The defect
TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2000-2004 AVALON VEHICLES. DUE TO IMPROPER CASTING OF THE STEERING LOCK BAR, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT A MINUTE CRACK MAY DEVELOP ON THE SURFACE OF THE LOCK BAR. SUCH A CRACK MAY EXPAND OVER A LONG PERIOD OF REPEATED LOCK AND UNLOCK OPERATIONS, AND EVENTUALLY THE LOCK BAR COULD BREAK.
The risk
SHOULD THE STEERING LOCK BAR BREAK, THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD LOCK AND THE DRIVER WOULD LOSE THE ABILITY TO STEER THE VEHICLE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STEERING INTERLOCK DEVICE FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Toyota Avalon | 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 |
Components: STEERING
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 Avalon | 2000 | 173 | 2 |
| Toyota Avalon | 2001 | 134 | 2 |
| Toyota Avalon | 2002 | 116 | 1 |
| Toyota Avalon | 2003 | 293 | 2 |
| Toyota Avalon | 2004 | 205 | 3 |
Other steering recalls in 2010
38 of the 647 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2010 concerned the steering; TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC. filed 95 campaigns in all.
| 10V657000 24 Dec 2010 | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC |
| 10V647000 21 Dec 2010 | CHAMPION BUS, INC. |
| 10V616000 7 Dec 2010 | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC |
| 10V586000 17 Nov 2010 | NAVISTAR, INC |
| 10V554000 11 Nov 2010 | NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. |
| 10V568000 10 Nov 2010 | ELDORADO NATIONAL - CALIFORNIA, INC. |
| 10V475000 7 Oct 2010 | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC |
| 10V459000 4 Oct 2010 | MERCEDES-BENZ USA, LLC. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2010