Motoring Articles - Toyota Truck
Recall
Toyota Truck Recall: Tacoma, 4Runner, Tundra, and Sequoia
by Anna Henningsgaard
A wide scale recall is the last resort for a car company
to take with a problematic vehicle, and most automotive
problems do not even make it to recall stage. Toyota has
been known to avoid issuing recalls at all cost, preferring
to issue safety warnings and avoid covering repair costs
on vehicles that are beyond warranty. This should put
this year’s massive Toyota truck recall into perspective.
This May, Toyota Motor Corp issued one of its largest
safety recalls in history. Toyota is recalling more than
750,000 pickup trucks and SUV’s because of problems
with the front suspension that could make the vehicles
difficult to steer. The recall covers 775,000 vehicles
in the United States alone, including 2001-2004 model
years of the Toyota Tacoma, the 2001-2002 models of Toyota
4Runner and the 2002-2004 model Tundra and Sequoia.
During the manufacturing of these vehicles, the surface
of the front suspension ball joint was scratched. Wear
and tear on this ball joint creates friction that makes
the vehicles difficult to control. At speeds as low as
20 mph, Toyota drivers have reported ball joints collapsing,
causing the front wheels to fold under the truck.
Overall, Toyota admits to conducting five recalls this
year in the United States affecting nearly 1 million vehicles.
In 2004, Toyota conducted nine recalls affecting 1,060,000
vehicles, according to the NHTSA. This year, Toyota has
also recalled:
- 92,577 Celica coupes from 2000-2001 models to adjust
daytime running lights that blind oncoming drivers
- 23,000 model year 2005 Tacoma pickups to tighten a lock
nut on the parking brake pedal
This ball-joint recall was the second time in the same
week that Toyota issued a high-profile safety warning.
Just days before the recall was issued, Toyota began looking
into 13 complaints about a possible software glitch that
could cause the Prius hybrid car to stall at highway speeds. |
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