANCE TO THE HOSPITAL. THE DAMAGE TO BOTH VEHICLES IS EXTENSIVE-PICTURES OF THE AVALON ATTACHED. THE HONDA AIRBAG DEPLOYED, SAVING THAT DRIVER FROM INJURY. THE AIRBAG OF THE TOYOTA DID NOT DEPLOY-CLEARLY MALFUNCTIONING AND COULD HAVE PREVENTED SOME OF THE INJURIES IF IT HAD DEPLOYED PROPERLY. THERE IS A POLICE REPORT BUT IT IS NOT AVAILABLE TO US YET. THE INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE WORKING ON THE CLAIM. NO REPAIRS HAVE BEEN MADE YET AND IT IS NOT CLEAR WHETHER IT IS 'TOTALED'.

DECEMBER 2012: I NOTICED A SMALL CRACK AT RIGHT SIDE OF DASHBOARD. BY APRIL 2014 AT LEAST 10 MORE CRACKS APPEARED ON UPPER, LOWER, AND SIDE SURFACES OF DASHBOARD. SOME CRACKS EXTEND THE ENTIRE WIDTH OF THE DASHBOARD AND SOME AROUND THE AIR BAG. *TR I AM CONCERNED THAT IF THERE IS AN AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT; OCCUPANTS COULD BE INJURED BY DASHBOARD DEBRIS.

2008 TOYOTA AVALON. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE SUDDEN ACCELERATION. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED AS HIS WIFE TURNED INTO A PERPENDICULAR PARKING SPACE, ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN, ONLY STOPPING WHEN IT HIT A PARKING BARRICADE. HIS WIFE DID ATTEMPT TO APPLY THE BRAKE, BUT TO NO AVAIL. THE CONSUMER STATED THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY.

AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. I WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT IN WHICH MY CAR WAS T-BONE ON THE PAX SIDE AND THEN MY CAR CRASHED HEAD ON INTO A GUARD RAIL. THE OTHER VEHICLE WAS GOING AT AN ESTIMATED SPEED OF 35 MPH WHILE MY VEHICLE WAS CROSSING AN INTERSECTION AT LESS THAN 5 MPH. THE IMPACT OF THE CRASH CRUSHED THE PAX SIDE OF THE CAR; JAWS OF LIFE HAD TO BE USED TO EXTRACT THE PAX IN MY VEHICLE. UPON IMPACT MY VEHICLE TRAVELED IN A SIDE MANNER AND SPUN AROUND HITTING A GUARD RAIL APPROXIMATELY STRAIGHT ON. THE ENTIRE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE WAS CRUSHED AND THE DRIVER DOOR WAS BENT ON IMPACT. THE VEHICLE WAS A TOTAL LOSS; NOTHING IN FRONT OF THE FRONT TIRES WAS LEFT ON THE VEHICLE. IN SPITE OF THIS, NOT A SINGLE AIRBAG IN THE VEHICLE DEPLOYED. POLICE REPORT DONE ON SCENE AS WELL AS EMT REPORT STATE THE SAME. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE MAKING A LEFT TURN SHE WAS STRUCK BY ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE FRONTAL AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. HOWEVER THE PLASTIC FOR THE KNEE BAGS CAUSED DEEP LACERATIONS ON HER LEG. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED, BUT NO ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER AND REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10,500. UPDATED 12/09/09 *BF THE CONSUMER STATED THE SEVERE INJURIES SHE RECEIVED WAS FROM THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYING. UPDATED 12/09/09.