Toyota PH recalls GR Yaris to fix critical safety sensor

Toyota's solid reputation for reliability is being tested. Local Raize units were spared from Indonesia's faulty welding recall, but Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) was not able to dodge the bullet this time, as the country's number one automaker has submitted a recall notice to the Department of Trade and Industry involving their homologation special: the GR Yaris.

DTI published a letter from Toyota Motor Philippines regarding a recall (AKA: Special Service Campaign) on certain GR Yaris models. This is due to the hatchback's Millimeter-Wave Sensor which affects certain driver assistance features including the Pre-Collision System (PCS).

The device measures the distance of the car in relation to an obstacle (ex: another vehicle) up ahead. If a collision is likely to happen, then the system will send out an alert to notify the driver. When the person driving does not react to the situation, the Pre-Collision System would interfere and apply the brakes to reduce the impact. In some cases, the system would even bring the car to a complete stop.

Based on the letter, the initialization of the radar sensor may have not been done correctly at the GR Factory in Motomachi, and thus the Pre-Collision System of the GR Yaris would not operate. According to TMP, they will inspect and/or initialize the affected part at no cost to their customers. All GR Yaris owners need to do is to bring their units to the nearest Toyota dealership and get them checked.

In the global market, the production period of the affected vehicles is from April 2, 2020, to August 2, 2021. This may involve gray market GR Yaris units that arrived in the Philippines. For vehicles officially sold in TMP dealerships, the 94 affected units were made from June 3, 2021, to August 2, 2021.