Toyota Trailer Hitches

Toyota is recalling about 20,613 vehicles over a problem with the trailer hitches. The short circuit can cause a failure of the converter, and if a trailer is being towed at the time, can also cause failure of the trailer lights.

Campaign
99E012000
Manufacturer
TOYOTA MOTOR CO., LTD.
Reported
19 April 1999
Vehicles
20,613
Built between
Jan 1998 – Apr 1999
Models
2
Recall type
Equipment
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
17 May 1999
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between January 1998 and April 1999. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1998-1999 Toyota Towing Hitch KITBuilt January 1998 to April 1999
  • 1998-1999 Toyota Trailer HarnessBuilt January 1998 to April 1999

What the defect is

Towing hitch kits and aftermarket trailer towing wire harness converters for use on 1998-1999 lexus LX470, and toyota land cruisers. Due to inadequate waterproofing performance and improper installation location of the converter, which is mounted on the exterior of the vehicle, an electrical short circuit could occur if water enters the converter housing.

What could happen

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

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE CONVERTER.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJanuary 1998 to April 1999
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA19 April 1999
  3. Owners notified17 May 1999

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 19 April 1999.

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.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
TOYOTA MOTOR CO., LTD.
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

Owner notification began may 17, 1999.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.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