Toyota announces voluntary recall on Lexus with steering issue
May 22nd, 2010 - 1:02 am ICT by BNO NewsTORRANCE, CALIFORNIA (BNO NEWS) – Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., announced on Thursday that it will conduct a voluntary safety recall on approximately 3,800 vehicles.
Lexus late 2009 and certain 2010 model year LS 460 and LS 600h L vehicles in the U.S. equipped with Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS) have reportedly had a temporary steering wheel off-center condition that may develop under a specific driving maneuver. Toyota issued the voluntary recall of 3,800 of these models to address the problem, but no other Toyota, Lexus, or Scion vehicles are involved in this recall.
The VGRS system enables easier handling during low-speed driving and provides better stability during high-speed driving than conventional steering by changing the gear ratio, but the system may exhibit a temporary steering wheel off-center condition after driving away quickly from a very tight turn where the steering was at full lock position.
The steering wheel off-center position will automatically be corrected in approximately five seconds by the VGRS system as the vehicle is driven. The driver may notice the system auto correcting as the steering wheel slowly moves to the center position while driving straight during the VGRS correction.
Due to the specific driving circumstances, this condition will not occur during normal driving such as changing lanes or turning at intersections. Lexus recently received one customer report in the U.S. regarding this condition, but no accidents or injuries have been reported.
“Our entire company is taking major steps to become a more responsive and safety focused organization,” said Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief quality officer for North America. “We’re listening closely to our customers and taking action to address this steering issue in certain Lexus models quickly.”
Lexus will begin sending notification letters to owners of the involved vehicles as soon as the remedy parts are available, and the replacement will be at no charge.
- Toyota recalls 420,000 vehicles in the United States - Nov 10, 2011
- Toyota's Lexus to issue recall on certain models due to faulty engine - Jul 03, 2010
- Toyota issues recall on 1.1 million vehicles - Aug 27, 2010
- Toyota issues recall on 373,000 Avalons in U.S. - Jul 30, 2010
- Toyota recalls 400,000 cars in US - Jul 29, 2010
- Toyota announces voluntary recall on 2003 Sequoia - Apr 29, 2010
- Toyota recalls 420,000 cars in US - Nov 10, 2011
- Toyota recalls over 300,000 vehicles to replace airbag sensor - Apr 22, 2011
- Toyota to recall Lexus LS460 over engine problem - Jul 01, 2010
- Toyota recalls nearly 100,000 U.S. vehicles over braking concerns - Dec 14, 2010
- Toyota recalls 420000 vehicles over steering issue - Nov 10, 2011
- Record vehicle recalls this year - Aug 18, 2010
- 270,000 Toyota Vehicles Recalled Fearing Faulty Engines - Jul 02, 2010
- Toyota recalls 91,903 Lexus and Crown vehicles - Jul 05, 2010
- Toyota September 2009 recall due to faulty floor-mat - Sep 30, 2009
Tags: bno, center position, changing lanes, chief quality officer, customer report, entire company, gear ratio, intersections, lexus models, low speed, maneuver, notification letters, scion, steering wheel, system auto, tight turn, toyota lexus, toyota motor, toyota motor sales, voluntary safety