Toyota Trailer Hitches

Toyota is recalling about 70,717 vehicles over a problem with the trailer hitches. An electrical short or open circuit can cause a fault in the converter and a non-operational condition of the trailer lights.

Campaign
01E041000
Manufacturer
TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Reported
1 August 2001
Vehicles
70,717
Built between
Not published
Models
3
Recall type
Equipment
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
27 August 2001
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

The manufacturer did not publish a build-date range for this recall, so the model and year list below is the only way to tell whether your vehicle is covered.

  • 1999-2000 Toyota Tacoma
  • Toyota Trailer Harness Converter
  • 1999-2000 Toyota Tundra

What the defect is

Equipment description: this recall is for trailer towing wire harness converters installed by dealers or for installation on 1999-2000 toyota tundra and tacoma vehicles. The connectors integrate the vehicle's tail lights, brake lights, and turn signal lights with those equipped on the trailer, are defective. Affected part numbers are: PT207-34000, PT207-34002, PT207-04981, and PT214-04985. In the tundra vehicles, the circuitry utilized in the converter was inadequate to properly manage vehicle and/or trailer-side voltage spikes. If the converter is exposed to a voltage spike, it may cause an electrical short or open circuit within the converter. In the tacoma vehicles, due to deficient waterproofing and improper installation location of the converter, which is mounted in the lower portion of the tailgate cavity of the vehicle, an electrical short circuit will occur if water enters the converter housing.

What could happen

An electrical short or open circuit can cause a fault in the converter and a non-operational condition of the trailer lights. If the vehicle is driven without trailer lights, it may be difficult for other drivers to see the trailer, increasing the risk of a crash.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL NOTIFY THE CUSTOMERS AND INSTALL A REDESIGNED TRAILER TOWING WIRE HARNESS CONVERTER FREE OF CHARGE. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN AUGUST 27, 2001.

Timeline

  1. Recall reported to NHTSA1 August 2001
  2. Owners notified27 August 2001

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 1 August 2001.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand