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Toyota recalling Prius hybrid, Lexus CUVs over airbag issue

Approximately 49,000 vehicles are affected.

Steven Ewing Former managing editor
Steven Ewing spent his childhood reading car magazines, making his career as an automotive journalist an absolute dream job. After getting his foot in the door at Automobile while he was still a teenager, Ewing found homes on the mastheads at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog and Motor1.com before joining the CNET team in 2018. He has also served on the World Car Awards jury. Ewing grew up ingrained in the car culture of Detroit -- the Motor City -- before eventually moving to Los Angeles. In his free time, Ewing loves to cook, binge trash TV and play the drums.
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2016 Toyota Prius four

An electrical glitch could cause the Prius' airbags to fail during a crash.

 Antuan Goodwin/Roadshow

has issued a safety recall for its Prius hatchback, as well as certain NX and RX crossovers . Some 49,000 vehicles in the US are affected, covering Prius and RX models from the 2016 model year, and NX crossovers from 2015 and 2016.

In a press release, Toyota says these vehicles have a fault in the airbag electronics where over time, an open circuit can be created. This means an airbag warning light could illuminate accidentally, and the side curtain and/or front airbags might not actually deploy in the event of a crash.

It is unclear if any crashes or injuries related to this problem have occurred.

Toyota says its dealers will check the serial numbers of the airbag sensors and replace new ones if needed. Of course, this work will be done with no expense to customers, and recall notices will be sent by mail beginning in late March.

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