
The latest Toyota recall is the result of technicians not reprogramming the computer.
Toyota Motor Corporation is recalling 2008 through 2011 model year FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser, Tacoma, Sequoia and Tundra trucks because the tire pressure monitoring does not start illuminating the low tire pressure warning light at the required minimum tire pressure.
About 22,000 trucks are affected in the U.S. and had optional wheels with LT tires instead of the standard P-metric tires that are installed during truck manufacturing in California, Indiana and Texas. Either Toyota vehicle processing centers or Toyota dealers could have switched the wheels and tires.
It was dealer installed accessory floor mats that led to the recall of millions of Toyota and Lexus vehicles for stuck gas pedals and unintended acceleration.
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 138 came about after the Ford/Firestone tread separation fiasco. FMVSS 138 requires that the tire pressure monitoring system must illuminate a low tire pressure warning light not more than 20 minutes after the inflation pressure in one or more of the vehicle’s tires, up to a total of four tires, is equal to or less than the pressure 25% below the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended cold inflation pressure.
Dealers will reprogram the tire pressure monitoring system free of charge as is required by U.S. regulations.
Toyota said in a filing with The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it did not know when owners will be notified. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Owners 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.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.