Toyota continues to be dogged by problems and has recalled more than 400,000 RAV4 SUVs due to issues with the car's windshield wiper.
On Thursday, Sept. 17, Toyota announced that it is recalling about 421,000 RAV4s from model year 2009-2012 and around 2,500 RAV4 EVs of model year 2012-2014.
The Japanese carmaker announced that water dripping on the windshield wiper link can cause corrosion as well as wear on the wiper link joint over time, which may cause the wiper link to separate from the wiper motor crank arm. When this happens the wipers can become inoperative resulting in reduced driver visibility and increasing the risk of an accident.
"Owners of the involved vehicles will be notified by first class mail. Toyota dealers will replace the water channel, wiper link, and wiper motor crank arm with new ones," per Toyota.
This is not the first time that Toyota RAV4 vehicles have been affected by a recall. In March this year, the carmaker recalled some RAV4s due to defect in the electric power steering (EPS) electronic control unit (ECU). Toyota revealed that the defect could cause a failure of the EPS, which could possibly result in an accident.
In January this year, Toyota recalled some RAV4s due to a problem arising in the trailer light module accessory. The company recalled cars of model year 2013-2015 that were manufactured between June 1, 2013, and Dec. 29, 2014. The software in the module may detect an electrical short incorrectly and then switch off the electrical current and the trailer light as a preventive measure. Such a defect can also pose a risk of accidents.
Even though Toyota will be notifying affected customers about the recall, RAV4 owners can check if their car has been recalled by putting in their vehicle identification number (VIN) online on www.toyota.com/recall.
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