By Christopher Hinton, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it would recall more than 400,000 Avalon and Lexus LX 470 vehicles in the U.S. because steering-shaft problems could lead to a loss of driver control and has already led to at least three crashes.
Toyota /quotes/comstock/13*!tm/quotes/nls/tm (TM 69.12, -0.12, -0.17%) said the recall affects about 373,000 Avalons from the 2000-2004 model years and 39,000 Lexus LX 470s from the 2003-2007 model years.
In the Avalon, the steering lock bar may develop small cracks, which after a long period could cause the lock bar to break, which in turn could cause the steering wheel to lock up when the car is being driven, Toyota said.
In LX 470s, the snap ring on the steering shaft may become loose when the front wheels encounter severe impact, causing the steering shaft to disengage over a period of time, according to Toyota.
There has been one report of a disengaging steering-wheel column for a Lexus in the U.S., but it did not lead to an accident or injury, according Toyota spokesperson Brian Lyons.
There were also six reports of an Avalon steering wheel becoming locked, including three that occurred while the vehicle was in motion, leading to three accidents with no injuries, Lyons said.
Toyota has issued several massive recalls in recent months to deal with safety issues arising from shoddy designs and has been under pressure to be more aggressive in warning drivers about potential risks.
In April, the company agreed to pay a fine of $16.4 million to settle a complaint it failed to alert regulators of sticking accelerator pedals.
The company is facing an investigation by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into a disparity in timing between 2004 and 2005 recalls of vehicles in Japan and the U.S. related to the same defect. Read more about the recall disparity.
Christopher Hinton is a reporter for MarketWatch based in New York.
