Products Liability Law Daily Wrap Up, NHTSA NEWS—ODI INVESTIGATIONS—ODI closes investigation into premature frame corrosion in Toyota 4Runners, (Apr 29, 2022)

By WK Editorial Staff

The agency determined that the reported corrosion failures were indicative of environmental factors rather than a vehicle-based defect.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has closed a defect petition (DP) that requested an investigation into frame corrosion in model year (MY) 2002-2006 Toyota 4Runner vehicles. An estimated 520,059 vehicles were potentially involved (NHTSA ODI Investigation, No. DP18-002, March 18, 2022).

Defect petition. ODI received the petition on August 7, 2018. The petitioner based his investigation request on: (1) a corrosion-related front suspension failure he experienced in his MY 2005 Toyota 4Runner; (2) a class action lawsuit settlement involving other Toyota products; and (3) other complaints of underbody corrosion in Toyota 4Runner vehicles that he found in NHTSA’s online complaint database. The petitioner submitted a complaint to NHTSA documenting his experience. On August 17, 2018, ODI opened DP18-002 to evaluate the petitioner’s request. ODI’s evaluation included information provided by the petitioner regarding his vehicle, facts related to the class action lawsuit cited by the petitioner, and consumer complaint data received by NHTSA regarding underbody corrosion in third- and fourth-generation Toyota 4Runner vehicles.

Petitioner’s vehicle. The undercarriage of the petitioner’s vehicle exhibited severe corrosion damage indicative of seawater immersion. The vehicle’s service history showed that concerns with underbody corrosion were first noted by a Toyota dealer in a multi-point vehicle inspection performed on April 28, 2011. The invoice for that inspection noted “severe and excessive amount of rust on the undercarriage and on the drive shaft transmission.” Two years later, on October 21, 2013, another multi-point inspection by a Toyota dealer observed further progression of underbody corrosion damage, noting: “rust on shocks/struts and other components,” “rust on exhaust system,” “both splash shields severely rusted,” and “undercarriage very rusty.” On July 17, 2017, approximately 10 months prior to experiencing the suspension failure incident, an independent repair facility performing a routine oil change and brake maintenance informed the petitioner of a concern with “excessive frame corrosion” on his vehicle. The service history, severe general corrosion damage, failure age, and environment did not support the petitioner’s allegation of premature corrosion failure.

Analysis. ODI’s analysis of NHTSA complaint data identified 15 incidents of front lower control arm failure in fourth-generation Toyota 4Runner sport utility vehicles. Two of the failures, including the petitioner’s vehicle, involved vehicles operated in ocean-front communities with continuous exposure to aerosolized marine salts and potential exposure to seawater immersion. The remaining 13 failures all involved vehicles owned or previously registered in states with the greatest use of de-icing salts to treat road surfaces in winter months (“salt states”). On average, the front lower control arm failures occurred after 13.1 years in service in highly corrosive environments. The failure ages and environments did not support the petitioner’s allegation of premature corrosion failure.

Conclusion. NHTSA is authorized to issue an order requiring notification and remedy of a defect if the agency’s investigation shows a defect in design, construction, or performance of a motor vehicle that presents an unreasonable risk to safety. Because the information before the agency was not indicative of a vehicle-based defect, it was unlikely that any investigation opened because of granting this petition would result in an order concerning the notification and remedy of a safety-related defect. Therefore, upon full consideration of the information presented in the petition and the potential risks to safety, NHTSA denied the petition. The agency cautioned, however, that the denial did not foreclose NHTSA from taking further action if warranted or the potential for a future finding that a safety-related defect exists based on additional information the agency may receive. A Federal Registernotice further detailing NHTSA’s reasons for denial of the petition was published on March 24, 2022.

Companies: Toyota Motor Corp.

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