Toyota has issued a voluntary safety recall Wednesday, for 369,000 Highlander Hybrid SUVs and Lexus IS 350 models across the U.S., Japan and Europe.
Toyota Motors Corp., Japan's largest automobile company, has issued a voluntary safety recall Wednesday, for a total of 369,000 Highlander Hybrid SUVs and Lexus IS 350 models worldwide. The company said that the recall was the result of a potential fault with engine assembly and bolts in the variable valve timing control device.
Toyota has issued two separate recalls for different models with different fault. For its first recall, Highlander Hybrid models produced between 2006 and 2010 and Lexus RX 400h vehicles manufactured from 2006 to 2008 will be checked for a possible fault with their transistors in the hybrid system that can overheat and result in vehicle stopping abruptly while in operation.
The second recall includes Lexus IS 350, IS 350C and GS 350 vehicles made between 2006 and 2011. The company identified the problem to be with the bolts used to secure the variable valve timing control device that can go loose. This results in the vehicle suddenly stopping mid-drive. Toyota said that owners of the affected models with this problem will hear an unusual voice soon after the engine start-up.
Most of the affected models, about 235,000 have been sold in the United States. Of the remaining models, 74,000 sold in Japan and 37,500 in Europe.
The owners of the affected vehicles will be contacted via first class mail and the dealers will carry out the repair at no cost. The company has not reported any accidents or injuries related to the recall.
This is not the first time Toyota has issued a recall for its models. Last month, the company recalled 342,000 Tacoma midsize pickup trucks to fix a possible seat belt problem. Prior to that, Toyota recalled nearly a quarter of a million Prius and Lexus hybrids for a potential braking problem.
