Lexus Australia recalls RX for misassembled airbag inflator, can lead to untriggered partial inflation

Lexus Australia has announced a recall involving 113 units of the Lexus RX SUV produced between November 2015 and February 2016. The recall for the RX200t, RX350 and RX450h is due to a condition affecting the passenger side front airbag for the five-star ANCAP crossover.

The company explains that the affected vehicles are equipped with a hybrid type of airbag inflator which contains a combination of compressed gas and propellant to inflate the airbag, and there’s a possibility that during the manufacturing process, some inflators may have been improperly welded and/or misassembled.

Such a case may allow the stored compressed gas to be released into the inflator, resulting in partial inflation of the airbag without a deployment command. This may occur when the vehicles are parked and unoccupied for a period of time during high ambient temperature.

An airbag that inflates in this manner can, under some circumstances, increase the risk of injury and the possibility of a crash. There have been no reported cases of this condition Down Under.

Lexus Australia will soon be contacting all affected vehicle owners by phone, and dealers will replace the passenger’s side front airbag for the small number of affected vehicles.

We’ve reached out to Lexus Malaysia to enquire about the status of the RX in Malaysia and will update accordingly. This appears unrelated to the massive Takata airbag inflator recall involving millions of cars worldwide.

GALLERY: Lexus RX 200t F Sport

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