Lexus and Toyota Recall Over 280,000 SUVs for Transmission Issues

New Lexus and Toyota vehicles built on the TNGA-F platform may ‘inadvertently creep forward at a low speed’ if shifted into neutral.

Toyota recently submitted paperwork to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for a recall concerning a specific fault in the transmissions of various models built on the new body-on-frame TNGA-F platform. These include the 2023-24 Sequoia, 2022-24 Tundra, and 2022-24 Lexus LX 600. The report states a grand total of 280,663 vehicles may be affected, within the US and Puerto Rico.

The fault in question?

You stop and put the truck in neutral, letting off the brake. But the transmission doesn’t fully disengage. Instead, the vehicle “inadvertently creep[s] forward at a low speed” (up to 4 miles per hour) as if it’s still in drive. While perhaps somewhat less dramatic than other recalls, it still represents an incredibly dangerous hazard waiting to happen.

Toyota issued the recall to the NHTSA on February 21, so expect an official release within the coming days. Their fix for this gearbox fault relies on a software patch they’ll issue to affected vehicles. Since all the affected vehicles are still under warranty, owners shouldn’t have to pay out-of-pocket for any services. Toyota and Lexus aim to notify customers of these recalls by mail in April at the latest.

What Went Wrong?

According to the report,

The transmission assembly in the subject vehicles uses a clutch piston to engage brake clutch discs to plates to transfer power from the engine to the wheels. There is a possibility that, due to an issue in the design of a certain brake clutch disc, when the transmission is shifted to the neutral position and pressure is removed from the clutch piston, the brake clutch discs will not immediately disengage from the plates, allowing some engine power to continue to transfer to the wheels. If this condition occurs when the vehicle is on a flat surface, and if the driver does not apply the service brake or the parking brake, it could allow a vehicle to inadvertently creep forward at a low speed (up to approximately 4 mph), which could increase the risk of a crash.

This comes alongside a similar recall issued to the Toyota Tacoma, where welding debris may cause a retaining nut along the rear axle to loosen and fall off. This may lead to a component coming loose from the rear axle entirely. Which Toyota states, “will affect stability and braking performance.” With 381,000 Tacomas affected, plus this transmission bug, Toyota’s added a total of ~661,000 trucks with defective components just this year alone. A staggering but not unheard-of number for the industry giant. Again, Toyota will issue notices by April 2024.

If you think your truck may be affected and don’t want to wait, you can visit Toyota’s website. Provide your VIN number, and it will tell you if your truck is among those being recalled.

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M.C. Cuccio

I've been an automotive aficionado since I had baby teeth. My path was set when I first leaned on my grandfather's classic Porsche as I learned how to walk. One of my first memories was my mother sitting me behind the wheel of her Pontiac and talking me through the instrumentation and controls. Even though I was a mere three or four years old, I was instantly sold, and filled notebooks with technical drawings, sketches, and collections of manuals of all sorts of cars. I've actively tracked developments in automotive and motorsport technology for well over 20 years, and pride myself on being intimately familiar with the functions and history of a wide range of vehicles.

My primary goal as a writer and enthusiast is to equally learn and share what I've learned in a constructive and interesting way. I maintain connections with people from around the world and can read technical manuals in Italian, Japanese, and Spanish, granting me access to a wide array of resources. My primary focuses are deep-dives into historical topics, motorsport discussion, and learning about the complex mechanical elements of such vehicles. As such, my research is never perfect; as anyone into cars will attest, the more you learn about cars, the more you realize how little you actually know. Therefore, I always welcome fresh knowledge and corrections to help me better my work in the future.