Road Reality » Avalon

Toyota’s Problems Continue: New Brake System Recall

John Suit — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 16:00:16 +0000

2005 Toyota Avalon

If Toyota were a person, he or she would need some anti-depressants at this point. After a multitude of recalls earlier this year, another big one is hitting the airwaves. This time, it’s for the brake master cylinder, which amplifies the pressure you put on the brake pedal, making it easier for you to stop your car. In certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles, however, a seal is going bad, leaking out the brake fluid, which leads to the “brake warning lamp” illuminating on your dash. Click past the jump for the affected model list and full press release.

The total number is listed at 740,000 vehicles, and includes the following models:

2005-2006 Toyota Avalon
2004-2006 Toyota Highlander (non Hybrid)
2004-2006 Lexus RX330
2006 Lexus GS300
2006 Lexus IS250
2006 Lexus IS350

From Toyota’s press release, it looks like they’re laying the blame on using non-Toyota brake fluid, which allows the internal seal to dry out because of lubricants missing in the replacement fluid.

Over time, with the dried-out seal, this small leak can lead to a soft or spongy brake pedal, and reduced braking.

If you’ve got one of the above-listed vehicles, and have more questions, go to www.toyota.com/recall or www.lexus.com/recall or call the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331 or Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-25 LEXUS or 1-800-255-3987.

Show Press Release

Toyota Announces Intent to Voluntarily Recall Certain Toyota Avalon and Highlander, and Lexus GS300, IS250, and IS350 Vehicles to Replace a Brake Master Cylinder Seal

TORRANCE, Calif., October 20, 2010 – Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today announced that it will conduct a voluntary Safety Recall involving approximately 740,000 – 2005 through 2006 Avalon, 2004 through 2006 Highlander (non Hybrid) and Lexus RX330, and 2006 Lexus GS300, IS250, and IS350 vehicles sold in the United States to address the possibility that a small amount of the brake fluid could slowly leak from the brake master cylinder, resulting in illumination of the brake warning lamp.

This action follows an announcement made by Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan on October 21, 2010 (Japan).

The Toyota genuine brake fluid used during vehicle assembly for vehicles sold in the United States contains polymers. The polymers act as lubricants for certain brake system components. If during vehicle maintenance, brake fluid is used that does not contain such polymers or only small amounts, a part of the internal rubber seal (brake master cylinder cup) located at the end of the brake master cylinder piston may become dry and may curl during movement of the piston. If this occurs, a small amount of the brake fluid could slowly leak from the brake master cylinder into the brake booster, resulting in illumination of the brake warning lamp.

If the brake warning lamp has illuminated and the vehicle continues to be operated without refilling the master cylinder brake fluid reservoir, the driver will begin to notice a spongy or soft brake pedal feel and braking performance may gradually decline.

Owners of the involved vehicles will be notified by first class mail beginning in early November 2010. Toyota and Lexus dealers will replace the brake master cylinder cup with a newly designed one at no charge to the vehicle owners.

Detailed information and answers to questions are available to customers at www.toyota.com/recall or www.lexus.com/recall and the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331 or Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-25 LEXUS or 1-800-255-3987.

by John Suit

Source: Toyota

2 New Steering-related Toyota Recalls

John Suit — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:05:42 +0000

Well, it would appear that Toyota isn’t out of the recall woods yet. The automaker is recalling a total of 412,000 vehicles built between 2000 and 2007. Most of the recalled vehicles are Toyota Avalons, but about 10% of them are Lexus LX 470s. The issues are different between the two vehicles, but both can lead to loss of vehicle direction control. Toyota says that neither problem has caused any accidents. Continue reading for more details. If this reminds you of a recent event involving the Corolla, you’re correct, although Toyota says it wasn’t a defect, but will fix Corolla owners’ issues anyway.

2004 Toyota Avalon

The lion’s share of the two recalls is for 373,000 examples of the 2000-2004 Toyota Avalon sedan. It involves improper production of the “steering bar,” which is used as part of the locking mechanism that keeps the steering wheel from turning when the vehicle is parked. Due to improper casting of the part, a crack can develop and over time get worse. This may result in the bar moving while the car is in motion, and certain steering angles line up a hole in the steering column with this steering bar, meaning the steering could be locked at a certain angle while the car is in motion. If this issue pops up while the car is parked, it could make it impossible to unlock the steering wheel, in effect disabling the car.

Definitely not good, this shows another quality control failure on Toyota’s part, albeit one that is hard to spot when the car is being built. Perhaps if Toyota had spent more time with pre-production Avalons, they could have avoided this issue?

Toyota will begin notifying owners of affected vehicles in late August, and will be replacing the steering column bracket at no charge to customers.

2007 Lexus LX 470

The smaller of the two recalls, for 39,000 Lexus LX 470 SUVs, involves those built between 2003 and 2007. Apparently, a large enough impact to the front wheels, say hitting a deep pothole, can cause a snap ring to come off. This ring holds two parts of the steering column together, so once it’s dislodged, using the steering can cause the two parts to work themselves free, causing complete loss of control over vehicle direction. While Toyota says they have no reports of accidents due to this problem, I can see how it would easily result in LX 470s running off the road or into oncoming traffic.

Toyota will be notifying affected Lexus owners starting in mid-August, and their vehicles will be receiving a new snap ring and another component designed to prevent separation of the steering shaft.

Toyota expands Oil Leak Fix to new models

John Suit — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:00:51 +0000

Toyota Avalon

Last year, Toyota released a “Limited Service Campaign” (LSC) for some of its V6-equipped vehicles. An LSC shouldn’t be confused with a recall, because recalls are for safety issues and the LSCs are for “customer satisfaction,” according to Toyota. This campaign is for a defective oil line for the affected engines. Over time, a rubber portion of the line may degrade, causing oil to leak out, the engine to make odd noises, and the oil pressure light to illuminate on the vehicle’s dashboard.

Toyota RAV4

Sounds like a quality control issue to me, possibly caused by not testing the drivetrain enough, or for long enough. Furthermore, the losing of oil is never good for an engine – its analogous to a human losing blood. Lose enough blood or oil, and the body or engine starts to malfunction. In short, losing oil is a good way to kill a car’s engine.

The original LSC, according to Toyota, covered:

“approximately 342,200 Toyota Avalon (model year 2005 – 2006), Camry (2007 – early 2010) and RAV4 V6 (2006 model year), and 374,000 Lexus ES 350 (model year 2007-2008) and RX 350 (model year 2007-2009) vehicles.”

Phase 3, which begins now and runs until March 31, 2013, includes:

“approximately 128,800 Avalon (2007 – 2009 model year) and 89,000 RAV4 V6 (2007 – 2009 model year) vehicles involved in the United States.”

The fix is supposed to take about an hour, and includes replacing the faulty oil line. There is no charge to vehicle owners for this replacement, and owners will be notified via mail starting soon.

by John Suit

Source: Toyota

Toyota expands application of Brake Override system

John Suit — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:00:28 +0000

A while back, I wrote that Toyota was installing a “brake override” system on its cars. As it turns out, they’ve also begun adding the system to recalled cars as well as ones in its sales pipeline. Today, Toyota announced that it would be expanding the lineup of cars receiving the override, to include the Tacoma, Venza and Sequoia. While the former two are getting the fix when they show up for any of the recalls, Sequoia owners will be sent a letter and will be allowed to schedule a time to get the brake override installed. Previously, only the Toyota Avalon, Camry, Lexus IS and ES cars were receiving the override system upgrade. The brake override system ignores gas pedal input when the brakes are pressed, in order to help prevent runaway cars.

by John Suit

Source: Toyota

ABC News tests Toyota, finds a reason for runaways

John Suit — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:00:43 +0000

So, after the news that Toyota has turned over “secret” documents to the US Government, it looks like ABC News has tested a Toyota Avalon and found what could be a reason for the unintended acceleration. They’ve found that an electrical problem is causing a surge of engine power, letting the car become a runaway. Follow the jump for video and more explanation.

David Gilbert, a professor of automotive technology at Southern Illinois University, worked with ABC News in a test of a Toyota Avalon to determine the cause of the pedal-caused acceleration, not to be confused with the floor mat-caused acceleration. With an electrical mechanism connected to the sensors on the gas pedal, Mr. Gilbert flipped the switch while ABC News‘ Brian Ross drove the car. The mechanism is designed to cause a short in the sensors, which the car’s computer is supposed to interpret as a problem and go into “limp home” mode, where the car’s performance is degraded until the vehicle is turned off and back on again. During the test, it was found that the car ran away anyway.

Toyota responded with its own press release, stating that the short caused by Mr. Gilbert’s device would not cause any unintended acceleration, but after viewing the video below, I’m sure that there is definitely something wrong here. As Toyota has said, moisture can cause problems over time with their gas pedals, but their mechanical fix sure isn’t going to fix an electrical problem. The video below also shows that the average driver’s reflex reaction will be to hit the brakes, which also didn’t work to overpower the engine’s surge, a scary thing when you realize that the Avalon in the test was going 20 mph before the short, and sped up to 70 mph during the test. Scary stuff. Check back with us later in the week, after the Congressional hearings on Thursday.

by John Suit

Source: ABC News, Toyota