Toyota Recall 2012: Thousands Of RAV4s, Lexus HS Recalled Due To Rear Suspension Issue

Toyota Recall 2012

Toyota announced Wednesday a voluntary safety recall involving 2006 to early 2011 model year RAV4 utility vehicles and 2010 model year Lexus HS 250h hybrid cars sold in the United States.

The new Toyota recall affects 760,000 RAV4s and 18,000 Lexus HS 250h.

Toyota said that if the nuts on the rear suspension arm are not tightened following the proper procedure and torque specification during a rear wheel alignment service, excessive play may occur at the threaded portion of the arm, followed by rust formation.  If this were to occur, the threaded portion of the rear suspension arm may wear and cause the arm to separate.

The automaker added that it is currently developing a remedy and that once the remedy is available, it will send a notification letter by first class mail advising owners to make an appointment with an authorized Toyota or Lexus dealer to have the remedy performed at no charge.

In a defect investigation opened June 4 into a similar problem with 2006-2008 Toyota RAV4s, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the rear suspension arm assembly "may fail due to corrosion, potentially causing a loss of vehicle control." It added that  it was probing about 460,000 RAV4s at the time and that it had received seven complaints alleging corrosion-related failure of suspension arms on the RAV4.

Detailed information about the new Toyota recall are available to customers at www.toyota.com/recall and the Toyota Customer Experience Center (1 800-331-4331) or www.lexus.com/recall and Lexus Customer Satisfaction (1 800-255-3987).