By Balasubramanyam Seshan: Subscribe to Balasubramanyam's RSS feed
July 29, 2010 9:02 AM EDT
Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. said its US division Toyota Motor Sales plans to voluntarily recall about 373,000 Avalons (2000-2004 Model Year) to fix faulty steering lock bar that could break under certain condition.
“Toyota is continuing to work diligently to address safety issues wherever they arise and to strengthen our global quality assurance operations so that Toyota owners can be confident in the safety of their vehicles,” said Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief quality officer for North America.
Toyota said there is a possibility that a minute crack may develop on the surface because of improper casting of the steering lock bar, which is a component of the steering interlock system. 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, Toyota said in a statement.
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Toyota will replace, as part of the recall, the steering column bracket on involved vehicles, a procedure that takes about two hours to complete depending on the dealer’s schedule, performed at no charge.
Separately, Toyota said Lexus intends to conduct a voluntary safety recall of about 39,000 LX 470 vehicles (2003-2007 Model Year) to address a steering shaft condition. The remedy is replacing the snap ring with a newly designed one and the installation of an additional component to prevent separation of the steering shaft performed at no charge, Lexus said.
“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,” said Mark Templin, group vice president and general manager of Lexus.
Toyota shares closed Wednesday down 0.17 percent at $69.78, while in pre-market the stock rose 0.30 percent at $69.99.
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