Toyota recalls half a million Sequoia, Tundra models

Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second largest automaker, on Friday said it would recall about 533,000 Sequoia sport-utility vehicles and Tundra pickup trucks in the United States to repair a flaw that could make the vehicles difficult to steer.

The Toyota City, Japan-based automaker’s latest recall covers 2004-2006 Tundra trucks and 2004-2007 Sequoia full-size SUVs, both built at Toyota's Princeton, Indiana, plant. Toyota has given the notification of the recall to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which had been investigating the defect since August.

Toyota, which sold 2.54 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2006, has received reports of 11 accidents and six injuries related to the recall, said Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong.

About the flaw, the Japanese automaker said, "There is a possibility that the front suspension lower ball joint may experience excessive wear and looseness, causing increased steering effort, reduced vehicle self-centering and noise in the front suspension."

The Japanese automaker, which is competing with General Motors Corp. to become the world's biggest auto maker, diminished a reputation for quality that has helped it win record market share, last year when it recalled more than a million vehicles in Japan and 760,000 units in the United States, due to the similar flaws with the front suspension.

Toyota recalled about 775,000 pickups and SUVs in May 2005, one of its largest recalls ever, which included 2002-2004 model years of the Tundra and Sequoia.

The recent recall comes six months after the Japanese transport ministry ordered the company to reduce defects, emphasizing on the quality of Toyota's vehicles that may be declining as it closes the sales gap with General Motors Corp.

Despite the recalls and quality woes, Toyota's sales in the U.S. last year rose 12.5%, while GM's sales declined 8.7% and Ford's sales also dropped 7.9%.

Toyota, which opened its sixth North American manufacturing facility in Texas in November and scheduled to open a seventh in Canada next year, has aggressively promoted its modifies Tundra pickup to grab a market share in the lucrative truck segment dominated by GM and Ford Motor Co.

Toyota's Kwong declined to estimate how much it will cost the company to fix the ball joints problems. Vehicle owners will be notified in mid-February of the Sequoia and Tundra recall and they would get their vehicles repaired by the dealers free of cost.

Shares in Toyota rose 25 cents or 0.19% to close at $132.33 on the New York Stock Exchange Friday.

Customers having inquiries can contact Toyota at +1- 888-270-9371 or +1-800-331-4331.