Here we go again, another round of recalls for Toyota, this time involving 2.7 million cars worldwide – 75,000 affected in the UK. The vehicles recalled for treatment include Avensis and Corolla models (July 2001 to March 2009) and Prius (July 2003 to April 2009).
Fortunately this time it’s not anything terribly dangerous like unintended acceleration, and all the vehicles involved are older models, which means new Toyotas are safe.
Recalled cars might have an issue with a component in the steering system that result sin knocking and rattling, and possibly reduced steering response. Under this condition the car remains perfectly safe for driving, but your nerves may get severely damaged because of the noise! So far there has been nine reported cases in Europe, with no reported accidents related to this issue.
The problem occurs due to insufficient hardness treatment of some of the extension shafts, which causes the splines that connect the extension shaft to the steering gearbox may deform. Then there is the electrically driven water pump that circulates coolant through the hybrid components. There is a possibility that the electric motor installed in the water pump may stop functioning, leading to illumination of various warning lights in the instrument panel.
According to model, the dealers will replace the hybrid system water pump and/or inspect the steering shaft. The steering fix takes about an hour, and the hybrid system repair up to one and a half hour. The fixes are of course free of charge.
