Spiders and their webs are apparently responsible for clogging the air conditioner drainage tubes, causing the water spillover onto the airbag control module. Fortunately for the hundreds of thousands of car owners potentially affected by the recall, this has only happened to a small number of cars — three airbag deployments and 35 warning light activations have been documented, according to Toyota. In all cases, spiders were a common factor — but given the very limited number of issues Toyota has seen, this feels like a “better safe than sorry” recall. In fact, Toyota notes that it’s voluntary, and the fix sounds pretty simple. The company will apply a sealant and install a cover to eliminate the dripping.
This “fix” falls far short of what should be done: light the car on fire because HOLY CRAP THERE’S SPIDERS IN THERE I MEAN SERIOUSLY WHAT IS GOING ON TOYOTA.