The defect
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006 through 2011 RAV4 and 2010 Lexus HS250h passenger vehicles manufactured from October 2005 through September 2010. If the nuts for adjusting the rear wheel alignment are improperly tightened during service, the rear suspension arm (rear tie rod) may develop unwanted movement and rust, leading to thread damage and eventual failure. Failure of the rear tie rod will cause an abrupt change in the vehicle's alignment.
The risk
Failure of the rear tie rod could cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the rear tie-rod nut for looseness and replace any suspect tie-rod found loose. Dealers will also affix instructions in multiple places to prevent improper servicing in the future. The recall began on November 30, 2012. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331 or Lexus at 1-800-255-3987.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Lexus HS 250 Hybrid | 2010 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
Components: SUSPENSION:REAR
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lexus HS 250 Hybrid | 2010 | 76 | 4 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2006 | 705 | 11 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2007 | 1,004 | 14 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2008 | 575 | 14 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2009 | 327 | 15 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2010 | 400 | 14 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2011 | 287 | 11 |
Other suspension recalls in 2012
27 of the 583 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2012 concerned the suspension; Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing filed 245 campaigns in all.
| 12V600000 26 Dec 2012 | Prevost Cars, Inc. |
| 12V494000 10 Oct 2012 | Nissan North America, Inc. |
| 12V462000 20 Sept 2012 | Nissan North America, Inc. |
| 12V464000 19 Sept 2012 | AMERICAN SUZUKI MOTOR CORP. |
| 12V410000 21 Aug 2012 | Kaufman Trailers |
| 12V401000 10 Aug 2012 | DUCATI NORTH AMERICA |
| 12V390000 8 Aug 2012 | ALTEC INDUSTRIES INC. |
| 12V393000 3 Aug 2012 | JAYCO, INC. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2012