Southeast Toyota Distributors: Electrical System › Ignition › Anti-theft › Control Module
Southeast Toyota Distributors reported this defect to federal regulators on Oct 19, 1998 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 1,960. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, MINI VANS AND PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A THEFT DETERRENT SYSTEMS (TDS) SUPPLIED BY AUDIOVOX CORPORATION AND DISTRIBUTED BY SOUTHEAST TOYOTA DISTRIBUTORS, INC. IN THE STATES OF ALABAMA, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA. THE ALARM WIRING HARNESS PLUGS INTO THE VEHICLE'S IGNITION SWITCH AND THE VEHICLE'S IGNITION SWITCH WIRING HARNESS PLUGS INTO THE ALARM HARNESS TO COMPLETE THE CIRCUIT. A PERCENTAGE OF THE FEMALE TERMINALS USED IN THE ALARM CONNECTOR WERE FOUND TO BE DEFECTIVE, CAUSING AN 'OPEN CIRCUIT' CONDITION WHEN MATED TO THE MALE IGNITION SWITCH TERMINALS.
The risk
THIS CONDITION CAN CAUSE INTERMITTENT PERFORMANCE OF THE VEHICLE'S ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS SUCH AS THE DASH WARNING LIGHTS AND/OR HVAC FAN SPEED CONTROLS. ALSO, THE VEHICLE MAY NOT RUN SMOOTHLY AND COULD STALL.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE DATE CODE LABEL ON THE SECURITY SYSTEM HARNESS AND ANY DISPLAYING THE MANUFACTURING/FINAL DATE CODE WILL BE REPLACED WITH NEWLY PRODUCED HARNESSES. THE DATE CODES ARE: RAV4 - 6/24/98, 6/25/98, 6/26/98; SIENNA - 6/25/98, 6/26/98; AND AVALON - 6/30/98, 7/1/98, 8/31/98, 9/1/98, 9/2/98, AND 9/3/98.
6 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Toyota Avalon | 92 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| 1999 Toyota RAV4 | 62 | 5 | 4 | 14 |
| 1999 Toyota Sienna | 215 | 3 | 4 | 14 |
| 1998 Toyota Avalon | 178 | 2 | 1 | 25 |
| 1998 Toyota RAV4 | 77 | 5 | 0 | 19 |
| 1998 Toyota Sienna | 294 | 3 | 3 | 18 |
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 98V278000.
Full record for the 1999 Toyota Avalon → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →