Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | ||||||
| PE09049 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 10/06/2009 | 01/26/2010 | FRAME CORROSION | 09V444000 | |
| This investigation was opened based on 20 reports of model year (my) 2000 and 2001 vehicles experiencing severe corrosion of the frame, resulting in either under-body mounted spare tire separation or rear brake failure.the failure report counts shown above are for my 2000 and 2001 vehicles only.by letter of november 16, 2009 toyota has notified the agency that it will conduct a safety recall (09v-444) of approximately 110,000 model year (my) 2000 through 2003 tundra vehicles.the affected recalled vehicles were sold or are currently registered in the district of columbia and the states of ct, de, il, in, ky, ma, md, me, mi, mn, nh, nj, ny, oh, pa, ri, va, vt, wi, wv.toyota alleges high amounts of road salts are used in these areas and excessive corrosion of the rear cross-member (to which the spare tire is mounted) can occur and cause the spare tire to separate from the vehicle and can also lead to rear brake failure.toyota stated: toyota has tentatively concluded that the root cause is a combination of factors, including usage in areas where road salt is applied, inadequate vehicle maintenance (i.e., not following the recommendations in the owner's manual), the design of the rear cross-member, and manufacturing issues.the design of the rear cross-member is such that it is open on the top side and susceptible to accumulation of dirt, water and road salt.manufacturing issues of the rear cross-member related to the coating process also affect its corrosion resistance.toyota also states that owners of my 2000 through 2003 vehicles in states not covered by the recall will be notified on how to obtain the same inspection and repair as the recalled vehicles, free of charge.further toyota states: please note that while toyota has not determined a defect exists in 2004 through 2006 my tundra vehicles, toyota plans on initiating a field action in the near future to prevent future corrosion on those vehicles originally sold or currently registered in the affected region at no cost to the owner.by letter of january 8, 2010 toyota has notified the agency that it amended its defect information report for safety recall 09v-444 to include the fuel tank mounting system (i.e., fuel tank support straps and fuel tank mounting cross-members) in the safety recall.toyota states: toyota has not decided that the fuel tank mounting system in those vehicles contains a safety-related defect within the meaning of federal motor vehicle safety law.rather, toyota is taking this action at odi's request and to avoid future disagreement with odi with respect to this issue.my 2007 and newer tundra vehicles are not included in any of toyota's actions as the rear cross-member in those vehicles have been redesigned so that it is open on the bottom.the actions taken by toyota are sufficient to resolve the issues raised by this investigation.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist in the subject vehicles.the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances. | ||||||
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - STORAGE - TANK ASSEMBLY | ||||||
| PE09049 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 10/06/2009 | 01/26/2010 | FRAME CORROSION | 09V444000 | |
| This investigation was opened based on 20 reports of model year (my) 2000 and 2001 vehicles experiencing severe corrosion of the frame, resulting in either under-body mounted spare tire separation or rear brake failure.the failure report counts shown above are for my 2000 and 2001 vehicles only.by letter of november 16, 2009 toyota has notified the agency that it will conduct a safety recall (09v-444) of approximately 110,000 model year (my) 2000 through 2003 tundra vehicles.the affected recalled vehicles were sold or are currently registered in the district of columbia and the states of ct, de, il, in, ky, ma, md, me, mi, mn, nh, nj, ny, oh, pa, ri, va, vt, wi, wv.toyota alleges high amounts of road salts are used in these areas and excessive corrosion of the rear cross-member (to which the spare tire is mounted) can occur and cause the spare tire to separate from the vehicle and can also lead to rear brake failure.toyota stated: toyota has tentatively concluded that the root cause is a combination of factors, including usage in areas where road salt is applied, inadequate vehicle maintenance (i.e., not following the recommendations in the owner's manual), the design of the rear cross-member, and manufacturing issues.the design of the rear cross-member is such that it is open on the top side and susceptible to accumulation of dirt, water and road salt.manufacturing issues of the rear cross-member related to the coating process also affect its corrosion resistance.toyota also states that owners of my 2000 through 2003 vehicles in states not covered by the recall will be notified on how to obtain the same inspection and repair as the recalled vehicles, free of charge.further toyota states: please note that while toyota has not determined a defect exists in 2004 through 2006 my tundra vehicles, toyota plans on initiating a field action in the near future to prevent future corrosion on those vehicles originally sold or currently registered in the affected region at no cost to the owner.by letter of january 8, 2010 toyota has notified the agency that it amended its defect information report for safety recall 09v-444 to include the fuel tank mounting system (i.e., fuel tank support straps and fuel tank mounting cross-members) in the safety recall.toyota states: toyota has not decided that the fuel tank mounting system in those vehicles contains a safety-related defect within the meaning of federal motor vehicle safety law.rather, toyota is taking this action at odi's request and to avoid future disagreement with odi with respect to this issue.my 2007 and newer tundra vehicles are not included in any of toyota's actions as the rear cross-member in those vehicles have been redesigned so that it is open on the bottom.the actions taken by toyota are sufficient to resolve the issues raised by this investigation.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist in the subject vehicles.the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances. | ||||||
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - STORAGE - TANK ASSEMBLY - MOUNTING | ||||||
| PE09049 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 10/06/2009 | 01/26/2010 | FRAME CORROSION | 09V444000 | |
| This investigation was opened based on 20 reports of model year (my) 2000 and 2001 vehicles experiencing severe corrosion of the frame, resulting in either under-body mounted spare tire separation or rear brake failure.the failure report counts shown above are for my 2000 and 2001 vehicles only.by letter of november 16, 2009 toyota has notified the agency that it will conduct a safety recall (09v-444) of approximately 110,000 model year (my) 2000 through 2003 tundra vehicles.the affected recalled vehicles were sold or are currently registered in the district of columbia and the states of ct, de, il, in, ky, ma, md, me, mi, mn, nh, nj, ny, oh, pa, ri, va, vt, wi, wv.toyota alleges high amounts of road salts are used in these areas and excessive corrosion of the rear cross-member (to which the spare tire is mounted) can occur and cause the spare tire to separate from the vehicle and can also lead to rear brake failure.toyota stated: toyota has tentatively concluded that the root cause is a combination of factors, including usage in areas where road salt is applied, inadequate vehicle maintenance (i.e., not following the recommendations in the owner's manual), the design of the rear cross-member, and manufacturing issues.the design of the rear cross-member is such that it is open on the top side and susceptible to accumulation of dirt, water and road salt.manufacturing issues of the rear cross-member related to the coating process also affect its corrosion resistance.toyota also states that owners of my 2000 through 2003 vehicles in states not covered by the recall will be notified on how to obtain the same inspection and repair as the recalled vehicles, free of charge.further toyota states: please note that while toyota has not determined a defect exists in 2004 through 2006 my tundra vehicles, toyota plans on initiating a field action in the near future to prevent future corrosion on those vehicles originally sold or currently registered in the affected region at no cost to the owner.by letter of january 8, 2010 toyota has notified the agency that it amended its defect information report for safety recall 09v-444 to include the fuel tank mounting system (i.e., fuel tank support straps and fuel tank mounting cross-members) in the safety recall.toyota states: toyota has not decided that the fuel tank mounting system in those vehicles contains a safety-related defect within the meaning of federal motor vehicle safety law.rather, toyota is taking this action at odi's request and to avoid future disagreement with odi with respect to this issue.my 2007 and newer tundra vehicles are not included in any of toyota's actions as the rear cross-member in those vehicles have been redesigned so that it is open on the bottom.the actions taken by toyota are sufficient to resolve the issues raised by this investigation.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist in the subject vehicles.the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | |||
| 07/27/2011 | 70000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2006 toyota tundra. the contact stated that upon refueling the vehicle, he noticed a minor fuel leak. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the plastic weld on top of the fuel tank was disconnected, resulting in a fuel leak. the contact was advised to replace the fuel tank. the vehicle was in the process of being repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 70,000. rvk | |||
| 07/27/2011 | 70000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2006 toyota tundra.the contact stated that upon refueling, he noticed a minor fuel leak. the vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop and the contact was informed that the plastic weld on top of the fuel tank was disconnected, resulting in a fuel leak. the contact was advised to replace the fuel tank. the vehicle was in the process of being repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 70,000. sm. | |||
| 08/15/2008 | 30000 | ||
| Sometime in august of 2008 i was driving home from work in my 2006 toyota tundra, the car in front of me was driving very slow. i got irritated, changed lanes and punched my gas pedal. when i took my foot off the gas pedal my truck kept accelerating. i put on the brake and it still didn't stop accelerating, only when i tried again and put the brake on as hard as i could, i heard a pop noise and the accelerator went back to normal. i didn't take my truck in to be repaired right away because i had it for about 2 years and it never did that before and it only did it when i punched the gas pedal. i also had no eye witnesses and didn't trust the dealer. so i tried to reproduce the acceleration 3 or 4 more times successfully during light traffic and with witnesses, each time when i put on the brake very hard i heard a pop and the accelerator went back to normal. before i took my truck to the dealer about 2 months later i went on the freeway during light traffic to see how fast the tundra would go and if it would stop by itself. the truck accelerated to about 75 mph and made the pop sound and went back to normal without putting on the brake. i took it in to the dealer and explained everything that had happened and that i had witnesses. they said they would check it out and seemed like they already knew about it. when i went back to the dealer to pick up my truck i brought my wife. the service rep. took me aside so my wife couldn't hear and told me officially we didn't find anything wrong, unofficially it did what you said. then he went on to explain that the old accelerators used to use cables to give the engine more gas, but the new accelerators like mine use a vacuum system to give the engine more gas. he said that my vacuum system had gotten dirty inside, they cleaned it out and they didn't think it would happen again. i am writing this because i recently read about a woman in the newspaper who was being prosecuted for crashing in her lexus. | |||
| 10/18/2009 | 36000 | 1 | |
| I am filing this complaint with reference to odi #' s 10183308 and 10288886. these odi's were put in by me. these are lead up's to this complaint. after the collision with the polaris i drove my vehicle home. the next day i drove the vehicle to tim's toyota in prescott az. where the vehicle was purchased. they looked at the vehicle and said that they would call for a factory rep. to look at my vehicle. this was to be on nov. 9, 2009. i did drive my vehicle to yarnell az for deer season. i drove the vehicle back to prescott to meet with the factory rep. he did whatever they do and said he had all the information he needed. he also told me to go ahead and get an estimate for the repairs but not to have it repaired until i heard from toyota. the preliminary estimate is just shy of $2000.00. this estimate was given to jeff locke to be sent to toyota. my question to all of this is, why did toyota allow me to drive this vehicle after the meeting, when they know that i am driving a time bomb. also why hasn't national highway safety involved itself into an investigation of its own? i now know the verbiage for the incident. it is called sudden unintended acceleration which is tied together with the cruise control, throttle body and other electrical, vacuum controlled , mechanical units. look it up for yourselves. it will open your eyes to what is going on with this condition. my vehicle sits in my garage so anytime national highway safety wants to do an investigation is fine with me. toyota has not done a proper evaluation of the issue. my insurance company is behind me 100% and is now going to contact toyota to try to find the cause for sudden acceleration and cruise control units to behave the way that they are. racing to over 5000 rpm's and hunting gears the way they do is just not the way they are supposed to operate. toyota would have us believe that a floor mat is at fault and now the whole pedal assembly. or is it that we don't know the gas from the brake pedal? *tr | |||
| 01/01/1901 | 1 | ||
| Ltr from (tx) reporting problems with his 2006 tundra motor vehicle. *ts the cruise control has a problem down shifting 2 gears on minor grade for no reason, which caused the engine to rev to over 4000 rpms. the vehicle would not shift into overdrive while driving on the freeway. the brake will fade while sitting at a traffic light. the stopping distance on the vehicle was much longer than any other vehicle the consumer had driven. the vehicle was getting very poor gas mileage. there was an odor from the air condition. the tire sensor light illuminated, but it was resolved. | |||
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - DELIVERY | |||
| 05/12/2006 | 1 | 12/24/2005 | |
| Thursday 5/11/06 idle upon start up goes to 2000 rpm, and stays there for approximately 1-1 1/2 minutes, before slowing dropping down to around 1500 rpm. it seemed to really be straining against the brake, when i put it into drive, again, not the feel it had when it was brand new. friday 5/12/06 it not only had the high idle, but while driving at highway speeds seemed to have a random surge while driving. couldn't detect a pattern to it, whether on incline, decline, or flat roadway. upon arriving at work, i placed the transmission into park, and idle was approximately 750 rpm (by dash tach) when suddenly it raced up to 1500 rpm, stay there for about 30 - 45 seconds, then returned to 750 rpm. this surge situation certainly presents a possible safety problem, if the surge was to override the brake pressure and lurch forward at stop, or in bumper to bumper traffic. *jb | |||
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - DELIVERY - FUEL PUMP | |||
| 04/14/2006 | 4 | 12/24/2005 | |
| 2006 tundra problem accelerated rapidly away from a traffic light in order to merge with traffic, reaching a speed of 65 to 70 mph at that time. drove for about two miles, turned into my neighborhood and up my street. parked truck in driveway, no idiot lights at that time, gauges were normal. after about 20-30 minutes attempted to restart truck. it would crank strongly, begin to start, sputter and die. attempted several more times, with same result. it acted like it was not getting fuel. after 10-15 minutes of cool down, it still refused to start. finally managed to get it started by pumping gas pedal and repeatedly cranking. finally it caught, but required revving to stay running. at last it settled down to an idle. tundra problems continued: friday 4/14/06 accelerated gradually away from a stop light down an exit ramp and onto the highway. truck began hesitating or stumbling for about 30 sec., then smoothed out. saturday 4/15 /06 turned right and began accelerating up an incline with full load of passengers. truck began stumbling; acting like it was not getting fuel, upon coming to a traffic light, it stalled when i came to a stop. no check engine light came on, it was like i had turned off the key. managed to get it started, and it ran the rest of that evening without further incident. this occurred about 6:00 p.m. and the air temperature was in the low 80s. tuesday 4/18/06 was driving around the baltimore beltway at speed, when the engine began missing at a speed of approximately 65 mph. this continued for at least two, and possibly three minutes. traffic suddenly came to a complete stop. at this point, the engine died, and again there was no check engine light, the engine just turned off. 4/19/06 on the drive from owings mills to waldorf, i needed to pass a truck towing a boat. as i pressed on the gas, the engine began to stumble again and would not accelerate. *jb | |||
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - DELIVERY - HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS | |||
| 09/28/2007 | 20000 | 12 | 12/31/2005 |
| When refueling the vehicle, the gas pump nozzle will on occasion eject itself from the filler neck on the vehicle, when the pump system shuts off at full tank, and fall to the ground, spilling gasoline. the same pumps do not eject their nozzles on my two other cars. *tr | |||
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - STORAGE - TANK ASSEMBLY - FILLER PIPE AND CAP | |||
| 03/08/2007 | 5 | 10/17/2006 | |
| When fueling the vehicle, the filler nozzle will eject from the vehicle when the nozzle shuts the fuel off upon filling the tank. i have had one instance of the filler spout ejecting before the tank filled. *tr | |||