381,000 Trucks With Reputation For Never Breaking Recalled For Rear Axles That Could Break

Photo: Toyota

For years, the reason you bought a Toyota Tacoma wasn’t that it got the best gas mileage, came with the latest features or had the most comfortable seats. It didn’t have any of those things. You bought it because it had a reputation for both reliability and durability, as well as the boost in value those two qualities gave it on the used market. Still, even the legendary Toyota Tacoma isn’t perfect, with Motor1 reporting that hundreds of thousands of Tacomas have been recalled for possible axle failure.

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Toyota has recalled 381,000 Tacomas built between 2022 and 2023 because the rear axle assembly may still have welding debris at each end left from when they were manufactured. As a result, the retaining nuts could come loose or fall off, and if that happens, “vehicle stability and braking performance might be negatively affected.” Which sounds bad.

For now, it doesn’t appear that anyone has been injured as a result of a crash caused by rear axle failure, and Toyota plans to start sending letters to owners notifying them of the recall starting in April. Dealers will need to check each affected truck’s axle assembly for anything loose and retighten or replace parts as needed.

That’s not the only recall that Toyota has issued in the last several days, either. It also recalled 281,663 Tundras, Sequoias and Lexus LX600s for possible transmission problems. When shifted into neutral, the affected vehicles’ clutches may not fully disengage, leading to the vehicle moving forward at speeds of as much as four miles per hour.

A vehicle that creeps forward in neutral may not be as dangerous as the Tacoma’s rear axle issue, but it could still cause plenty of problems for owners, especially if their Lexus bumps a building or another car because of it. The good news for owners is that the fix is a relatively straightforward software update.

To check to see if your Toyota or any other vehicle has open recalls, you can enter your car’s VIN over here on the NHTSA’s website.