Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION - REAR | ||||||||||||||||
| 12V373000 | TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC. | from 10/01/2005 to 08/31/2010 | V (Vehicle) | 778000 | ODI | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 08/02/2012 | 08/02/2012 | ||||||||
| Defect Summary | Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006 through 2011 rav4 and 2010 lexus hs250h passenger vehicles manufactured from october 2005 through september 2010. if the nuts for adjusting the rear wheel alignment are improperly tightened when an alignment is performed, the thread portion of the arm (shaft and turn-buckle) may become loose and rust. this may lead to thread wear in the turn-buckle, causing the arm to separate, which could result in a loss of vehicle control. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | Failure of the rear tie rod could cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Toyota is currently developing the remedy and will provide a notification schedule when it becomes available. owners may contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331 or lexus at 1-800-255-3987. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov. | |||||||||||||||
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | ||||||
| PE12013 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 06/04/2012 | 09/13/2012 | Rear Suspension Arm Assembly Failure | 12V373000 | |
| In a letter dated august 1, 2012 toyota motor engineering & manufacturing north america, inc. (toyota) submitted a defect information report (nhtsa recall no. 12v-373) to the nhtsa identifying a safety defect regarding possible separation of the rear suspension arm no. 1 assembly (arm) at the threaded portion (shaft and turn buckle) of the component in my 2006 through my 2011 toyota rav4 vehicles built from october 2005 through september 2010 and in my 2010 lexus hs250h vehicles manufactured from july 2009 through august 2010.according to toyota, if the adjustment nuts for the rear wheel alignment are improperly tightened when alignment is performed in service, backlash may develop at the threaded portion of the arm, followed by rust formation.the threads may then wear causing the arm to separate, which may result in a loss of vehicle control.in analysis of both vehicle owner questionnaire (voq) data submitted to the office of defects investigation (odi) and consumer complaint data submitted to toyota, odi identified 131 non-duplicative reports alleging failure of the subject rear suspension arm (note:some of the complaints and related service records refer to the arm as a rear tie rod).six of the complainants allege the failure resulted in some loss of vehicle control.for purposes of this analysis, loss of control events involve alleged complete or partial departure from the intended lane of travel.an additional four complaints reported difficulty maintaining control of the vehicle when the arm failed.recalled vehicles will be inspected for proper torque of the adjustment nuts and replaced as necessary.in addition, toyota will take several actions to reduce the potential for improper torque in future alignment procedures.this includes:(1) providing proper tightening sequence and torque specification information to two major wheel alignment equipment manufacturers, who would disseminate the information to alignment shops using their equipment; (2) installation of a clip on each arm with an instructional label showing proper tightening sequence and torque specification (the clip must be removed to perform a wheel alignment); (3) installation of additional labels on the front and back vertical surfaces of the rear suspension arm no. 2 assemblies; and (4) providing an instruction booklet to owners to place in the glove box.this investigation is closed. | ||||||
| PE12013 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 06/04/2012 | Rear Suspension Arm Assembly Failure | |||
| The office of defects investigation (odi) has received seven complaints alleging corrosion-related failure of the left or right rear suspension arm assembly no.1, often referred to as a rear tie rod in consumer complaints and repair records. four of these complaints allege the failure occurred while driving at speeds of 35 mph or greater causing a temporary loss of vehicle control.pictures provided by some complainants show the wheel adjacent to the failed component severely out of wheel alignment with respect to toe and camber.early warning reporting data submitted by toyota include field reports describing failure of rear suspension arm assembly no. 1 in the subject vehicles.a preliminary evaluation has been opened to assess the scope, frequency and consequences rear suspension failures in the subject vehicles.the odi complaints cited above can be viewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints under the following odi identification numbers:10355753, 10402156, 10443333, 10444196, 10448288, 10449116, 10456012. | ||||||
| SUSPENSION - REAR | ||||||
| PE12013 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 06/04/2012 | 09/13/2012 | Rear Suspension Arm Assembly Failure | 12V373000 | |
| In a letter dated august 1, 2012 toyota motor engineering & manufacturing north america, inc. (toyota) submitted a defect information report (nhtsa recall no. 12v-373) to the nhtsa identifying a safety defect regarding possible separation of the rear suspension arm no. 1 assembly (arm) at the threaded portion (shaft and turn buckle) of the component in my 2006 through my 2011 toyota rav4 vehicles built from october 2005 through september 2010 and in my 2010 lexus hs250h vehicles manufactured from july 2009 through august 2010.according to toyota, if the adjustment nuts for the rear wheel alignment are improperly tightened when alignment is performed in service, backlash may develop at the threaded portion of the arm, followed by rust formation.the threads may then wear causing the arm to separate, which may result in a loss of vehicle control.in analysis of both vehicle owner questionnaire (voq) data submitted to the office of defects investigation (odi) and consumer complaint data submitted to toyota, odi identified 131 non-duplicative reports alleging failure of the subject rear suspension arm (note:some of the complaints and related service records refer to the arm as a rear tie rod).six of the complainants allege the failure resulted in some loss of vehicle control.for purposes of this analysis, loss of control events involve alleged complete or partial departure from the intended lane of travel.an additional four complaints reported difficulty maintaining control of the vehicle when the arm failed.recalled vehicles will be inspected for proper torque of the adjustment nuts and replaced as necessary.in addition, toyota will take several actions to reduce the potential for improper torque in future alignment procedures.this includes:(1) providing proper tightening sequence and torque specification information to two major wheel alignment equipment manufacturers, who would disseminate the information to alignment shops using their equipment; (2) installation of a clip on each arm with an instructional label showing proper tightening sequence and torque specification (the clip must be removed to perform a wheel alignment); (3) installation of additional labels on the front and back vertical surfaces of the rear suspension arm no. 2 assemblies; and (4) providing an instruction booklet to owners to place in the glove box.this investigation is closed. | ||||||
| PE12013 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 06/04/2012 | Rear Suspension Arm Assembly Failure | |||
| The office of defects investigation (odi) has received seven complaints alleging corrosion-related failure of the left or right rear suspension arm assembly no.1, often referred to as a rear tie rod in consumer complaints and repair records. four of these complaints allege the failure occurred while driving at speeds of 35 mph or greater causing a temporary loss of vehicle control.pictures provided by some complainants show the wheel adjacent to the failed component severely out of wheel alignment with respect to toe and camber.early warning reporting data submitted by toyota include field reports describing failure of rear suspension arm assembly no. 1 in the subject vehicles.a preliminary evaluation has been opened to assess the scope, frequency and consequences rear suspension failures in the subject vehicles.the odi complaints cited above can be viewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints under the following odi identification numbers:10355753, 10402156, 10443333, 10444196, 10448288, 10449116, 10456012. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 06/01/2011 | 20000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2008 toyota rav4. the contact stated that while at the dealer, the contact was informed that the vehicle was unsafe to drive to the extensive rusting of the frame, driveshaft, front control arms, rear suspension, rear shocks, and the passenger rear rim. the contact was also informed that rust was not a defect but environmental. the manufacturer was notified. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 20,000 and the current mileage was 42,000. mah | |||
| 06/01/2011 | 20000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2008 toyota rav4. the contact stated that a dealer informed her that the vehicle was unsafe to drive due to the extensive rust to the frame, drive shaft, front control arms, the rear suspension, rear shocks, left drive shaft, and the right rim. the contact was also told that rust was not a defect and instead was environmental. the manufacturer was notified but offered no assistance. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was 20,000 and the current mileage was 42,000. dt | |||
| 11/17/2012 | 124000 | 1 | |
| I received a interim recall notice from toyota stating that there was an issue with the rear suspension arm and that failure of the rear tie rod could cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash. they instructed owners to call only if they experienced any strange noises coming from the rear of the vehicle. i did notice that recently especially when backing up that i would hear a popping noise coming from the rear passenger side of the vehicle. i called and they scheduled an appointment with my local dealership for the following week. the day after i scheduled my vehicle to be looked at the rear suspension arm no. 1 separated while driving on a busy 4 lane highway. this caused the vehicle to initially start to sway back and forth and as i tried to pull over to the breakdown lane i then lost complete control of the vehicle which then spun around in the direction of on coming vehicles. fortunately we did not suffer any injuries and the vehicle came to rest at the top of an exit off ramp. now that i experienced how serious this really is i have serious concerns as to why toyota didn't advise me to immediately bring the vehicle to a dealership. this could have been a serious and deadly crash. *tr | |||
| 11/17/2012 | 48255 | 1 | |
| Happy holidays & hanukkah! bob bridge took advantage of my age & background. they charged me $1280 out the door for tsb recall service. it's unfair & absurd 4 me paying toyota's design flaws. can you please help me get in touch with portland regional office so they can start reimbursement to me? bob bridge is milking both me & toyota district managers. they took 14 days to put in new steering shaft and offered zero in-depth report on failure & steering shaft's warranty. rushed through the job and left me dying battery & alternator. t-sb-0318-08 (steering shaft recall) steering now feels hard since they didn't refill power steering reservoir. my alternator & battery was left as is with diminishing capacity. i will only pay $150 out the door labor for this tsb service, the rest will be paid by toyota's district office. when can you send me my check? *tr | |||
| 11/17/2012 | 124000 | ||
| I received a interim recall notice from toyota stating that there was an issue with the rear suspension arm and that failure of the rear tie rod could cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash. they instructed owners to call only if they experienced any strange noises coming from the rear of the vehicle. i did notice that recently especially when backing up that i would hear a poping noise coming from the rear passenger side of the vehicle. i called and they scheduled an appointment with my local dealership for the following week. the day after i scheduled my vehicle to be looked at the rear suspension arm no. 1 seperated while driving on a busy 4 lane highway. this caused the the vehicle to initially start to sway back and forth and as i tried to pull over to the breakdown lane i then lost complete control of the vehicle which then spun around in the direction of on coming vehicles. fortuantely we did not suffer any injuries and the vehicle came to rest at the top of an exit off ramp. now that i experienced how serious this really is i have serious concerns as to why toyota didn't advise me to immediately bring the vehicle to a dealership. this could have been a serious and deadly crash. | |||
| 11/17/2012 | 48255 | ||
| Happy holidays & hanukkah! bob bridge took advantage of my age & background. they charged me $1280 out the door for tsb recall service. it's unfair & absurd 4 me paying toyota's design flaws. can you please help me get in touch with portland regional office so they can start reimbursement to me? bob bridge is milking both me & toyota district managers. they took 14 days to put in new steering shaft and offered zero in-depth report on failure & steering shaft's warranty. rushed through the job and left me dying battery & alternator. t-sb-0318-08 (steering shaft recall) steering now feels hard since they didn't refill power steering reservoir. my alternator & battery was left as is with diminishing capacity. i will only pay $150 out the door labor for this tsb service, the rest will be paid by toyota's district office. when can you send me my check? | |||
| 11/17/2012 | 124000 | ||
| I received a interim recall notice from toyota stating that there was an issue with the rear suspension arm and that failure of the rear tie rod could cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash. they instructed owners to call only if they experienced any strange noises coming from the rear of the vehicle. i did notice that recently especially when backing up that i would hear a poping noise coming from the rear passenger side of the vehicle. i called and they scheduled an appointment with my local dealership for the following week. the day after i scheduled my vehicle to be looked at the rear suspension arm no. 1 seperated while driving on a busy 4 lane highway. this caused the the vehicle to initially start to sway back and forth and as i tried to pull over to the breakdown lane i then lost complete control of the vehicle which then spun around in the direction of on coming vehicles. fortuantely we did not suffer any injuries and the vehicle came to rest at the top of an exit off ramp. now that i experienced how serious this really is i have serious concerns as to why toyota didn't advise me to immediately bring the vehicle to a dealership. this could have been a serious and deadly crash. | |||
| 11/17/2012 | 48255 | ||
| Happy holidays & hanukkah! bob bridge took advantage of my age & background. they charged me $1280 out the door for tsb recall service. it's unfair & absurd 4 me paying toyota's design flaws. can you please help me get in touch with portland regional office so they can start reimbursement to me? bob bridge is milking both me & toyota district managers. they took 14 days to put in new steering shaft and offered zero in-depth report on failure & steering shaft's warranty. rushed through the job and left me dying battery & alternator. t-sb-0318-08 (steering shaft recall) steering now feels hard since they didn't refill power steering reservoir. my alternator & battery was left as is with diminishing capacity. i will only pay $150 out the door labor for this tsb service, the rest will be paid by toyota's district office. when can you send me my check? | |||
| 11/05/2008 | 20000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2008 toyota rav4. the contact stated that while driving approximately 10 mph, a loud noise emitted from the rear passenger's side of the vehicle. the failure occurred whenever traveling at low speeds. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure. in addition, the four tires had been replaced twice previously due to premature tire wear. the technician advised that the four tires be replaced again for the third time. there was a recall related to the defect under nhtsa campaign id number 12v373000 (suspension: rear). the vin was eligible; however the dealer refused to repair the vehicle because a defect was not present during the inspection. the vehicle was not repaired and the defective tires were not replaced. the approximate failure mileage was 20,000. pmb | |||
| 11/05/2008 | 20000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2008 toyota rav4. while driving approximately 10 mph, a loud noise emitted from the rear passenger's side of the vehicle. the failure occurred whenever traveling at low speeds. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who was unable to detect a problem with the rear suspension. in addition, the four tires had been replaced twice previously due to premature tire wear. the technician advised that the four tires be replaced again for the third time. there was a recall related to the defect under nhtsa campaign id number 12v373000 (suspension:rear). the vin was eligible; however the dealer refused to repair the vehicle because a defect was not present during the inspection. the vehicle was not repaired and the defective tires were not replaced. the approximate failure mileage was 20,000. js | |||
| 10/01/2012 | 106000 | 1 | |
| I was driving along and heard a small thud, and, with no other sound or warning, the car went out of control. thankfully i was able to stop, as i was driving slowly. when i got out of the car and looked, the rear wheel was hanging off. it was determined that the rear suspension arm had failed and needed to be replaced. this was a terrifying experience and surely would have been catastrophic if i had been driving at a faster speed. toyota has been notified. *tr | |||
| 10/01/2012 | 106000 | ||
| I was driving along and heard a small thud, and, with no other sound or warning, the car went out of control. thankfully i was able to stop, as i was driving slowly. when i got out of the car and looked, the rear wheel was hanging off. it was determined that the rear suspension arm had failed and needed to be replaced. this was a terrifying experience and surely would have been catastrophic if i had been driving at a faster speed. toyota has been notified. | |||
| 09/03/2012 | 57574 | 1 | |
| Loud noise from back of car and then right rear suspension collapsed causing me to loose steering control of vehicle. no other cars around, road was straight and level with just grass to the side. brakes still work so car was brought to stop as it went by itself to the right. this is a one owner car that was never abused or off-roaded. car was taken by flatbed to local toyota dealer who replaced the right rear inner/outer tie rods at no cost and gave me a free car wash. ## vin passed ## toyota, rav4, 2008 ## *tr | |||
| 07/08/2012 | 78712 | 1 | |
| At around 9:30 am on july 8, i was on i-15 in s. utah when my right rear tie rod failed. very scary and i was lucky i did not end up rolled over in the ditch, hit another vehicle, or get hit by another vehicle. i had no idea why my car was so suddenly out of control. i originally thought i had blown a front wheel. there was no previous warning, such as a shimmy or vibration or any steering issues at all. i asked the tow truck to take me to the toyota dealer which was about 50 miles away. however, he convinced me that it was simple to replace the tie rod and since my rav4 was a 2008, aftermarket parts would be easy to get from napa. it was a sunday, so i ended up getting the car dropped off at goodyear in cedar city, since i would need an alignment after the new tie rod was put in. on monday morning i found out you can only get the tie rod part from the dealer and they did not have any in stock, so had to wait until wednesday to get it fixed. after it was fixed, they were not able to do an exact alignment and said it was off by a mm. fyi - there was no rust on the broken tie rod. *tr | |||
| 07/08/2012 | 78712 | ||
| At around 9:30 am on july 8, i was on i-15 in s. utah when my right rear tie rod failed. very scary and i was lucky i did not end up rolled over in the ditch, hit another vehicle, or get hit by another vehicle. i had no idea why my car was so suddenly out of control. i originally thought i had blown a front wheel. there was no previous warning, such as a shimmy or vibration or any steering issues at all. i asked the tow truck to take me to the toyota dealer which was about 50 mies away. however, he convinced me that it was simple to replace the tie rod and since my rav4 was a 2008, aftermarket parts would be easy to get from napa. it was a sunday, so i ended up getting the car dropped off at goodyear in cedar city, since i would need an alignment after the new tie rod was put in. on monday morning i found out you can only get the tie rod part from the dealer and they did not have any in stock, so had to wait until wednesday to get it fixed. after it was fixed, they were not able to do an exact alignment and said it was off by a mm. fyi - there was no rust on the broken tie rod, | |||
| 11/22/2011 | 76000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2008 toyota rav4. the contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the rear passenger tie rod failed, causing the contact to loose control of the vehicle. the vehicle was towed to the dealer where the dealer diagnosed that the tie rod separated from the vehicle. both rear tie rods were replaced. the manufacturer was notified and assisted with repairs to the failure. the failure mileage was 76,000 and the current mileage was approximately 77,000. kmj | |||
| 11/22/2011 | 76000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2008 toyota rav4. the contact stated that while driving approximately 60 miles per hour on the highway, the rear passenger tie rod failed, causing the contact to loose control of the vehicle. the contact drove to the side of the highway and the vehicle was towed to the dealer. the dealer diagnosed that the tie rod separated from the vehicle. both rear tie rods were replaced. the manufacturer was notified and assisted with repairs to the failure. the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was 76,000 and the current mileage was approximately 77,000. nw | |||
| 05/06/2010 | 22400 | ||
| 2008 toyota rav 4 limited has had handling issues on the freeway with stability. this has happened a couple of times. dealer says that nothing is wrong. previous time this occured, vehicle returned handling differently. considering the computer brain running this car, we believe they reset the computer. this is happening again. we are taking it in again. | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR | |||
| 12/23/2010 | |||
| I recently got my oil change done and tire rotation for my toyota rav 4. i was told by a non toyota service person to take my car to toyota to get the shocks checks out since they were leaking and i was under warranty with toyota. my car is only like 2 years old and i have problem with the shocks before at like 20k miles only. toyota had fixed my left rear shocks once before too. so this was not surprising to me knowing that the right shocks/struts were messed up this time. i took my car to toyota and they said moisture on the skocks/struts was normal and nothing was leaking. also the new tires that i had replaced a few months back were worn out. i was informed that the shocks/struts were not a reason for that. since i will run out of my 36,000 miles warranty in the next 3 months i am concerned if toyota is being honest about my situation or they just don't care. | |||