• December 18, 2007

Toyota is recalling 16,000 new Tundra pickups. The recall couldn't come at a worse time, when just two months ago Consumer Reports rescinded its pass on Toyota vehicles because of the Consumer Union's perception that Toyota vehicles aren't as reliable as they used to be.

The recall involves 15,600 trucks, per the company. Toyota says a joint in the rear drive shaft may have been heat-treated improperly, causing "insufficient hardness."

Toyota says the worst-case scenario is separation of the shaft from the joint. The company says the shaft problem has not caused accidents, but only customer complaints about noise. The recall isn't the first issue with the truck--just the largest. There were, this year, reports of cam-shaft failure in a handful of Tundras.

The new truck, which launched last year, was Toyota's gambit--the company said it was the most important launch to date--to stake a claim in a market category owned by the Big Three since time immemorial.

Toyota sold 14,988 Tundras last month, and 177,336 year-to-date through November--a 58% increase, and the first-year goal was 200,000.

--Karl Greenberg