Toyota Motor North America, Inc.: Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components › Master Cylinder
Toyota Motor North America, Inc. reported this defect to federal regulators on Oct 21, 2010 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 728,544. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2005-2006 AVALON, MODEL YEAR 2004-2006 HIGHLANDER, MODEL YEAR 2004-2006 LEXUS RX, AND MODEL YEAR 2006 LEXUS GS AND IS VEHICLES. BRAKE FLUID CONTAINING POLYMERS IS USED THAT ACTS AS LUBRICANTS FOR CERTAIN BRAKE SYSTEM COMPONENTS. IF REPLACEMENT BRAKE FLUID IS USED THAT DOES NOT CONTAIN SUCH POLYMERS, OR THAT CONTAINS ONLY SMALL AMOUNTS, A PART OF THE RUBBER SEAL LOCATED AT THE REAR OF THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER MAY BECOME DRY, AND THE SEAL MAY CURL DURING MOVEMENT OF THE PISTON. IF THIS OCCURS, A SMALL AMOUNT OF BRAKE FLUID COULD SLOWLY LEAK FROM THE SEAL INTO THE BRAKE BOOSTER.
The risk
A LEAK OF BRAKE FLUID COULD LEAD TO A CHANGE IN BRAKE PEDAL FEEL AND OVERTIME A DEGRADATION IN BRAKING PERFORMANCE INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE SEAL WITH A NEWLY DESIGNED ONE. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 15, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331 AND LEXUS AT 1-800-255-3987.
10 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 Lexus GS | 44 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 2006 Lexus IS | 143 | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| 2006 Lexus RX | 32 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2006 Toyota Avalon | 360 | 7 | 4 | 54 |
| 2006 Toyota Highlander | 278 | 7 | 4 | 29 |
| 2005 Lexus RX | 27 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2005 Toyota Avalon | 228 | 7 | 3 | 36 |
| 2005 Toyota Highlander | 224 | 6 | 4 | 35 |
| 2004 Lexus RX | 40 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2004 Toyota Highlander | 286 | 5 | 3 | 32 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 10V499000.
Full record for the 2006 Lexus GS → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →