IN SOME CASES, THE BELT FOR THE POWER STEERING PUMP MAY BECOME DETACHED FROM THE PULLEY WHICH COULD RESULT IN A LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND A SUDDEN INCREASE IN STEERING EFFORT, raises the risk of A CRASH.
Remedy & full details
TOYOTA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL CHECK THE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY TO IDENTIFY WHETHER IT WAS PRODUCED BY THE U.S. SUPPLIER. IF SO, THE DEALER WILL REPLACE THE PULLEY WITH A NEW ONE AT NO CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING EARLY JANUARY 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004 AVALON VEHICLES; 2004 AND 2005 CAMRY, CAMRY SOLARA, HIGHLANDER, AND SIENNA VEHICLES, 2006 HIGHLANDER HYBRID; 2004 AND 2005 LEXUS ES330 AND RX330; AND 2006 LEXUS RX400H VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM JUNE 1, 2004 THROUGH MARCH 31, 2005, EQUIPPED WITH THE 1MZ-FE OR 3MZ-FE ENGINE. THE AMOUNT OF ADHESIVE AGENT APPLIED BETWEEN THE OUTER RING AND THE TORSIONAL RUBBER DAMPER (INNER RING) IN THE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY MAY BE INADEQUATE. IF THE ADHESIVE IS INSUFFICIENT, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE OUTER RING MAY BECOME MISALIGNED AND IT MAY NOT PROPERLY ROTATE WITH THE INNER RING, CAUSING NOISE AND/OR ILLUMINATION OF THE BATTERY DISCHARGE INDICATOR LIGHT.
Serious11V112000
Vehicle Speed Control:Accelerator Pedal
IF THIS OCCURS, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL MAY TEMPORARILY BECOME STUCK IN A PARTIALLY DEPRESSED POSITION RATHER THAN RETURN TO THE IDLE POSITION.
Remedy & full details
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FLOOR CARPET COVER WITH A NEWLY DESIGNED ONE FREE OR CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING MARCH 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004-2006 HIGHLANDER, HIGHLANDER HYBRID, AND MODEL YEAR 2004-2007 LEXUS RX330, RX350, AND RX400H VEHICLES. IF THE FORWARD RETENTION CLIP USED TO SECURE THE FLOOR CARPET COVER, WHICH IS LOCATED IN FRONT OF THE CENTER CONSOLE, IS NOT INSTALLED PROPERLY THE COVER MAY LEAN TOWARD THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND INTERFERE WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ARM.
Serious06V023000
Seat Belts:Rear/Other
THE REAR SEAT OCCUPANT MAY NOT BE PROPERLY RESTRAINED IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH.
Remedy & full details
DEALERS WILL REPLACE FREE OF CHARGE THE REAR, LEFT-HAND SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE ANCHOR BOLT WITH AN IMPROVED ONE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 3, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT LEXUS AT 800-255-3987.
CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 210, "SEAT BELT ASSEMBLY ANCHORAGES." THE ANCHOR BOLT FOR THE REAR, LEFT-HAND SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE DIRECTLY BEHIND THE DRIVER'S SEAT DOES NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT STRENGTH.
Serious06V253000
Vehicle Speed Control:Accelerator Pedal
THIS CONDITION MAY INTERFERE WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL RETURNING TO THE IDLE POSITION raises the risk of A CRASH.
Remedy & full details
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE TWO FLOOR CARPET COVER RETAINING CLIPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 24, 2006, AND SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY EARLY SEPTEMBER 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331 OR LEXUS AT 1-800-255-3987.
ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY AND HYBRID VEHICLES, THE TWO RETAINING CLIPS FOR THE DRIVER'S SIDE FORWARD CENTER CONSOLE CAN BECOME LOOSE. IF BOTH CLIPS SEPARATE FROM THE FLOOR CARPET COVER, THE COVER MAY LEAN TOWARD THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, CAUSING INTERFERENCE WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ROD.
Serious04V558000
Exterior Lighting:Brake Lights:Switch
IF THE SWITCH IS INOPERABLE, THE BRAKE LIGHTS WILL NOT ILLUMINATE AND CAN raises the risk of A CRASH.
Remedy & full details
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH. THE RECALL BEGAN DURING DECEMBER 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES MAY BE EQUIPPED WITH AN IMPROPERLY DESIGNED BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH. A SILICON OXIDE BUILD-UP OCCURS ON THE CONTACTS INSIDE THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH, WHICH CAN MAKE IT INOPERABLE.
Complaint volume
Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.
What owners reported happened
49Crashes
1Fires
32Injuries
5Deaths
Across 353 complaints. Severity Index 0.79.
Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.
What owners report most
Power Train:Automatic Transmission — 54 reports
Vehicle Speed Control — 30 reports
Service Brakes, Hydraulic — 23 reports
Unknown Or Other — 20 reports
Structure — 18 reports
Air Bags — 18 reports
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Power Assist — 17 reports
Structure:Body — 13 reports
Exterior Lighting — 12 reports
Power Train — 9 reports
What to do
Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.
Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.
Questions
Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?
Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.
Do I pay for recall repairs?
No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.
Why are there complaints but no recalls?
Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.
From the same data desk
Independent sites, same maintainer, same open-data standards.