Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Concerns over brake problems in extremely cold temperatures with some Toyota vehicles has promoted Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc., the U.S. division of Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp., and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to voluntarily recall about 95,700 Toyota and Scion vehicles.

The vehicles affected by the recall include certain 2009 and 2010 model year Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, and 2008 and 2009 Scion xD vehicles, all with 1.8 liter engines. If operated in extremely low ambient temperatures condensation from the positive crankcase ventilation, or PVC, may seep into the brake system vacuum port and freeze. If ice accumulates at the brake system vacuum port it can block the port, gradually decreasing the power assist to the brakes and leading to lengthened vehicle stopping distances.

In early September Toyota will begin notifying vehicle owners in 19 states where low temperatures are typical, including Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Consumers will be asked to return the cars to the dealer for installation of a newly designed intake air connection that will relocate the brake system vacuum port. The repair will take about an hour depending on the dealers’ work schedules, and will be performed at no charge to the vehicle owner.

No other Lexus, Toyota or Scion vehicles are involved in the recall.

Source: RTT News, Global Financial Newswires

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 27th, 2009 at 8:00 am and is filed under product liability, recalled products. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.