Toyota Steering: Connecting

Toyota is recalling about 977,839 vehicles over a problem with the steering. If the vehicle is continued to be operated in this condition, the relay rod may fracture, increasing the risk of a crash.

Campaign
05V389000
Manufacturer
TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Reported
6 September 2005
Vehicles
977,839
Built between
Apr 1988 – Jul 1998
Models
3
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
5 October 2005
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between April 1988 and July 1998. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1989-1995 Toyota 4RUNNERBuilt December 1998 to November 1995
  • 1989-1995 Toyota PickupBuilt April 1988 to February 1995
  • 1993-1998 Toyota T100Built March 1992 to July 1998

What the defect is

On certain pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, if the steering wheel is repeatedly turned under certain conditions where high steering effort and power assist are required, for instance, when fully turning the wheel while the vehicle is stopped, a fatigue crack may develop in the steering relay rod.

What could happen

If the vehicle is continued to be operated in this condition, the relay rod may fracture, increasing the risk of a crash.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STEERING RELAY ROD. THE RECALL BEGAN OCTOBER 5, 2005.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtApril 1988 to July 1998
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA6 September 2005
  3. Owners notified5 October 2005

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 6 September 2005.

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 may contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
50N
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

Toyota recall no. Ssc 50N.CUSTOMERS may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

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