Gulf Toyota Trailer Hitches

Gulf Toyota is recalling about 8,609 vehicles over a problem with the trailer hitches. This short circuit could cause a failure of the converter, and if a trailer is being towed at the time, can also cause inoperative trailer lights.

Campaign
02V050000
Manufacturer
GULF STATES TOYOTA, INC.
Reported
11 February 2002
Vehicles
8,609
Built between
Apr 1999 – Feb 2002
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
22 April 2002
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between April 1999 and February 2002. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1999-2001 Gulf Toyota TundraBuilt April 1999 to February 2002

What the defect is

Certain pickup trucks equipped with a tekonsha trailer hitch wiring harness and converter and distributed by gulf states toyota (texas, oklahoma, louisiana, arkansas, and mississippi). The circuitry used in the converter, which is inadequate to manage properly vehicle and/or trailer-side voltage spikes. If the converter is exposed to a voltage spike, it could cause an electrical short or open circuit within the converter.

What could happen

This short circuit could cause a failure of the converter, and if a trailer is being towed at the time, can also cause inoperative trailer lights.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE WIRE HARNESS AND CONVERTER. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN APRIL 22, 2002.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtApril 1999 to February 2002
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA11 February 2002
  3. Owners notified22 April 2002

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 11 February 2002.

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 gulf states toyota at 1-800-444-1074.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
GULF STATES TOYOTA, 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