Toyota was forced to halt production of its best-selling RAV4 after an explosion at a key supplier’s plant killed a worker and injured two others. The blast, which occurred on March 6 at Chuo Spring Co. in Toyota City, Japan, is the second in less than two years at the same facility. The factory, which Toyota effectively owns through a majority stake, manufactures crucial suspension components for the automaker.

Toyota claims to be investigating, but this is the second time in recent months that an explosion at this plant has crippled its production lines. The last one, in October 2023, crippled the automaker’s supply chains. It shut down 13 assembly lines across eight Toyota factories for 10 days. A second incident so soon is raising serious concerns about Toyota’s oversight of workplace safety at its own affiliated manufacturers.

Deadly explosion halts production at multiple Toyota plants

The explosion at Chuo Spring’s Fujioka plant was caused by a dust collector, a device used to trap fine metal particles that accumulate during manufacturing. The blast killed a 40-year-old worker and injured two others. First responders took three hours to control the fire.

As a result, Toyota shut down three production lines—one at its Takaoka plant and two at its Nagakusa plant—which assemble the RAV4 and Harrier (the Japanese version of the Venza). The automaker said it would reassess the situation on March 10 but has not provided a timeline for resuming production.

While Toyota has not confirmed whether U.S. customers will see delays, the automaker imported about 21% of the RAV4s sold in America last year. It assembles the rest at its largest plant in the world, in Georgetown, Kentucky.

Toyota owns the supplier—so why does this keep happening?

Some reports have described Chuo Spring as an “independent supplier,” but Toyota owns a controlling stake in the company, making it a de facto part of the Toyota Group. The factory is located in Toyota City, a company town built around the automaker’s operations. This isn’t just another third-party parts manufacturer—it’s a crucial piece of Toyota’s vertically integrated supply chain.

The explosion in October 2023 should have been a wake-up call. Instead, Toyota appears to have resumed business as usual, failing to implement meaningful safety improvements. Now, another worker is dead, and Toyota’s flagship SUV is once again stalled on the assembly line.

When a company holds direct ownership in a supplier, it bears responsibility for safety and operations. Toyota has benefitted from Chuo Spring’s production for years. But when things go wrong, it’s too easy to shift blame to an “affiliated” company rather than accept accountability.

Toyota needs to answer for its factory safety failures

If Toyota had truly learned from the previous explosion, this latest tragedy wouldn’t have happened. Instead, it appears the automaker prioritized production over safety, ignoring the risks of an already dangerous process.

Will Toyota finally take real action to prevent another disaster? Or will it keep allowing workplace hazards to persist while washing its hands of responsibility?

For now, one thing is clear: Toyota’s production shutdowns aren’t just bad luck. They’re the result of systemic failures in how the automaker manages its own supply chain. And unless something changes, this probably won’t be the last time an explosion at a Toyota-owned factory makes headlines.