23TB12/23TA12 – Front Bumper Assembly May Detach – 2020-2023 Toyota Highlander & Highlander Hybrid

October 26, 2023 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 23V720000

Front Bumper Assembly May Detach

A detached front bumper cover can become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V720000

Manufacturer Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

Components STRUCTURE

Potential Number of Units Affected 750,795

 

Summary

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Highlander & Highlander Hybrid vehicles. During normal vehicle operation, minor impact to the front lower bumper cover may result in the cover coming loose or detaching.

 

Remedy

Dealers will repair or replace the upper and lower front bumper covers as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 11, 2023. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota’s number for this recall is 23TB12/23TA12.

 

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.

 

Check if your Vehicle has a Recall

 


SAFETY RECALL 23TA12 (Interim Notice 23TB12)
Certain 2020 – 2023 Model Year Highlander and Highlander HV
Front Lower Bumper Cover Assembly May Detach While Driving

Model / Years Production Period Approximate Total Vehicles Approximate Stop Sale Dealer Inventory
2020-2023 Model Year Highlander   Late June 2019 – Early August 2023 558,300 300
2020-2023 Model Year Highlander HV Late June 2019 – Early August 2023 192,500 100

 

On October 26, 2023 Toyota filed a Defect Information Report (DIR) with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) informing the agency of our intent to conduct a voluntary Safety Recall on 2020-2023 model year Highlander and Highlander HV vehicles.

 

Condition

The subject vehicles are equipped with a resin front lower bumper cover assembly, connected with mounting tabs. If there is minor impact to the lower front bumper cover assembly that causes the mounting tabs to detach from the vehicle during normal operation, one or more parts of this assembly could detach, which could become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash or injury for other road users.

 

Remedy

Toyota is currently preparing the remedy for this issue. When the remedy is available, Toyota dealers will inspect the upper to lower front bumper cover mounting tabs and slots for damage. If no damage is found, dealers will install retention hardware with an improved design. If damage is found, dealers will replace the upper and/or lower front bumper cover and install retention hardware with an improved design FREE OF CHARGE. At this time, Toyota is unable to provide a timeline when the remedy may be available. Toyota will update the dealer letter with an estimated remedy timeline at a later date.

 

Covered Vehicles

There are approximately 750,800 vehicles covered by this Safety Recall. Approximately 6,300 vehicles involved in this Safety Recall were distributed to Puerto Rico.

 

Owner Letter Mailing Date

Toyota will notify owners by late December 2023.

 


Certain 2020-2023 Model Year Highlander and Highlander HV
Front Lower Bumper Cover Assembly May Detach While Driving

Frequently Asked Questions
Original Publication Date: October 26, 2023

Q1: What is the condition?

A1: The subject vehicles are equipped with a resin front lower bumper cover assembly, connected with mounting tabs. If there is minor impact to the lower front bumper cover assembly that causes the mounting tabs to detach from the vehicle during normal operation, one or more parts of this assembly could detach, which could become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash or injury for other road users.

 

Q1a: Are There any symptoms or warnings that this condition exists?

A1a: Yes, if some of the mounting tabs have detached, customers may notice the lower bumper cover hanging loose from the upper bumper cover. This can be seen by looking at the bottom of the front bumper.

 

Q1b: What should I do if my front lower bumper cover is hanging loose from the front upper bumper cover?

A1b: Please visit any authorized Toyota dealer for further diagnosis.

 

Q2: What is Toyota going to do?

A2: Toyota is currently preparing the remedy for this issue. When the remedy is available, Toyota dealers will inspect the upper to lower front bumper cover mounting tabs and slots for damage. If no damage is found, dealers will install retention hardware with an improved design. If damage is found, dealers will replace the upper and/or lower front bumper cover and install retention hardware with an improved design FREE OF CHARGE. At this time, Toyota is unable to provide a timeline when the remedy may be available. Toyota will update the dealer letter with an estimated remedy timeline at a later date.

 

Q3: Is the Highlander XSE Involved in this Safety Recall?

A3: The Highlander XSE grade utilizes a one-piece lower front bumper cover with lower grill and a different attachment structure that is NOT affected by this condition.

 

Q4: When will the remedy become available?

A4: Toyota is currently preparing the parts and repair instructions for the remedy. At this time, Toyota is unable to provide a timeline when the remedy may be available. Toyota will update the dealer letter with an estimated remedy timeline at a later date.

 

Q5: Which and how many vehicles are covered by this Safety Recall?

A5: There are approximately 750,800 vehicles covered by this Safety Recall.

Model Name Model Year Production Period UIO
Highlander 2020-2023 Late June 2019 – Early August 2023 558,300
Highlander HV 2020-2023 Late June 2019 – Early August 2023 192,500

 

Q6: What if I previously paid for repairs related to this Safety Recall?

A6: Reimbursement consideration instructions will be provided in the owner letter.

 

Q7: How does Toyota obtain my mailing information?

A7: Toyota uses an industry provider who works with each state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to receive registration or title information, based upon the DMV records. Please make sure your registration or title information is correct.

 

Q8: What if I have additional questions or concerns?

A8: If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact the Toyota Brand Engagement Center at 1-888-270-9371 Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, Saturday 9:00 am to 7:00 pm Eastern Time.

 


Chronology of Principal Events:

May 2021-July 2022
Toyota received four field reports indicating the lower front bumper cover had come off. Front impact damage had been noted on the vehicles. Toyota could not recover the parts for further investigation.

August 2022 – January 2023
Toyota received additional field reports about lower front bumper covers coming loose and dragging and/or detaching. The parts from these vehicles were recovered for further inspection. Due to the amount of damage to the recovered parts, it was difficult to accurately measure and analyze them. However, no obvious design or manufacturing concerns were noted. The investigation continued.

Toyota conducted wind tunnel testing to attempt to duplicate the conditions under which the lower front bumper cover might detach from a vehicle. The duplication testing also involved intentionally unseating mounting tabs. During the testing, Toyota was able to duplicate separation of the lower front bumper cover when some of the mounting tabs were unseated; however, the evaluation was not able to determine how the mounting tabs might become unseated.

February 2023 – October 2023
To further understand why the mounting tabs might become unseated, Toyota investigated the front bumper cover assembly process. No assembly issues were found.

During this time, Toyota also investigated vehicles being transported to and from distribution centers by rail and truck to confirm if the vehicles were being properly secured and not causing any mounting tabs to become unseated during the delivery process. No unusual circumstances were observed. If transportation damage occurred, appropriate processes were in place to repair the vehicles.

Toyota performed a design review of the subject Highlander front bumper cover assembly and did a comparison with previous generation Highlander vehicles. The previous generation Highlander vehicles utilized outside molding retainers for securing the mounting tabs, and these outside molding retainers had not been used in the subject vehicles.

Toyota also conducted tests where potential impacts on the lower front bumper cover could occur under normal driving conditions where minor impacts might be expected to occur to evaluate whether the mounting tabs could become unseated and potentially lead to cover separation. It was confirmed during these tests that partial detachment of mounting tabs could be duplicated when minor impacts with objects such as curbs occurred.

Testing was also done by performing approach and unloading testing, where there is potential for the lower front bumper cover to drag when approaching or backing down a steep incline, or the vehicle is loaded/unloaded from a truck, to assess whether the angle of approach or unloading could affect the mounting tabs. The results indicated that, at a higher-degree approach/unloading angle, some of the mounting tabs could detach after repeated dragging.

Additional testing at highway speeds was conducted with mounting tabs intentionally unseated. The lower front bumper assembly (including the engine under cover and fender liners) completely detached from the vehicle.

As a result of this testing, Toyota determined how the mounting tabs could be damaged and cause lower front bumper assembly detachment. Toyota decided a detached lower front bumper assembly could become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash or injury for other road users.

October 19, 2023
Based on the results of the above investigation, Toyota decided to conduct a voluntary safety recall campaign for the vehicles identified above.

As of October 19, 2023, based on a diligent review of records, Toyota’s best engineering judgement is there are 13 Toyota Field Technical Reports (received between May 5, 2021 and August 11, 2023) and 70 warranty claims that have been received from U.S. sources that relate or may relate to this condition which were considered in the decision to submit this report.

 

Description of Corrective Repair Action:

All known owners of the subject vehicles will be notified to return their vehicles to a Toyota dealer. For all involved vehicles, Toyota dealers will inspect the upper to lower front bumper cover mounting tabs and slots for damage. If no damage is found, dealers will install retention hardware with an improved design. If damage is found, dealers will replace the upper and/or lower front bumper cover and install retention hardware with an improved design free of charge.

 

Reimbursement Plan for pre-notification remedies

The owner letter will instruct vehicle owners who have paid to have this condition remedied prior to this campaign to seek reimbursement pursuant to Toyota’s General Reimbursement Plan.

 


8 Affected Products

Vehicles

MAKE MODEL YEAR
TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 2020-2023
TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID 2020-2023

 


4 Associated Documents

Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-23V720-5261.PDF 216.075KB

 


Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-23V720-2975.pdf 645.44KB

 


Toyota – Part 573 Defect Information Report – October 2023

RMISC-23V720-5921.pdf 131.036KB

 


Toyota – 23TB12 Dealer Packet – October 2023

RCMN-23V720-9761.pdf 501.639KB

 


Latest Recalls Documents

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=23V720&docType=RCL

 


 

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Last update on 2023-10-31 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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