Toyota Recalls 130,000 Tundra Pickups for Faulty Air Bags

Sep 11, 2014 06:30 PM EDT | Jordan Ecarma

Toyota has recalled around 130,000 Tundra CrewMax cab and Double Cab pickup trucks from the 2014 model year after federal regulators found that some of the air bags could malfunction.

The side curtain air bags are potentially faulty due to an improperly installed roof panel, the New York Times reported.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration discovered the issue during crash tests conducted in February, Toyota spokesman John Hanson told the Times in an email.

Toyota has not received any reports of crashes, injuries or death in connection with the recall.

The automaker is working to contact owners of the affected vehicles, which will be inspected and receive replacement parts if necessary, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Car companies have recalled a record 46 million vehicles in the U.S. this year. Overwhelmingly topping the previous 2004 record of 30.8 million vehicles, the number of recalls in 2014 has mostly been boosted by General Motors' string of misfortune.

The American automaker has recalled more than 29 million vehicles altogether in the wake of a devastating small car recall related to at least 13 deaths.

GM has set aside $400 million in a compensation fund for those injured and the families of those killed in vehicles equipped with faulty ignition switches. The company has said the figure could go as high as $600 million.

Automakers appear to have become more cautious after GM's ignition switch woes, recalling vehicles for potential problems long before they become fatal.

The NHTSA itself is getting heat for its part in overlooking problems in GM small cars over the past decade. Next week, a Senate panel will hold a hearing on how the NHTSA handled the GM debacle and where the agency should be revamped, the Detroit News reported.

"I'm interested in the capability NHTSA has to get at problems. They've obviously missed some big ones," Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who will chair the hearing on Tuesday, told the Detroit News. "The part of NHTSA that is responsible for monitoring issues like [GM]--they haven't even asked for an increase in staff and cars have gotten a lot more complicated."

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