Photo: Toyota
In certain respects it's shaping up to be a very rough week for Japanese carmaker Toyota, after its dealings in the U.S. have been impacted by no less than three recall actions. Granted, two of them are more of a hassle than a real issue when it comes to both the number of vehicles involved (just a few thousand units) and the issues that prompted the recalls - stuff like rearview image display and poor welds on the fold-down seats. But the one we're here to learn about now is a bit more serious.
Toyota said this week it will be recalling a total of 280,000 vehicles on the American market, from the Toyota Tundra, Toyota Sequoia, and Lexus LX 600 families. Because these three share components, they are affected by the same issue, one that has to do with the transmission.
The carmaker does not pinpoint a specific part that is responsible for the fault, saying only that certain elements of the transmission are to blame. More to the point, they may fail, in undisclosed circumstances, to immediately disengage. This problem seems to occur when the transmission is shifted to the neutral position.
Because these unnamed parts fail to disengage, some of the power the engine is generating may continue to find its way to the wheels, despite the driver believing otherwise. That won't cause any of the affected vehicles to sprint into the nearest obstacle, but they could “inadvertently creep forward at a low speed.”
That may happen even when vehicles are on a flat surface if braking power isn't applied and, naturally, may be the cause of more or less serious crashes.
So Toyota is calling back the affected vehicles and says the fix for the fault, which of course will be provided free of charge, is a software update for the transmission.
The carmaker does not specify the exact versions of the affected models but it does reveal the fact all of the impacted vehicles have been made from 2022 to 2024. If you are the owner of a Toyota Tundra, Sequoia, or Lexus LX 600, and you want to know more, you should check the status of your vehicle yourself.
You can do that by visiting Toyota's official recall page and entering your VIN, or by calling the Toyota Brand Engagement Center at 1-800-331-4331. Separately, the NHTSA website is another good way to go about this.
The official letters of notification to the affected customers will be sent by Toyota starting in late April.
As a reminder, in their 2024 model year incarnations the Toyota Tundra pickup truck is selling in the U.S. for prices starting at $39,965. The Sequoia SUV, on the other hand, is going from $61,275, while the luxury Lexus LS 600 retails from $93,915.
The carmaker does not pinpoint a specific part that is responsible for the fault, saying only that certain elements of the transmission are to blame. More to the point, they may fail, in undisclosed circumstances, to immediately disengage. This problem seems to occur when the transmission is shifted to the neutral position.
Because these unnamed parts fail to disengage, some of the power the engine is generating may continue to find its way to the wheels, despite the driver believing otherwise. That won't cause any of the affected vehicles to sprint into the nearest obstacle, but they could “inadvertently creep forward at a low speed.”
That may happen even when vehicles are on a flat surface if braking power isn't applied and, naturally, may be the cause of more or less serious crashes.
So Toyota is calling back the affected vehicles and says the fix for the fault, which of course will be provided free of charge, is a software update for the transmission.
The carmaker does not specify the exact versions of the affected models but it does reveal the fact all of the impacted vehicles have been made from 2022 to 2024. If you are the owner of a Toyota Tundra, Sequoia, or Lexus LX 600, and you want to know more, you should check the status of your vehicle yourself.
You can do that by visiting Toyota's official recall page and entering your VIN, or by calling the Toyota Brand Engagement Center at 1-800-331-4331. Separately, the NHTSA website is another good way to go about this.
The official letters of notification to the affected customers will be sent by Toyota starting in late April.
As a reminder, in their 2024 model year incarnations the Toyota Tundra pickup truck is selling in the U.S. for prices starting at $39,965. The Sequoia SUV, on the other hand, is going from $61,275, while the luxury Lexus LS 600 retails from $93,915.
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