2006 Toyota Highlander

Issue: 
This recall is for certain block heater kits installed on certain vehicles or sold as accessories at Toyota or Lexus dealerships. 

On certain vehicles, the engine block heater cable may not have enough heat protection and could be damaged by high temperatures. If this happens, the cable could short circuit while plugged in, and cause the wiring to overheat or melt. 

Note: This recall only affects the following block heater/cord part numbers: 

C014003034                         PK5A408J09                         PU14000904 
C014003151                         PK5A408J13                         PU14000905 
C014000885                         PK5A489J11                         PU14000907 
C014000888                         PK5A489J22                         PU14000909 
C014000907                         PK5A410H00                        PU14000911 
C014100904                         PU14000900                         PU14000913 
C014100907                         PU14000901                         PU14003571 
C014100911                         PU14000902                         PK5A489J14 
PK5A408J05                        PU14000903 

Safety Risk: 
Engine block heater wiring that overheats or melts could create the risk of a fire. 

Corrective Actions: 
Toyota recommends that you should stop using the engine block heater immediately. Toyota will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to disable the engine block heater. For some vehicles, the corrective actions for this recall are under development. For others, a new engine block heater cannot be installed, and the owner will receive a refund of the purchase price of the engine block heater.

On certain vehicles, a control board for the Intelligent Power Module (IPM), part of the hybrid system inverter assembly, could fail while the vehicle is underway.  This could cause various warning lamps, including the malfunction indicator lamp, slip indicator lamp, brake system warning lamp, and master warning lamp, to illuminate on the instrument panel.  If this occurred, in most cases, the vehicle would enter fail-safe driving mode, resulting in reduced motive power in which the vehicle could still be driven for short distances.  In some instances, the fuse of the power supply circuit could blow, causing the hybrid system to stop functioning.  The resultant loss of vehicle propulsion, in conjunction with traffic and road conditions, and the driver's reactions, could increase the risk of a crash causing property damage and/or personal injury.  Correction: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the Intelligent Power Module.

On certain vehicles equipped with a 1MZ-FE or 3MZ-FE V6 engine, the crankshaft pulley may fail.  The outer ring may become misaligned, or it may not properly rotate, causing noise and/or illumination of the discharge warning light.  In addition, the power steering belt may become detached from the crankshaft pulley, which could result in a sudden increase in steering effort.  A loss of steering power assist could result in a crash causing property damage and/or personal injury.  Correction: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the crankshaft pulley.

On certain vehicles, a control board for the Intelligent Power Module (IPM), part of the hybrid system inverter assembly, could fail while the vehicle is underway.  This could cause various warning lamps, including the malfunction indicator lamp, slip indicator lamp, brake system warning lamp, and master warning lamp, to illuminate on the instrument panel.  If this occurred, in most cases, the vehicle would enter fail-safe driving mode, resulting in reduced motive power in which the vehicle could still be driven for short distances.  In some instances, the fuse of the power supply circuit could blow, causing the hybrid system to stop functioning.  The resultant loss of vehicle propulsion, in conjunction with traffic and road conditions, and the driver's reactions, could increase the risk of a crash causing property damage and/or personal injury.  Correction: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the Intelligent Power Module.

On certain vehicles, if the forward retention clip used to secure the floor carpet cover, which is located in front of the center console, is not installed properly, the cover may lean toward the accelerator pedal and interfere with the operation of the accelerator pedal arm.  If this occurs, the accelerator pedal could temporarily become stuck in a partially depressed position, rather than return to the idle position.  This could result in a loss of throttle control and a crash causing property damage and/or personal injury.  Correction: Dealers will replace the floor carpet cover with a newly designed version.  Note: This campaign also covers vehicles which may have been previously included in recall 2006168 (Toyota 609).