Toyota Highlander Base Sport Utility 4-door on 2040-cars

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Toyota recalls 112,500 models for steering, transmission issues

Toyota has announced a voluntary recall of a variety of vehicles built between model years 2012 and 2015. Roughly 110,000 of the 112,500 vehicles being recalled consist of the gas and hybrid variants of the 2015 Camry and Highlander, as well as the 2014 and 2015 RAV4. The problem, this time around, is down to a circuit board that may have been damaged during manufacturing of the electric power steering system. According to Toyota, the bad circuit board can lead to a loss of power steering. Owners would still have manual steering control, although they'll have a warning lamp glaring at them from the instrument cluster the entire time. As for the remaining 2,500 vehicles, they're limited to the RAV4 EV, built between 2012 and 2014. A software issue in the electric vehicle traction motor assembly could cause the EV to shift into neutral. As with the issue affecting the Camry, Highlander and gas-powered RAV4, vehicles with this problem will produce a warning lamp in the instrument cluster, as well as a "Check EV" message. Toyota will be notifying owners of the affected vehicles via snail mail, and asking them to report in for free repairs at their local dealership. Check out the whole press release on the issue, available below. TORRANCE, Calif., March 11, 2015 – Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., today announced it will conduct safety recalls of approximately 2,500 Model Year 2012 – 2014 RAV4 EV vehicles; and approximately 110,000 Model Year 2015 Camry, Camry Hybrid, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, and 2014-2015 Model Year RAV4 vehicles. In the involved RAV4 EV, components in the Electric Vehicle Traction Motor Assembly, which is part of the propulsion system, may cause the vehicle to shift to "neutral" due to a software issue. This condition will also trigger a "Check EV System" warning message on the instrument panel and turn on a malfunction indicator lamp. If the vehicle shifts to "neutral", this will result in a complete loss of drive power, which can increase the risk of a crash. Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a notification by first class mail. Toyota dealers will repair the electric vehicle traction motor assembly. In the involved Camry, Camry Hybrid, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid and RAV 4 vehicles, a circuit board for the electric power steering (EPS) may have been damaged during its manufacturing process. This can result in the loss of power steering assist; an instrument panel warning lamp will also come on.

Who sold the most small/midsize pickups in 2012? PickupTrucks.com investigates that, too

PickupTrucks.com has taken another look at the sales of its favorite vehicle bodystyle as part of an ongoing series. According to registration data from R.L. Polk, the Toyota Tacoma easily took the crown as America's best-selling mid-sized pickup, with 133,477 units rolling into new homes in 2012. For comparison, the second-place Nissan Frontier only saw 50,566 registrations.
We feel compelled to point out that before Ford pulled the plug on its ancient Ranger, the company was moving some 75,000 units per year. That number had shriveled to 15,662 by 2012, which was still enough to surpass the Honda Ridgeline. Interestingly enough, one person brought home a brand-new Hummer H3T as well. But mid-sized trucks represent only a fraction of total pickup sales. Dealers sold a total of 241,471 midsizers last year compared to 988,326 half-tons.
That segment was dominated by General Motors with 533,814 sales followed by Ford at 478,204. Ram Trucks trailed behind in third with 241,204 units with Toyota close behind at 229,769. Nissan, meanwhile, remains a distant fifth. Head over to PickupTrucks.com for a closer look at the breakdown in each segment.

Toyota issues stop sale on 6 key models over seat fabrics; recall possible? [UPDATE]

Toyota has issued a stop-sale order on six of its core models due to concerns about the flammability of certain seat fabrics. The issue rests not with the cloth and leather covers themselves, but with a piece of seat heater beneath them that fails to meet US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for flame retardancy.
There have been no reports of fires or injuries from the affected cars, which include some of Toyota's biggest volume sellers. 2013 and 2014 Camry, Camry Hybrid, Avalon and Sienna models equipped with heated seats are included in the stop-sale, as are 2014 Tundra pickups and Corolla sedans. The exact number of vehicles with the non-compliant materials are still being tabulated, according to The Detroit Free Press.
According to a Toyota spokesman, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been notified, although it remains to be seen if a recall will be issued. Outside of a full recall, though, it's unclear how Toyota will deal with vehicles equipped with the flammable materials that have already found homes.