Toyota Recalls 978,000 U.S. Trucks Over Steering Flaw
By Alan Ohnsman. Bloomberg News

09/07/2005 - Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling almost 1 million light trucks, its largest U.S. recall, to check for and repair a steering-related flaw that in the worst case could cause drivers to lose control of their vehicle.

The voluntary action by the world's second-largest automaker covers 1989 through 1996 model 4Runner sport-utility vehicles, as well as compact Toyota Truck and T-100 pickups, the company's U.S. unit said in an e-mailed statement today. The recall covers as many as 375,000 4Runners, 535,000 small pickups and 68,000 T- 100s, spokesman Sam Butto said.

Toyota will inspect steering relay rods in the trucks for fatigue cracks and replace flawed parts at no charge to customers, Butto said. Toyota, based in Toyota City, Japan, has had no reports of accidents or injuries related to the problem, Butto said. Separately, Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, said it's recalling 3.8 million 1994-2002 vehicles because a cruise-control switch can overheat and cause fires.

In a filing with the National Traffic Safety Administration, the U.S. agency that oversees auto recalls and investigations, Toyota said a similar flaw was initially discovered last year in two SUVs sold in the Japanese market.

The total number of vehicles covered by Toyota's action exceeds a May recall of almost 800,000 pickups and SUVs, which Toyota then said was its largest U.S. recall. The company didn't estimate how much inspection and repairs of the relay rod would cost per vehicle.

Registered owners of the models will be notified starting this month, Toyota said in its filing with the agency.

Toyota's U.S. sales unit is based in Torrance, California. The company's American depositary receipts fell 7 cents to $83.78 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading at 4:01 p.m. They've gained 2.3 percent this year.