Toyota Motor Corp. announced today it has discovered a flaw in the power steering systems of more than half a million vehicles in its global fleet. The majority—approximately 420,000—of the affected Toyota cars are in U.S. customers' hands.

The problem, says the Japanese car maker, lies with the crankshaft pulley on the V6 engines found in certain Toyota-made vehicles. The part may become misaligned, causing the belt that powers the vehicle's power steering unit to fall off, resulting in steering difficulties.

Toyota says the pulley problem plagues the V6 engine versions of the following vehicles in the U.S.:

• 2004 Avalon
• 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna, and Solara
• 2006 Highlander HV
• 2004 and 2005 Lexus ES330 and Lexus RX330
• 2006 Lexus RX400h

No incidents of accidents or injuries tied to the power steering issue have been reported at this time, says Toyota. And no other Toyota vehicles nor any of the model lines equipped with 4 cylinder engines are believed to be affected with power steering flaw.

Toyota is currently trying to obtain the parts needed to fix the problem and expects to begin notifying affected U.S. customers in January when to bring their vehicles in for repair work.

Consumers who experience "abnormal noise" or steering issues with their Toyota-made vehicles are urged to make an appointment with their local dealers to check if they are affected by this pulley flaw.

Toyota and Lexus owners can find more details by calling their respective companies' toll-free customer support lines (Toyota: 800-331-4331 Lexus: 800-255-3987) or visiting the companies' websites: www.toyota.com/recall and www.lexus.com/recall.

Toyota Announces Voluntary Safety Recall of Certain Toyota and Lexus Vehicles to Replace the Crankshaft Pulley [Toyota USA]
Toyota recalls 550,000 cars globally for problem that could make it harder to steer [The Washington Post]