Toyota Tundra And Sequoia Spare Tire Safety Concerns

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) will be contacting the owners of certain 2023 Tundra, Tundra Hybrid, and Sequoia Hybrid vehicles, because of a potential safety issue with the steel chain used to secure the spare tire to the underside of the vehicle.

The affected vehicles are equipped with spare tire carrier assemblies that utilize a steel chain to hold the spare tire in place. It has been discovered that during a specific production period at the supplier facility, some of the chain links may have been exposed to water before the welding process was completed. This exposure could lead to insufficient welding, resulting in a significant decrease in the chain's load-bearing capacity. If the individual chain link supporting the spare tire is affected, it may break at any time, causing the spare tire to detach from the vehicle. Such detachment poses a road hazard to other drivers and vehicles, increasing the risk of a crash.

Toyota first became aware of this issue in early June 2023 when a broken spare tire chain was found at the vehicle manufacturing facility, with the spare tire detached. Subsequently, three additional incidents of broken chains were identified at Toyota facilities. Toyota traced the broken chains back to a specific production period in December 2022 and promptly contacted the supplier for further investigation.

After reviewing the manufacturing process history, the supplier discovered a water leak in the welding area during the production period in question. This leak caused the chains to be exposed to water before the welding process was completed. Throughout June, Toyota and the suppliers conducted various tests to determine the impact of the water leak on the chain's strength. These tests included a tensile strength test using a chain link reproduced to match the conditions during the water leak period. The test revealed that the reproduced chain link fractured under a load lower than the specified limit, with a fractured surface resembling the broken chain links found in June. Toyota confirmed that the water leak could result in insufficient welding, leading to reduced tensile strength of the affected chain links. As a consequence, if the chain link supporting the spare tire is affected, the chain may break at any time, causing the spare tire to detach from the vehicle.

This recall only applies to vehicles equipped with specific spare tire carrier assemblies manufactured by a specific supplier during a particular production period. Toyota is unable to estimate the percentage of vehicles affected by this defect. The likelihood of spare tire detachment depends on various factors, including driving conditions, whether the vehicle contains the affected chain links, and whether an affected link is supporting the spare tire.

If you own a 2023 Toyota Sequoia Hybrid, 2023 Toyota Tundra, or 2023 Toyota Tundra Hybrid, please check if your vehicle is included in this recall. The following table lists the affected vehicle models:

To verify whether your vehicle is affected, you can refer to the recall number 23TB06/23TA06 assigned by Toyota. Additionally, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has assigned the recall campaign number 23V-468 for this issue.