Owners of Toyota cars and sport-utility vehicles in the United States recently received some unexpected news. Asia’s biggest car manufacturer has issued a voluntary safety recall on some 2010 Lexus HS 250hs and RAV4s. This applies to vehicles that were sold by the Toyota Motor Corp’s US arm, but vehicles in the United Kingdom are not affected.

Toyota explained the problem in a press release on their website, stating that they had identified that in some cases, the nuts on the rear suspension arm may not have been sufficiently tightened following the correct procedure. This means that in the torque specification during a rear wheel alignment service, excessive play may occur at the threaded portion of the arm, followed by rust formation.” Toyota then went on to say, “If this were to occur, the threaded portion of the rear suspension arm may wear and cause the arm to separate.”

The Japanese car manufacturer has already suffered as a result of a record number of recalls in recent years, and following these setbacks, they have been working to regain a solid reputation. This time Toyota is recalling a total of nearly 780,000 cars and sport-utility vehicles. The issue with the faulty suspension arm is a potentially serious problem that could cause crashes.

Toyota RAV4s manufactured between 2006 and the first part of 2011 are the most heavily affected, with around 760,000 vehicles estimated to have this fault with their suspension. Approximately 180,000 Lexus HS 250hs dating from 2010 are also due to be recalled. Owners in the United States are now waiting to find out whether their particular vehicle will be included.

Toyota is working to remedy the issue that brought about this recall, and they have pledged to notify owners of the affected vehicles by first class post. Once owners have received correspondence, they will be able to contact an authorised Lexus or Toyota dealer to book an appointment. The dealer will then perform the remedial work free of charge. Toyota has been dealing with this particular recall in an efficient manner. Owners are also able to enter their vehicle’s VIN number on the Toyota and Lexus websites to see if their car will need to be recalled.

So just how dangerous is this issue with suspension? Toyota has so far reported a total of nine crashes that resulted in three minor injuries due to this fault. Until the Japanese company develops a solution, they are advising drivers to listen out for any abnormal sounds that could be coming from the rear end of the vehicle. Toyota has also strongly advised drivers to contact their dealer immediately should such noises occur.

This issue with the Lexus HS 250h and RAV4 has come about despite more stringent quality checks since the recall of 154,000 2010 Lexus RX SUVs just earlier this year. June’s recall was due to floor mats interfering with accelerator pedals on certain Lexus RX SUVs. Unfortunately, the company had already recalled over 10million trucks and cars worldwide in 2009 prior to that particular recall. The 2009 incident was due to the fact that drivers had reported unintended acceleration. The most recent recall concerning the suspension issue is yet another embarrassment to Asia’s largest car manufacturer.

Toyota has already paid out record fines in 2010, as they failed to recall the vehicles affected by the unintended acceleration in a timely manner. The company are still facing related lawsuits from customers.

It remains to be seen whether consumer confidence has been dented by this recent issue. Customers can have a short attention span, but only time will tell if sales figures have been affected.