Photo: Toyota / edited
A few days ago, Toyota issued a recall for a handful of Tundra and Sequoia vehicles produced for the 2023 model year. The root cause? Spare tire chain links that may break without warning, an issue the Japanese marque didn't detail as much as most would have liked.
Thankfully, automakers who issue recalls are required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to explain said recalls in far more detail. Enter campaign number 23V-468, which lists 1,398 potentially affected vehicles and Japan's Aichi Prefecture-based spare tire carrier assembly supplier Mannoh Industrial Co. Ltd.
Toyota also filed a chronology of events with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which begins with an incident from early June 2023. Back then, assembly plant workers identified a vehicle whose spare tire was detached from the underbody carrier. The chain was broken as well, which prompted an investigation.
Lo and behold, three additional vehicles were found to feature broken chains. Toyota immediately reviewed the manufacturing information of the spare tire carrier assembly chains, and the supplier was found at fault. More specifically, a water leak had occurred in the area where Mannoh's workers weld the chain links for the spare tire carrier assembly of the Tundra and Sequoia.
Worse still, the suspect production lot had chains exposed to water before the welding process had been completed. It's not clear why Mannoh didn't inform Toyota of this event, and it's not clear why Mannoh's quality control and assurance employees didn't voice concern over the water leak's potential implications.
The Japanese automaker required the supplier to perform a tensile strength test, and unsurprisingly, the chain links fractured rather easily. The Japanese automaker and Mannoh Industrial confirmed that water causes an insufficient weld on the chain links, thus decreasing the tensile strength of the links in question.
Based on the aforementioned, Toyota couldn't risk getting sued for detaching spare tires becoming road hazards. The automaker's US division isn't aware of any field reports or warranty claims related to this concern.
Rather than replacing only the chains that secure the spare tire to the carrier, Toyota instructed its dealership network to replace the entire assembly. At no cost to the customers, of course! Owners will be notified by first-class mail no later than September 5. Something else Toyota forgot to mention in the initial announcement for this recall is vehicle production dates. The document attached below clarifies this matter.
Tundra – including hybrid – pickup trucks produced from May 30, 2023 through June 6, 2023 at TMMTX in Texas are called back, together with Sequoia utility vehicles produced through June 7 for the 2023 model year at the same plant. The spare tire carrier assembly bears part number 51900-34070 in Toyota's parts catalog.
Toyota also filed a chronology of events with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which begins with an incident from early June 2023. Back then, assembly plant workers identified a vehicle whose spare tire was detached from the underbody carrier. The chain was broken as well, which prompted an investigation.
Lo and behold, three additional vehicles were found to feature broken chains. Toyota immediately reviewed the manufacturing information of the spare tire carrier assembly chains, and the supplier was found at fault. More specifically, a water leak had occurred in the area where Mannoh's workers weld the chain links for the spare tire carrier assembly of the Tundra and Sequoia.
Worse still, the suspect production lot had chains exposed to water before the welding process had been completed. It's not clear why Mannoh didn't inform Toyota of this event, and it's not clear why Mannoh's quality control and assurance employees didn't voice concern over the water leak's potential implications.
The Japanese automaker required the supplier to perform a tensile strength test, and unsurprisingly, the chain links fractured rather easily. The Japanese automaker and Mannoh Industrial confirmed that water causes an insufficient weld on the chain links, thus decreasing the tensile strength of the links in question.
Based on the aforementioned, Toyota couldn't risk getting sued for detaching spare tires becoming road hazards. The automaker's US division isn't aware of any field reports or warranty claims related to this concern.
Rather than replacing only the chains that secure the spare tire to the carrier, Toyota instructed its dealership network to replace the entire assembly. At no cost to the customers, of course! Owners will be notified by first-class mail no later than September 5. Something else Toyota forgot to mention in the initial announcement for this recall is vehicle production dates. The document attached below clarifies this matter.
Tundra – including hybrid – pickup trucks produced from May 30, 2023 through June 6, 2023 at TMMTX in Texas are called back, together with Sequoia utility vehicles produced through June 7 for the 2023 model year at the same plant. The spare tire carrier assembly bears part number 51900-34070 in Toyota's parts catalog.
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