Toyota recalls 51,000 Tundra pickups over rear drive shaft issue

Toyota announced today that it is conducting a voluntary safety recall on 51,000 2011 model year Tundra pickups to inspect the rear drive shaft.

“The rear drive shaft in an estimated 0.05 percent of the vehicles may include a component (slip yoke) that could break due to improper casting during the foundry process,” Toyota said in a statement. “Toyota is aware of one drive shaft slip yoke failure in a customer-owned vehicle. There are no reports of accidents or injuries associated with this condition. No other Lexus or Toyota vehicles are involved in this recall.”

Toyota will start notifying owners starting May 2011 and will also post this information on its website. Upon inspection, dealers will be identify a specific “production lot” number located on the rear drive shaft. Based upon the inspection results, in a limited number of cases, the rear drive shaft may need to be replaced.

Detailed information and answers to questions are available to customers at www.toyota.com/recall and the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.

– By: Omar Rana