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Toyota Owners Take Note (Again)

More recall bad news -- plus where to find recall information

By Joshua Condon Oct 7, 2009 2:40PM

Well, following up on the massive floor-mat-related recall from last Wednesday (at 3.8 million vehicles, the largest in company history) comes news that more Toyotas will likely be headed back to dealers. As reported on MSN Autos' homepage (via Autoweek), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating frame corrosion on 2000 and 2001 Toyota Tundras, affecting an estimated 218,000 vehicles. Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons -- who's really been earning his paycheck recently -- noted that the investigation doesn't come as a surprise, as it has also been the focus of an internal Toyota probe.

What with the two Toyota recalls, the new push for a Jeep recall of a wide range of Grand Cherokee models, and various VW recalls (not to mention yet another, earlier Toyota recall of almost 100,000 vehicles), there's a lot to keep track of. Here's how:

 

Recalls.gov has a comprehensive list of recall news and information for everything from food and boats to cosmetics and medicine; NHTSA has its auto-specific section here. Allworldauto.com also has a comprehensive and useful recall page -- search by automaker or year, or even which companies have the most and fewest recalls all-time -- as does Consumeraffairs.com.

For those who missed the details of this new recall, here is the recap:

The investigation is spurred by complaints, several of which allege that the underbody-mounted spare tire came loose or separated due to corrosion; other complaints state that corrosion is to blame for damaged brake lines. This comes on the heels of Toyota's buyout of 1995 to 2000 model-year Tacoma pickups -- at 150 percent of the highest Kelley Blue Book value -- in March of last year, as well as a recall of the 2001 to 2004 model-year Tacoma pickups in November of that year. Both the buyouts and recall were due to corrosion issues.



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