Toyota Recalls SUVs After Seat Belt Separated in Fatal Crash
- Company unable to determine if defect caused Canada fatality
- Fixing rear seat frames that could cut or separate seat belts
An employee cleans a Toyota RAV4 vehicle at a showroom in Moscow. RAV4 owners will be notified by mail of the recall.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling about 2.87 million sport utility vehicles worldwide after rear seat belts separated in one fatal accident in Canada and during a crash that injured a passenger in the U.S.
The automaker has been unable to confirm if the fatality or injury are connected with the defect prompting its recall of RAV4, RAV4 EV and Vanguard SUV models, spokeswoman Kayo Doi said in an e-mail. Rear seat belts in the vehicles could be cut by metal seat-cushion frames in severe front crashes and fail to restrain passengers, she said.