NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Recall Query RQ06-005: LOWER BALL JOINT SEPARATION
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Recall Query RQ06-005 on April 10, 2006 and closed it on August 9, 2006. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2004 Toyota Tundra for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- RQ06-005 (also written RQ06005)
- Investigation type
- Recall Query An investigation into whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or whether its remedy works, run much like a Preliminary Evaluation.
- Status
- Closed August 9, 2006
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Toyota Motor Corporation
- Component
- Suspension — Front — Control Arm — Lower Ball Joint
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2004 Toyota Tundra
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Recall Query RQ06-005.
THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATIONS (ODI) OPENED RQ06-005 BASED ON FOUR CONSUMER REPORTS OF ALLEGED BALL JOINT FAILURE. THE COMPLAINTS ALLEGE THAT A FRONT SUSPENSION BALL JOINT SEPARATED WHILE DRIVING, WHICH CAUSED THE SUSPENSION TO COLLAPSE AND RESULTED IN A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL. ALL OF THESE COMPLAINTS INVOLVED THE FAILURE OF A LOWER TENSION-TYPE BALL JOINT. DURING THE INVESTIGATION THERE WERE 39 (36.7 PER 100,000 VEHICLES) COMPLAINTS AND 74 (69.6 PER 100,000 VEHICLES) WARRANTY CLAIMS FOR THE 2004 MODEL YEAR (MY) TOYOTA TUNDRA. FURTHER ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT THE AVERAGE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 54,025 MILES, AND THAT OF THE 109 UNIQUE BALL JOINT SEPARATION INCIDENTS, 64 (133 PER 100,000 VEHICLES) WERE ON FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLES, WHICH MAKE UP APPROXIMATELY 45% OF THE 2004 MY POPULATION (106,346 VEHICLES). THE REMAINING 55% ARE TWO-WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLES WHICH EXPERIENCED A TOTAL OF 45 (77 PER 100,000 VEHICLES) BALL JOINT SEPARATIONS. ALSO, THROUGHOUT THE INVESTIGATION THERE SURFACED ADDITIONAL FAILURES WHICH HAVE PROMPTED ODI TO UPGRADE THIS INVESTIGATION TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS AND WIDEN THE SCOPE OF THE AFFECTED POPULATION TO INCLUDE 2004-2005 MY.THIS RECALL QUERY HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA06-014) TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE THIS ISSUE TO ASSESS THE SAFETY-RELATED CONSEQUENCES, AND TO DETERMINE THE SCOPE OF THE AFFECTED POPULATION.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Recall Query RQ06-005. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Toyota
Toyota Tundra
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Toyota VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for RQ06-005
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.