Toyota recalls 550,000 vehicles over faulty crankshaft pulley on the V6 engine

After a brief lull in recalls, Japanese carmaker Toyota yesterday said that it will recall about 550,000 vehicles over faulty crankshaft pulley on the V6 engine.

The Toyota, Aichi-based carmaker's US subsidiary, Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., is recalling approximately 283,200 Toyota and 137,000 Lexus vehicles in the US and Canada to replace a possible faulty crankshaft pulley on the V6 engine.

It is also recalling a further 130,000 vehicles for the same problem globally, including 38,000 in Japan, 25,000 in Australia and New Zealand, 14,000 in Europe, 10,000 in the Middle East and 14,000 in Asia outside Japan, raising the total number of recalled vehicles to about 550,000.

"There is a possibility that the outer ring of the crankshaft pulley may become misaligned with the inner ring, causing noise and / or illumination of the discharge warning light,'' said the carmaker in a statement.

"If this condition is not corrected, the belt for the power steering pump may become detached from the pulley and the driver may notice a sudden increase in steering effort."

The vehicles involved in the recall are certain 2004 Avalon, 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna, and Solara, the 2006 Highlander HV, the 2004 and 2005 ES330 and RX330, and the 2006 RX400h.