Personal Injury Lawyers > Personal Injury Blog > Motor Vehicle Defects > 412,000 Models Recalled for Toyota Steering Problems

Personal Injury Blog

412,000 Models Recalled for Toyota Steering Problems

Toyota is at it again.  The company is announcing another recall, this time of approximately 412,000 vehicles, including Avalon sedans and Lexus models.  This recall is linked Toyota steering problems that may cause the vehicle to crash.

About 373,000 2003-2004 Avalon sedans are included in the recall.  There are also 39,000 Lexus LX 470 of model years between 2003 and 2007 also included in the recall for different Toyota steering problems.  The Avalon sedan recall is because of improper casting of a portion of the steering interlock system.  This defect could cause the casting to crack, and eventually, the lock bar code could break.  This might not be such a major problem when the vehicle is stationary, but when the vehicle is in motion, it could lead to serious problems.  If the vehicle is steered to the right, this could cause the steering to lock.  According to Toyota, it has received six complaints about this problem with the Avalon sedans in the United States.  There have been three minor accidents.  However, none of the accidents resulted in injuries.

The Lexus problem is linked to a snap ring on the shaft that could disengage when the car experiences a sudden and severe impact to the front wheels.  Eventually, this could cause a loss of steering.

Toyota has been investigating the Avalon sedan problem since 2007.  According to Toyota documents, the company received a report in 2007 of a steering locking up in a vehicle in Japan.  However, the company deemed that that incident was an isolated one.  Then again in 2008, Toyota received a similar complaint from a car owner in the United States.  In that case, a cracked component was found, but again the company continued to insist that this was another isolated case caused by mixing a preproduction bar with mass production parts.  It is only earlier this year that the company admitted that there was indeed a problem that called for a recall.

Obviously, this delay in announcing a recall for the Avalon sedans is likely to interest National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials and California car accident attorneys further.  The company is currently under an investigation for its delay in announcing the recall of several models of vehicles, including pickup trucks back in 2005.  In 2004, just about nine months earlier, Toyota had announced a recall of several cars from the Japanese market for steering rod defects.  It insisted however, that the problem was not prevalent in cars in the United States.  However, just a few months later in 2005, Toyota recalled thousands of vehicles from the US.  It is this delay in announcing the US recall that caught the attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  Earlier this month, the company was subpoenaed by a federal grand jury, which ordered to Toyota to submit all records related to that recall.  Obviously, federal authorities are going to look at this new seemingly delayed Avalon recall with new interest.

Please visit our website at http://www.robertreeveslaw.com/. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us at contact@robertreeveslaw.com.

---