NHTSA Campaign 10V345000

STEERING

Issued by TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC. · Reported Jul 29, 2010 · 372,593 vehicles affected

What's wrong

TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2000-2004 AVALON VEHICLES. DUE TO IMPROPER CASTING OF THE STEERING LOCK BAR, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT A MINUTE CRACK MAY DEVELOP ON THE SURFACE OF THE LOCK BAR. SUCH A CRACK MAY EXPAND OVER A LONG PERIOD OF REPEATED LOCK AND UNLOCK OPERATIONS, AND EVENTUALLY THE LOCK BAR COULD BREAK.

Consequence

SHOULD THE STEERING LOCK BAR BREAK, THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD LOCK AND THE DRIVER WOULD LOSE THE ABILITY TO STEER THE VEHICLE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STEERING INTERLOCK DEVICE FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.

Vehicles affected by this recall

Make Model Year Units
TOYOTA AVALON 2000 372,593
TOYOTA AVALON 2001 372,593
TOYOTA AVALON 2002 372,593
TOYOTA AVALON 2003 372,593
TOYOTA AVALON 2004 372,593

Source: NHTSA Campaign 10V345000 on nhtsa.gov. To check the current repair status for a specific vehicle, use our free VIN decoder.