Rear Suspension recall - is it safe!

[Aqualung666]

Hi

 

I received the recall notice quite a while ago but chose not to act on it due to the large amount of problems people seemed to be having once they'd had this work done.  I read that there had been quite a few accidents due to the temporary work done on the suspension.  Does anyone know whether Toyota UK managed to sort this out and can now do the recall to a safe standard?  I seem to remember stories about people having botched up jobs with epoxy resin etc and that Toyota were working on a permanent fix for it.  

 

many thanks

[fordulike]

Hi Aqualung666. I don't own a RAV4 and unfortunately can't answer your question, but would you mind explaining the exact nature of the recall please.

Must have been a massive design flaw and serious potential safety issue for a recall to be implemented.

Sorry, I'm just being nosey

[FROSTYBALLS]

One could argue that by not having the recall done, one has left the vehicle in a potentially less safe condition than if the recall had been done.

The recall is http://blog.toyota.co.uk/toyota-announces-voluntary-recall-for-rav4-avensis-and-auris-in-the-uk

The recall detail on the DVSA website states:

"If the rear suspension arm is adjusted as part of a wheel alignment or other repairs whilst in service it is possible that backlash can occur. This can allow corrosion to develop and cause the threads to deteriorate. Ultimately this could result in failure of the arm with a resultant loss of control of the vehicle."

If the recall remedial work wasn't safe, it wouldn't have been sanctioned by DVSA.

[Aqualung666]

I'm a bit vague on this as it was a while since I recieved the recall, but I do remember reports that the intermediate 'fix' had failed on a significant amount of cars and some had been quite serious accidents.  This is why i held off.

Frostyballs;  My car hasn't had any work carried out on the rear suspension so I assumed that it wasn't unsafe which is why I didn't take it straight in.  You may remember more about the issues around this recall and the intermediary fix?  Do you know if they now can rectify this problem to a safe standard as there were a lot of reports that the initial fix was failing and Toyota were working on a more permanent solution?

[fordulike]

I don't understand why Toyota are messing about with epoxy resin, when surely all they need to do to replace the nuts and torque them, or just torque the existing nuts.

Sounds a bigger issue than what they have described in the recall notice.

[FROSTYBALLS]

In the States, they had to repeat the recall on some vehicles due to incorrect tightening. The epoxy resin used in the second repair was intended to provide a seal and prevent corrosion. No accidents have occurred in Europe.

[fordulike]

14 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

One could argue that by not having the recall done, one has left the vehicle in a potentially less safe condition than if the recall had been done.

The recall is http://blog.toyota.co.uk/toyota-announces-voluntary-recall-for-rav4-avensis-and-auris-in-the-uk

The recall detail on the DVSA website states:

"If the rear suspension arm is adjusted as part of a wheel alignment or other repairs whilst in service it is possible that backlash can occur. This can allow corrosion to develop and cause the threads to deteriorate. Ultimately this could result in failure of the arm with a resultant loss of control of the vehicle."

If the recall remedial work wasn't safe, it wouldn't have been sanctioned by DVSA.

Ahhh, right, that is definitely more serious than incorrectly torqued nuts

So they're suggesting that the rear might go out of alignment and handling could be affected.

[Aqualung666]

6 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

In the States, they had to repeat the recall on some vehicles due to incorrect tightening. The epoxy resin used in the second repair was intended to provide a seal and prevent corrosion. No accidents have occurred in Europe.

Thanks. So it was just the USA where they did the temporary fix and not the UK. In that case I'll take it in and have it done as it has a couple of other recalls outstanding.  

 

My worry was that I would be putting myself and family in more danger by having the intermediate fix than just leaving it.  

[FROSTYBALLS]

Just now, Aqualung666 said:

Thanks. So it was just the USA where they did the temporary fix and not the UK. In that case I'll take it in and have it done as it has a couple of other recalls outstanding.  

My worry was that I would be putting myself and family in more danger by having the intermediate fix than just leaving it.  

There aren't any later recalls listed for the Rav4 on the DVSA website for this defect so presumably whatever fix was used in Europe was satisfactory. Whether this used the epoxy as a seal, don't know.

[Devon Aygo]

Not sure what "temporary fix" applied elsewhere but the UK recall was all down to garages not following instructions on how to correctly torque the bolts that fix the adjuster bar. Because the bolts torque in opposite directions if they tighten one end without holding the other in a fixed position the action of tightening one bolt loosens the other there is not a fault with the part just errors in looking after it.

The fix includes an inspection to look for signs of the arm being run loosened, if there is damage a new arm is fitted if there is no damage the bolts are torqued following the correct procedure and then a cover is fitted over the adjuster which contains the correct tightening procedure for anyone who may work on the arm in future.( cover fitted regardless of new or tightened arm )