The defect
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006-2010 Highlander hybrid vehicles manufactured February 16, 2005, through July 29, 2010; and model year 2006-2008 Lexus RX400h vehicles manufactured February 23, 2005, through December 2, 2008. The Intelligent Power Module (IPM) inside the inverter module may contain transistors that have higher operating temperatures than the solder can support and the transistors may be heat damaged by the solder. If this occurs, various warning lamps, including the malfunction indicator lamp, slip indicator light, brake system warning light, and master warning light, will be illuminated on the instrument panel.
The risk
The vehicle may enter a fail-safe/limp-home mode that limits the drivability of the vehicle. It is possible that the hybrid system will shut down while the vehicle is being driven, causing the vehicle to stall unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the IPM free of charge. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331. Vehicles that had their IPM replaced under recall 11V-342 are not affected by this campaign.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Lexus RX Hybrid | 2006, 2007, 2008 |
| Toyota Highlander Hybrid | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 |
Components: HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM: INVERTER
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 RX Hybrid | 2006 | 154 | 5 |
| Lexus RX Hybrid | 2007 | 59 | 3 |
| Lexus RX Hybrid | 2008 | 57 | 1 |
| Toyota Highlander Hybrid | 2006 | 370 | 6 |
| Toyota Highlander Hybrid | 2007 | 110 | 2 |
| Toyota Highlander Hybrid | 2008 | 197 | 6 |
| Toyota Highlander Hybrid | 2009 | 40 | 4 |
| Toyota Highlander Hybrid | 2010 | 22 | 4 |