Both Toyota and Honda in the US have confirmed the need to repair models newly launched for the 2011 model year.
Toyota Motor Sales USA said it would conduct a voluntary recall involving approximately 94,000 2011 Sienna minivans produced before early November 2010 to replace the stop lamp (brake light) switch bracket. Due to the proximity of the stop lamp switch bracket to the parking brake pedal when the parking brake is fully applied, the stop lamp switch bracket could, in limited circumstances, be deformed by the driver’s foot during parking brake operation.
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This could cause the brake lights to remain on or, if the deformation is significant, the brakes could become partially engaged due to contact from the bracket, resulting in brake drag with associated brake noise, brake vibration, and/or illumination of the brake warning light. If this condition is not noticed and the vehicle continues to be driven, braking effectiveness could be reduced, the automaker said.
Owners of the involved vehicles will receive an interim notification advising them of this recall by first class mail beginning in mid-January 2011, along with instructions for what to do if they experience this condition and how to minimize the possibility of inadvertently contacting the stop lamp switch bracket while operating the parking brake. Toyota will also post this information on its website.
Owners will receive a second notice by first class mail in approximately late February, once replacement parts become available, and asked to contact a dealer to have the repair performed at no charge.
Toyota dealers will replace the bracket assembly with a redesigned unit.
Meanwhile, a Honda spokeswoman told Reuters the automaker would notify about 1,200 US owners of 2011 model year Accords and CR-Vs of possible engine oil leaks due to a manufacturing problem.
The automaker also has notified dealers that some 5,000 of its 2011 model year Accords and 4,300 of its 2011 model year CR-Vs on dealer lots must be inspected for the part that could lead to engine oil leaks, spokeswoman Gina Cappelletti told the news agency.
Honda notified dealers of the potential problem in the 2011 model year Accords and CR-Vs in a service bulletin dated 3 December. Customers will be notified of the problem in mid-December, Honda said in the notice.
The vehicles in dealers’ inventory “must be repaired before they are sold,” Honda said in the notice. Most of the vehicles will require only an inspection to determine whether a part was cast incorrectly, Honda said.
The notice followed a separate notification dated 24 November in which Honda told dealers excess paint was a possible cause of engine oil leaks by the cylinder head cover in 2006 to 2010 model year Accords, Civic Si models, CR-Vs and Elements.
The repair for that separate issue, sanding away the extra paint, would be covered under warranty, the Honda notice said, according to Reuters.
