Toyota has recently announced that they will recall nearly 160,000 Tacoma pickups this fall in order to actually deactivate a safety feature initially installed on the truck. The recall of 2003-2005 model year Tacoma trucks is intended to make the pickups comply with a set of safety regulations. The rules state that vehicles built after 2002 must have a child-seat anchor system in the front seat if they also have a front-seat airbag shut-off switch. The recalled Toyota Tacoma trucks were built with the airbag shut-off switch, but without a child-seat anchor system.

However, instead of installing anchor systems on their front seats, Toyota has elected to remove the airbag shut-off switch rather than spending more money to completely replace the front seats. This choice actually makes the Tacoma pickups much more dangerous for children riding in the front seat. Without the shut-off switch, the front airbag will always deploy in the event of an accident. The force of the airbag could injure or even kill small children in an otherwise minor accident.

Some groups, such as Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, have said Toyota should not be allowed to simply deactivate the switches, but Toyota's vice president for regulatory affairs Chris Santo says installing anchor systems in every seat would be far too expensive.

Despite the knowledge that these recalls may very well make the Tacoma trucks less safe for children, Toyota has even made the decision to built new trucks without the switches rather than re-engineer their front seats. That means all new model Tacomas will also lack the safety features of a shut-off airbag switch and child seat anchor system.

Source: Peter Valdes-Dapena, "Toyota's Totally Bizarre Recall," CNN.com, July 12, 2006.