Toyota recalls 480,000 vehicles globally

Toyota has issued a massive global recall of almost half a million vehicles to fix a steering defect, including more than 100 in New Zealand.

The LandCruiser and its upmarket sibling, the Lexus LX470, are being recalled as part of a global campaign that affects 480,000 vehicles, mostly Avalon sedans (373,000) sold in the United States.

Toyota says it will repair 80,000 LandCruisers globally. While most of the recalled cars are left-hand-drive, some from Japan are also being recalled, suggesting right-hand-drive models could also be affected.

Lexus New Zealand said the local recall involved 123 LX470 off-road vehicles.

Debbie Pattullo, the company's national manager, said the fault had only been experienced in four of the approximately 80,000 LX470 vehicles built in the 2002-2007 timeframe Lexus was recalling worldwide.

"The four overseas cases occurred when the vehicle experienced a sudden severe impact, such as striking a deep pothole. In very rare cases, Lexus believes this impact could cause the retainer for the steering shaft to disengage, and over a prolonged period this could lead to a loss of steering control," Ms Pattullo said.

No problems had been reported in New Zealand.

"We will soon contact our owners and ask them to bring their vehicles in so the affected component can be replaced with a new design," she said.

"This repair will be completed free of charge".

The recall was announced in the United States yesterday, with a statement saying the steering could disengage on LX470 vehicles built between 2003 and 2007.

The Lexus LX470 is based on the Toyota LandCruiser; models affected include the now discontinued 100-Series.

“Lexus has determined that the construction of the steering shaft on involved LX470s is such that the snap ring on the shaft may disengage when the vehicle experiences an unusually severe impact to the front wheels, such as striking a deep pothole,” the statement said.

“If the snap ring becomes disengaged and the steering wheel is then repeatedly turned to the full locked position, the steering shaft may disengage over time.”

Toyota and Lexus say they have not had any reports of crashes as a result of the steering defect.

“At Lexus, we are committed to setting a new standard for quality customer care and aggressive attention to the safety of our drivers,” said Mark Templin, Lexus group vice president and general manager.

“Our engineers have thoroughly investigated this issue and have identified a robust and durable remedy that will help prevent this condition from affecting drivers in the future.”

In a separate statement Toyota said it would recall the US-made Avalon.

The Avalon was also produced in Australia, but it was a very different vehicle to the one sold in the United States, sharing more in common with the locally-produced Camry.

In a statement Toyota said: "Because of improper casting of the steering lock bar, which is a component of the steering interlock system, there is a possibility that a minute crack may develop on the surface. Such a crack may expand over a long period of repeated lock and unlock operations, and eventually the lock bar could break. If this occurs, the interlock system may become difficult to unlock when stationary."

The Lexus and Toyota announcements are the latest in a string of high profile recalls that have affected more than 10 million cars around the world.

Some US-based analysts predicted Toyota was being overly forthright with potential defects, deciding to inspect cars rather than chance the negative publicity of waiting or investigating further.

- with NZPA

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