The year has a few months left but it's probably safe to brand 2014 the "year of recalls." Already, more than 45 million vehicles have been recalled, with Toyota adding 20,000 to the list.
Toyota Motor Corp. announced on Sept. 18 that it will be recalling 20,000 units from the 2014 Sienna, Highlander, Camry, and Avalon, and the 2015 Lexus RX fitted with 2GR-FE V6 engines. With the supplier at fault, the end cap over the right-hand fuel delivery pipe within the engine's compartment was not welded properly. Fuel could leak and that could lead to a vehicle fire.
So far, however, Toyota has not been informed of any fire, crash, injury or death associated with the faulty end cap. The company is simply issuing the recall as a safety precaution.
Vehicle owners affected by the recall will be notified by mail. To avoid recall notifications from ending up as junk mail, the Federal government has issued an official recall envelope. By standardizing recall notices, regulators believe notices will better catch the attention of the vehicle owner.
The recall envelope will say "Safety Recall Notice" in large, red letters plastered across the lower right corner and will feature Department of Transportation and National Highway Safety Administration logos.
Affected owners can take their vehicles to dealers to be checked. The fuel delivery pipe will be inspected for the faulty end cap. If the fuel delivery pipe in place was from the supplier responsible for the faulty end caps, a replacement will be given.
Toyota models affected by the recall were all manufactured in the United States, except for the Lexus which was made in Canada. However, the vehicles were also shipped all over the world, including the Middle East, Russia, Australia, South Korea, and other countries in Asia.
Toyota has also announced recalls for certain Tundra and FJ Cruiser vehicles in September and August, respectively, adding to earlier recalls for certain Lexus RX 350, Tacoma, RAV4, and Prius models in February, Avalon models in March, Yaris and Scion xD models in April, and Sienna minivans in May. Vehicle owners affected by recalls that were announced in the first half of the year were notified again in June.
For a recall investigation in 2010, Toyota reached an agreement in March with the New York Southern District Attorney's Office to resolve the matter. As part of the agreement, the car manufacturer was to make a payment amounting to $1.2 billion.
