Toyota Recalls Another 400,000 Cars

Toyota has issued yet another recall, this time of 373,000 Avalon sedans of the 2000-2004 model years, as well as 39,000 Lexus LX 470 SUVs of the 2003-2007 model years. On the Avalon, Toyota says that a component of the steering lock system can crack—and when the car is steered hard to the right, the piece could break, causing the steering wheel to lock and potentially cause a crash. Six incidents have been reported related to the glitch, though no one’s suffered injuries. The auto maker says it can replace the component within two hours for free at a dealer. As for the Lexus, a different, unrelated steering shaft problem needs to be fixed: the snap ring could disengage if the front wheels are hit really hard, as in a big pothole. That can sometimes cause the steering shaft to disengage eventually. In the past year, Toyota has recalled 9 million vehicles.