Toyota Certified Used Vehicles (TCUV) has reached its 8 millionth sale, reinforcing the long-term importance of post-collision safety inspection and used vehicle inspections for the safety of motorists.

Collision repair facilities can offer inspections and technicians can inform customers about issues they find during repairs unrelated to collision damages. It’s also important to document and ask about repairing those issues to avoid liability if the customer were to be involved in another collision in the future.

One such example came from a column written by Collision Advice President Mike Anderson earlier this year. He shared what can go wrong when safety post-collision inspections aren’t conducted on air bags.

The example given came from a conversation Anderson had with Tyler Smith, owner of Rick’s Paint and Body, a Lexus-authorized collision center in Augusta, Georgia. Toyota and Lexus recommend post-collision repair inspections on many of their vehicles, Anderson wrote. For example, the Toyota Camry and Lexus ES 350 call for air bag inspections, even in non-deployment crashes.

“It was the passenger head air bag that we found in numerous vehicles have been deformed,” Smith told Anderson, clarifying the shop had found four such instances. “You could see on a couple of them where the brackets where they mount up underneath the dash panel were slightly tweaked, and instead of the air bag being a nice little neat package, the top of it was bulged out almost like a loaf of bread. The webbing that kind of holds it all together was stretching so much that it was starting to separate.”

Had the inspection not been performed, this likely wouldn’t have been found since Smith said none of the vehicles showed related warning lights on the dash or diagnostic trouble codes.

For a used Toyota vehicle to be Gold Certified, it must pass a 160-point quality assurance inspection including interior and exterior condition and appearance, engine performance, transmission and transaxle operation, braking, tire and suspension system wear, and electronic system operation. Hybrid, electric, and fuel cell components are also inspected when applicable.

Vehicles sold with the TCUV Gold Certified designation come with a 12-month/12,000-mile limited comprehensive warranty, seven-year/100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty, and roadside assistance for seven years or 100,000 miles.

TCUV launched Silver Certification earlier this year on eligible vehicles up to 10 model years old and between 60,000 and 125,000 miles.

TCUV was launched in 1996 and, according to the release, has been the nation’s No. 1 certified pre-owned used vehicle program for 16 consecutive years.

Sheehy Toyota of Laurel in Maryland made the milestone sale with a 2024 Toyota Camry.

Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) representatives joined the Sheehy Toyota team Dec. 9 to present the customer with a check for the Camry’s total purchase price; a $10,000 donation in their name to Active Minds, on behalf of Toyota and Carfax; and a one-year subscription to Sirius XM. Active Minds is a nonprofit organization that promotes mental health awareness and education for young adults.

Toyota also hosted a celebration with dealership personnel.

“It’s an honor to be part of the TCUV’s 8 millionth sale with our first-time TCUV customer, outstanding sales team, and TMNA to celebrate this historic milestone here in Laurel,” said Chris Prender, general manager at Sheehy Toyota, in a news release. “Customers know they can trust Toyota vehicles for their high-quality, safety and durability, and our commitment to delivering reliable mobility for their purpose and lifestyle.”

Images

Featured image of the 8 millionth certified used Toyota sold provided by TMNA.