The defect
TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2009 CAMRY VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM JULY 1, 2008, THROUGH FEBRUARY 28, 2009, AND MODEL YEAR 2009-2011 VENZA VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM OCTOBER 20, 2008, THROUGH JANUARY 4, 2011. DURING ASSEMBLY OF THE CONTACT-TYPE STOP LAMP SWITCH, SILICONE GREASE MAY HAVE COME IN CONTACT WITH THE SURFACE OF THE SWITCH WHICH COULD CAUSE CONTACT RESISTANCE. IF THIS OCCURS, WARNING LAMPS COULD ILLUMINATE, A NO START CONDITION COULD RESULT, THE SHIFT LEVER MAY NOT SHIFT FROM THE PARK POSITION, OR THE VEHICLES BRAKE LIGHTS COULD BECOME INOPERATIVE.
The risk
INOPERATIVE BRAKE LIGHTS WOULD NOT WARN OTHER DRIVERS THAT THE VEHICLE IS SLOWING OR STOPPING, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
The remedy
TOYOTA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STOP LAMP SWITCH, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 12, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Toyota Camry | 2009 |
| Toyota Venza | 2009, 2010, 2011 |
Components: EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH
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 Camry | 2009 | 1,293 | 10 |
| Toyota Venza | 2009 | 173 | 8 |
| Toyota Venza | 2010 | 79 | 9 |
| Toyota Venza | 2011 | 59 | 6 |
Other exterior lighting recalls in 2012
25 of the 583 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2012 concerned the exterior lighting; Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing filed 245 campaigns in all.
| 12V602000 26 Dec 2012 | SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. |
| 12V578000 11 Dec 2012 | Newmar Corporation |
| 12V561000 4 Dec 2012 | AUTOMOBILI LAMBORGHINI |
| 12V553000 30 Nov 2012 | Ford Motor Company |
| 12V538000 15 Nov 2012 | BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY |
| 12V493000 10 Oct 2012 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 12V490000 9 Oct 2012 | PACCAR Incorporated |
| 12V484000 4 Oct 2012 | General Motors LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2012