Control arm: lower ball jointRecall 05V-225 · Toyota vehicles
TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC. recall 05V-225 covers 768,379 Toyota vehicles for a control arm: lower ball joint problem, reported to NHTSA on May 17, 2005.
Source: NHTSA recall 05V225000 and manufacturer quarterly reports. Started by an NHTSA defect investigation.
The problem
ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, DUE TO A MANUFACTURING ISSUE IN THE FRONT SUSPENSION LOWER BALL JOINT, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE SURFACE OF THE BALL OF THE JOINT MAY HAVE BEEN SCRATCHED. THE BALL JOINT MAY EVENTUALLY EXPERIENCE EXCESSIVE WEAR AND LOOSENESS, RESULTING IN INCREASED STEERING EFFORT.
The risk
THE LOWER BALL JOINT MAY SEPARATE FROM THE KNUCKLE CAUSING LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL AND A CRASH COULD OCCUR.
The fix
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FRONT SUSPENSION LOWER BALL JOINTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 5, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
TOYOTA RECALL NO. 50J.CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.
Recall repairs are free. Confirm whether this recall is open on your vehicle by entering its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Vehicles in this recall
Built from May 22, 2001 to December 23, 2003. Not every vehicle in these model years is included; check by VIN.
The investigation behind this recall
- BALL JOINT SEPARATIONNHTSA