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Toyota Tundras Recalled for Body Frame Rust Problems

Toyota has announced a recall of approximately 100,000 of its Tundra pickups because of body frame rust issues. The recall is the second involving Tundra pickups for the same problem.

The recall affects full size Tundra pickup trucks from 2000 to 2003. It comes after an investigation in to rust issues by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  The agency received several complaints from the owners of Tundra pickups. According to the complaints, the rust on the frame can cause the spare tire to become loose and detach, with potential damage to the brake lines. According to the New York Times, Toyota announced that it was recalling the pickups last week. It has told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that its investigations have tentatively revealed that the problem was caused by poor maintenance of the pickups, excessive use of road salt, as well as design and manufacture issues.

The recall is restricted to 21 states, excluding California. When the agency began its investigation, it included 218,000 Tundras sold around the country from 2000 to 2001 models. However, the recall only includes 100,000 vehicles in just a few states, but covers more numbers of model years. That’s because the problem seems to be linked to specific conditions in certain states, which makes these pickups more prone to rust. However, the automaker will also inform Tundra owners in other states to bring their pickups for an inspection and repairs, if necessary.

Toyota has told the NHTSA that it has not found a problem in the 2004 and 2006 Tundras, but does plan on taking measures to prevent future corrosion in these pickups, in those states covered in the current recall.

Toyota has been increasingly on the defensive, and 2009 has been a particular bad year for the Japanese automaker. Earlier this year, a former lawyer for the company went public with allegations that Toyota had failed to turn over important data relating to hundreds of product liability lawsuits. Dimitrios Biller also claimed that the automaker misled the NHTSA when the agency was considering tougher roof strength standards.

Then came the fatal accident in San Diego in August, in which four members of a single family were killed when their Lexus accelerated to uncontrolled speeds and crashed.  Off duty California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, his wife, 13-year-old daughter and brother-in-law were killed instantly in the crash. 911 recordings indicated that the brakes had failed and the gas pedal had jammed, causing the car to rev to high speeds.

That crash increased scrutiny on Toyota vehicles. Several Toyota and Lexus owners have claimed to have experienced uncontrolled acceleration incidents in their vehicles and came forward with their accounts. The media picked up the story, and the automaker was the focus of strong criticism from federal agencies and California product liability attorneys.

While it’s a little hard not to be disappointed at Toyota’s crumbling safety reputation, California product liability lawyers know that at many auto companies, the greed for profits scores over consumer safety.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of recalled products. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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