Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing: Electrical System
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing reported this defect to federal regulators on Jun 29, 2011 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 82,273. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2006-2007 HIGHLANDER HYBRID AND LEXUS RX400H PASSENGER CARS MANUFACTURED FROM FEBRUARY 16, 2005, THROUGH AUGUST 30, 2006. A MODULE INSIDE THE INVERTER MODULE MAY CONTAIN INADEQUATELY SOLDERED TRANSISTORS THAT DURING HIGH-LOAD DRIVING, MAY BE DAMAGED BY HEAT CAUSED BY THE LARGE CURRENT. IF THIS OCCURS, VARIOUS WARNING LAMPS, INCLUDING THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP, SLIP INDICATOR LIGHT, BRAKE SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT, AND MASTER WARNING LIGHT, WILL BE ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL.
The risk
THE VEHICLE MAY ENTER A FAIL-SAFE/LIMP-HOME MODE THAT LIMITS THE DRIVABILITY OF THE VEHICLE. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE HYBRID SYSTEM WILL SHUT DOWN WHILE THE VEHICLE IS BEING DRIVEN, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO STALL UNEXPECTEDLY, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
The remedy
TOYOTA/LEXUS MAILED AN INTERIM OWNER NOTIFICATION ON JULY 19, 2011 TO ADVISE OWNERS OF THIS RECALL AND THE FACT THAT THEY WILL RECEIVE A FUTURE NOTICE WHEN PARTS BECOME AVAILABLE TO COMPLETE REPAIRS. TOYOTA DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE HYBRID INVERTER PRODUCTION NUMBER TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE INVERTER CONTAINS SUSPECT TRANSISTORS AND REPLACE THE MODULE FREE OF CHARGE. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
4 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 Lexus RX Hybrid | 59 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid | 110 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| 2006 Lexus RX Hybrid | 154 | 5 | 0 | 15 |
| 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid | 370 | 6 | 7 | 34 |
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 11V342000.
Full record for the 2007 Lexus RX Hybrid → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →