Lexus Hybrid Propulsion System: Inverter

Lexus is recalling about 133,081 vehicles over a problem with the hybrid propulsion system. The vehicle may enter a fail-safe/limp-home mode that limits the drivability of the vehicle.

Campaign
13V396000
Manufacturer
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing
Reported
4 September 2013
Vehicles
133,081
Built between
Feb 2005 – Jul 2010
Models
2
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
4 November 2013
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between February 2005 and July 2010. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2006-2008 Lexus RX HybridBuilt February 2005 to December 2008
  • 2006-2010 Toyota Highlander HybridBuilt February 2005 to July 2010

What the defect is

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.

What could happen

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.

What gets fixed

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the IPM free of charge.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtFebruary 2005 to July 2010
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA4 September 2013
  3. Owners notified4 November 2013

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 4 September 2013.

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. Vehicles that had their IPM replaced under recall 11V-342 are not affected by this campaign.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
DLF, D0M
Recalling manufacturer
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing
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

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to 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