The defect
CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES HAVE A CHILD PROTECTION LOCK (CPL) SYSTEM ON BOTH OF THE REAR SIDE DOORS. WHEN AN OPERATOR OF THE VEHICLE CLOSES THE DOOR VERY HARD WITH THE CPL LEVER SET TO THE LOCK POSITION, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE LEVER MAY CONTACT THE BODY PANEL, CAUSING THE CPL LEVER TO MOVE INTO THE UNLOCK POSITION.
The risk
THIS CONDITION COULD ALLOW THE DOOR TO BE OPENED WITH THE INSIDE WHILE THE OPERATOR BELIEVES THAT THE CPL WAS ACTIVATED. IF THE DOOR WERE OPENED FROM THE INSIDE WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION, AN OCCUPANT COULD FALL OUT AND BE INJURED.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL SHORTEN THE CPL LEVER. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN MAY 7, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Toyota Highlander | 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 |
Components: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Highlander | 2001 | 137 | 3 |
| Toyota Highlander | 2002 | 301 | 2 |
| Toyota Highlander | 2003 | 258 | 2 |
| Toyota Highlander | 2004 | 286 | 5 |
Other latches/locks/linkages recalls in 2004
14 of the 601 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2004 concerned the latches/locks/linkages; TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC. filed 95 campaigns in all.
| 04V605000 23 Dec 2004 | MAZDA NORTH AMERICAN OPERATIONS |
| 04V606000 23 Dec 2004 | PACCAR INCORPORATED |
| 04V597000 22 Dec 2004 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. |
| 04V602000 20 Dec 2004 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY |
| 04V517000 28 Oct 2004 | MASERATI NORTH AMERICA, INC. |
| 04V447000 13 Sept 2004 | ORION BUS INDUSTRIES LTD. |
| 04V285000 9 Jun 2004 | MERCEDES-BENZ USA, LLC. |
| 04V237000 11 May 2004 | COUNTRY COACH INC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2004