Toyota recalls 550,000 cars for steering issue

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it is recalling about 550,000 vehicles worldwide — mostly in the United States — for problems that could make it harder to steer.

The recall affects 447,000 vehicles in North America, as well as 38,000 in Japan and another 25,000 in Australia and New Zealand, said Toyota spokesman Dion Corbett. In Europe some 14,000 vehicles are being recalled along with 10,000 in the Middle East and 14,000 in Asia outside Japan.

Toyota has received a total of 79 reports about the defect dating back to 2007, said Corbett. There have been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the problems, he said.

Toyota's reputation has taken a hit over the last two years due to a string of huge recalls that have ballooned to 14 million vehicles over that time, including millions recalled last year for acceleration problems. It faces damage lawsuits and lingering doubts in the U.S. about whether it had been transparent enough about the recall woes.

Japan's largest automaker has been trying to communicate better with customers and empower regional operations outside Japan to make safety decisions.

The news comes a day after Toyota said its July-September profit slid 18.5 percent to 80.4 billion yen ($1 billion) on plunging sales caused by parts shortages from the tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan.

It now faces such uncertainties from flooding in Thailand, where it has many suppliers and three assembly plants, that it declined to release an earnings forecast for the full year through March.

The latest recall is due to the possibility that the outer ring of the engine's crankshaft pulley may become misaligned with the inner ring, causing noise or a warning signal to light up, the company's U.S. sales unit said in a press release. If the problem isn't corrected, the belt for the power steering pump may become detached from the pulley, making it suddenly more difficult to turn the steering wheel.

In the United States, the automaker is recalling 283,200 Toyota brand cars, including the 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna and Solara, the 2004 Avalon and the 2006 Highlander HV. Its recall of 137,000 Lexus vehicles includes the 2004 and 2005 ES330 and RX330 and 2006 RX400h.

Those affected elsewhere include certain models of the Alphard, Highlander, Highlander hybrid and some Lexus models, Corbett said.

The recall notification process varies from country to country.

In the U.S., Toyota will mail owners a notification to make an appointment with an authorized dealer to have their car inspected once replacement parts have been produced in sufficient quantities.

If needed, parts will be replaced for no charge, the company's American sales unit said. Notifications will be mailed starting in January.

In the meantime, if an abnormal noise is heard coming from the engine compartment, the owner is asked to make an appointment with any Toyota or Lexus dealer to have the vehicle inspected for this condition, the release said.

Hyundai dealers to inspect, repair Sonatas prone to wandering

Hyundai Motor America said its U.S. dealers will fix a steering problem found in some 2011 Sonata mid-sized sedans after more than 4,000 owners complained about the car's steering system.

Drivers have complained that the 2011 Sonata is prone to drifting or pulling to the left while being driven.

The company suspects that about 41,000 Sonatas with 18-inch wheels could be affected by the problem, Hyundai spokesman Jim Trainor said. He said the fix is a service campaign, not a recall.

Hyundai said it has received or tracked about 4,000 complaints -- representing about 3 percent of the nearly 150,000 Sonatas built from September 2010 through April 2011, Trainor said. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received 198 complaints about the 2011 Sonata's steering, many of which described vehicle tracking problems seemingly similar to the one being addressed in this campaign.

Consumers can set up an appointment with a dealer to inspect the Sonata's wheel alignment and tracking, Trainor said. If necessary, the dealer will install new front suspension struts and perform a wheel alignment, both for free.

Last year, Hyundai recalled about 138,000 2011 Sonatas for a different steering problem. The recall followed a probe by U.S. safety regulators into customer complaints that a steering shaft could potentially become detached from the steering wheel.

Chevy Venture noise from the engine

I have a 2001 Chevy Venture with 140K miles on it and over the past two months, I've noticed a medium pitch "turbine" type noise from the engine. This only occurs after I've been driving the car for about 10 miles. The pitch of the noise changes with the engine rpms, not the vehicle's speed. So if i take my foot off the gas, the noise goes away. But as I rev the engine higher, the pitch gets higher though the pitch is never very high. The noise does seem to be getting louder over time.

I bought this car used about 4 years ago and since I bought it, i've had the head gasket replaced because of a coolant leak and the AC system replaced, the bearings replaced and the brakes replaced.

Recently, I noticed that the car overheats at idle and there wasn't any obvious leak but the radiator was low while the resevoir was full. I changed the radiator cap and that seemed to fix that problem.

I was hoping that would fix the noise but it did not. I was thinking that maybe the water pump was making the noise since the pump is connected to the engine via the serpentine belt and engine rpms would affect the pump. I dont see any leaks at the pump and it seems to be spinning fine and when its at idle i can't localise the noise.

Anyone have any ideas?

Response:

It may be that your power steering pump resivior is low on fluid. Would be the first thing I would check. If all your fluids are good, then I would remove the belt to make certain the noise wasn't internal in the engine.

It is possible for it to be the water pump, but not as likely as it would be the power steering or the alternater going out. In my shop I use a stethescope(sp) type devise to listen in close for noises, the old timers used to use a long screw driver and touch it to part of the engine and the other to their ear..... some use a piece of garden hose.... you an try those at your own risk....