08 Fj Cruiser - 4.0l * We Finance* Upgrade Package #1 Rear Differential Locks on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Toyota adds more than 1.1 million vehicles to previous fuel pump recall

A Toyota and Lexus recall that previously listed nearly 700,000 potentially affected vehicles has been amended to include more than 1.1 million new rides. Overall, more than 1.8 million cars, trucks, crossovers, and SUVs are part of a voluntary recall regarding fuel pumps that might stop working.    On January 13, 2020, Toyota announced a safety recall for 695,541 Lexus and Toyota models. It included the Toyota 4Runner, Camry, Highlander, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Sienna, Tacoma, Avalon, Corolla, and Tundra, plus the Lexus LS 500, LC 500, RC 350, RC 300, GS 350, IS 300, ES 350, LX 570, GX 460, RX 350 NX 300, RX 350L, and GS 300. The Avalon, Corolla, NX 300, RX 350L, and GS 300 in the initial recall were specifically 2019 model years, while the rest were 2018-2019.  Today, March 4, 2020, Toyota stated it has expanded the recall to approximately 1.8 million vehicles total. Toyota did not provide a specific number, but here is the full list of potentially affected cars:  2013-2015 Lexus LS 460 2013-2014 Lexus GS 350 2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser, Lexus IS-F 2014-2015 Toyota 4Runner, Land Cruiser; Lexus GX 460, IS 350, LX 570 2015 Lexus NX 200t, RC 350 2017 Lexus IS 200t, RC 200t 2017-2019 Toyota Sienna; Lexus RX 350 2018 Lexus GS 300 2018-2019 Toyota Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Sequoia, Tacoma, Tundra; Lexus ES 350, GS 350, IS 300, IS 350, LC 500, LC 500h, LS 500, LS 500h, RC 300, RC 350, RX 350L On these vehicles, a low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank could fail. If this fuel pump fails while the vehicle is in use, the vehicle could sputter and stall. Without warning of the impending malfunction, other than some lights on the dashboard, this could present a dangerous situation for the driver.  For all affected vehicles, Toyota and Lexus will replace the faulty parts with "improved" fuel pumps. Notifications will start in May. Recalls Lexus Toyota

Brand new cars are being sold with defective Takata airbags

If you just bought a 2016 Audi TT, 2017 Audi R8, 2016–17 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, or 2016 Volkswagen CC, we have some unsettling news for you. A report provided to a US Senate committee that oversees the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and reported on by Automotive News claims these vehicles were sold with defective Takata airbags. And it gets worse. Toyota and FCA are called out in the report for continuing to build vehicles that will need to be recalled down the line for the same issue. That's not all. The report also states that of the airbags that have been replaced already in the Takata recall campaign, 2.1 million will need to eventually be replaced again. They don't have the drying agent that prevents the degradation of the ammonium nitrate, which can lead to explosions that can destroy the airbag housing and propel metal fragments at occupants. So these airbags are out there already. We're not done yet. There's also a stockpile of about 580,000 airbags waiting to be installed in cars coming in to have their defective airbags replaced. These 580k airbags also don't have the drying agent. They'll need to be replaced down the road, too. A new vehicle with a defective Takata airbag should be safe to drive, but that margin of safety decreases with time. If all this has you spinning around in a frustrated, agitated mess, there's a silver lining that is better than it sounds. So take a breath, run your fingers through your hair, and read on. Our best evidence right now demonstrates that defective Takata airbags – those without the drying agent that prevents humidity from degrading the ammonium nitrate propellant – aren't dangerous yet. It takes a long period of time combined with high humidity for them to reach the point where they can rupture their housing and cause serious injury. It's a matter of years, not days. So a new vehicle with a defective Takata airbag should be safe to drive, but that margin of safety decreases with time – and six years seems to be about as early as the degradation happens in the worst possible scenario. All this is small comfort for the millions of people who just realized their brand-new car has a time bomb installed in the wheel or dashboard, or the owners who waited patiently to have their airbags replaced only to discover that the new airbag is probably defective in the same way (although newer and safer!) as the old one.

Toyota claims hydrogen fuel cell breakthrough

Platinum isn't cheap. And it's a necessary component of hydrogen fuel-cell technology. Which means that Toyota's recent discovery of a way to better analyze how platinum breaks down is a bit of an H2 vehicle breakthrough. Toyota worked with the Japan Fine Ceramics Center (JFCC) to observe nanometer-sized platinum particles and, specifically, how they deteriorate. Platinum is used as a catalyst for when electrons are stripped away from the hydrogen molecule to create an electrical charge and when hydrogen ions and electrons mix with oxygen to create water vapor. So, when platinum gets more course during the countless chemical reactions inside of fuel cells, things slow down. Now that Toyota says it's figured out a better way to observe this process, greater efficiency and durability within the fuel-cell process of electricity production are likely to follow, though more chemistry study will be needed to figure out how that will work. Still, it's topical because Toyota last year started producing the world's first production hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. The Japanese automaker debuted sales of the Mirai fuel-cell vehicle in Japan late last year and plans to start selling the car in California this fall (the car will be priced at $57,500). Toyota also plans to boost Mirai production to about 2,000 units in 2016 from about 700 this year. Take a look at Toyota's documents and video below. R&D Breakthrough Sets Stage for More Efficient, Durable Fuel Cell Stacks Toyota City, Japan, May 18, 2015—A breakthrough in the real-time observation of fuel cell catalyst degradation could lead to a new generation of more efficient and durable fuel cell stacks. Toyota Motor Corporation and Japan Fine Ceramics Center (JFCC) have developed a new observation technique that allows researchers to monitor the behavior of nanometer-sized particles of platinum during chemical reactions in fuel cells, so that the processes leading to reduced catalytic reactivity can be observed. Platinum is an essential catalyst for the electricity-producing chemical reactions occurring between oxygen and hydrogen in fuel cell stacks. Reduced reactivity is the result of "coarsening" of platinum nanoparticles—a process whereby the nanoparticles increase in size and decrease in surface area. Up until now, however, it has not been possible to observe the processes leading to coarsening, making it difficult to analyze the root causes.