Toyota's Steering Rod Recall: A Preventable Tragedy

Investigation of the Toyota Steering Rod Recall

Michael "Levi" Stewart

On September 15, 2007, Michael "Levi" Stewart was driving his friends home at night about a mile outside of Fairfield, Idaho when the steering relay rod on his 1991 Toyota pickup snapped. As a result, Levi lost control of the vehicle, his pickup veered off the road and then rolled over.  Levi died in the rollover accident and his friend, a passenger in the vehicle, suffered a severe brain injury.

Three months after the accident, the Stewart family recieved a letter in the mail: a recall notice from Toyota, stating that the 1991 pickup truck was one of almost 1 million vehicles with the defective steering relay rod. Neither the Stewart family nor the previous owner of the Toyota received notice of the recall prior to the accident. 

Unfortunately, the Levi Stewart tragedy was an entirely preventable one. An investigation into Toyota's U.S. recall has revealed that the company first learned about the defective steering relay rod as early as 1988. In addition, Toyota was contacted at least 40 times prior to the recall from consumers describing similar fractures of the steering relay rod and varying degrees of vehicle damage and injuries.

Compounding Toyota's role in the Stewart accident was the tragic decision by Toyota executives in 2004 to conduct a recall of trucks with the defective part -- but only in Japan.

2004 Japan-Only Recall

In 2004, the driver of a Toyota Hilux Surf lost steering control when a relay rod snapped while they were driving on a highway in Kumamoto, Japan. The truck careened over a median, striking another vehicle in oncoming traffic and injuring five people. Japanese police investigators determined that the cause of the accident was a defective steering relay rod on the Toyota.  The defective relay rod fractured before the accident, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle’s steering.  The police asked local prosecutors to conduct a criminal investigation of three executives from Toyota's head office for professional negligence in their decision not to issue a recall or to take other safety measures on the affected Toyota vehicles.

The results of the Japanese investigation and the intense public outcry were deeply embarrassing for Toyota. In response, Toyota issued a recall of the affected vehciles, but only in Japan. (Click Here to see Toyota's drawing from the 2004 Japanese Recall)Company executives refused to issue a recall in the United States for trucks with the same defective part.

The Japan-only recall was poorly implemented, and the Japanese government issued the company a rare reproof when it reprimanded Toyota for deficient recall practices.  According to news reports, Toyota admitted that the recall was inadequate.

2005 United States Recall

On September 6, 2005, Toyota finally issued a recall to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of approximately 978,000 Toyota trucks in the United States. The recall encompassed 1989-1995 Toyota 4Runners, 1989-1995 Toyota Pickups, and 1993-1998 Toyota T100s.

Toyota's steering rod recall in the United States was reminiscent of the Japanese recall. In its final quarterly report to NHTSA, Toyota acknowledged repairs to only 32% of the trucks identified in the recall.  The NHTSA average pass/fail rate for recall repairs is approximately 70% and NHTSA has indicated their goal is closer to 79%. 

Toyota has failed to disclose publicly to NHTSA whether the other estimated 538,000 vehicles have been repaired. Many, if not all, of these vehicles continue to drive on American streets every day.

The delay caused by Toyota's reluctance to acknowledge the existence of the defective part for more than 15 years, compounded by Toyota's decision to wait a year to issue a recall in the United States after it had issued one in Japan for the same defective part, prevented the company from reaching many of the trucks' current owners, some of which bought the vehicles used. In addition, many who were involved in accidents prior to the recall - sometimes years before - cannot prove that the defective rod was the cause of the accident because the truck was totally destroyed in the accident and then salvaged. Still others cannot seek compensation for their claims because they are outside the statute of limitations for filing suit against Toyota.

Ongoing Invesigation

The Stewarts and three other families have filed suit against Toyota in Los Angeles. The Stewarts are seeking evidence of other steering relay rod failures or accidents involving steering relay rods on Toyota trucks. O'Reilly Collins, the law firm representing the Stewarts, has already received reports of numerous broken relay rods that caused drivers to lose their steering and evidence that Toyota knew about the problem far earlier - and to a much greater extent - than they indicated in government filings.

If you have any information about steering relay rods, drag links, or tie rods failing that you believe would be of help in this investigation, please contact Johnny Kristensen at (650) 358-5901 or email us at contact@toyotasteeringrecall.com