Toyota recalls Camry, Venza and Tacoma; Chrysler recalls Liberty
In this undated photo provided by the Westchester County Police Department, a red Jeep Liberty with the spare tire mounted on the tailgate is shown. Police believe a vehicle like this was used in two service station robberies that occurred one-half hour apart. The robber is believed to have entered the second store and paid for fuel and a pack of gum before returning in a mask and a different sweatshirt in order to rob it. (AP Photo/Westchester County Police Department)
LOS ANGELES >> Toyota Motor Corp. plans to recall almost 700,000 vehicles because of a variety of safety issues.
Chrysler Group also announced a big recall.
Toyota said it will recall 495,000 Tacoma trucks from the 2005 to 2009 model years to replace the steering wheel spiral cable assembly.
The automaker has detected friction in the cable assembly that can disconnect the driver’s airbag, preventing deployment in a crash.
Additionally, Toyota will recall 2009 Camry sedans and 2009 to 2011 Venza vehicles to replace the stop lamp switch. Approximately 70,500 Camrys and 116,000 Venzas are covered by this recall. The Camry is the best-selling passenger car in the United States.
Toyota said that during the installation of the switch at one of its North American assembly lines, silicon grease may have reached the inside of the switch and caused an increase in electrical resistance.
“If this occurs, warning lamps on the instrument panel may be illuminated, the vehicle may not start, or the shift lever may not shift from the ’park’ position. In some cases, the vehicle stop lamps may become inoperative,” the automaker said.
Meanwhile, Chrysler is recalling about 210,000 Jeep Liberty sport utility vehicles originally in Midwestern and Eastern Seaboard states that use road salt during the winter months. Corrosion issues with rear lower control arms could cause a driver to lose control of the SUV.
