Lexus and Toyota preliminary evaluation PE11005
Hybrid inverter failure - vehicle stall. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the inverter on 4 model years (2006–2007). Opened Feb 15, 2011, closed Jul 20, 2011 after 5 months. It led to safety recall 11V342000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedIn a June 29, 2011 letter to NHTSA, Toyota submitted a Defect Information Report regarding a safety recall of certain Toyota Highlander Hybrid and Lexus RX400h vehicles to address a defect condition with the hybrid inverter assembly (NHTSA Recall No. 11V-342).Toyota's letter identified a defect related to inadequately soldered transistors on the Intelligent Power Module (IPM) of some of the subject vehicles that could result in sudden loss of power while driving. Toyota's remedy procedure instructs dealers to inspect the hybrid inverter production number to determine if the inverter contains suspect transistors. If so, the dealer will replace the IPM. The recall covers approximately 45,528 model year (MY) 2006 and 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid vehicles manufactured from February 16, 2005 through August 29, 2006 and approximately 36,745 MY 2006 and 2007 Lexus RX400h vehicles manufactured from February 23, 2005 through August 30, 2006. This Preliminary Evaluation is closed.
A Preliminary Evaluation is the first formal stage: NHTSA has decided the complaints and other information it screened are worth a closer look, and asks the manufacturer for its own data on the condition. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one became a recall. The campaign page carries the manufacturer’s filed defect, risk and remedy, the build window and every model year covered; whether one specific vehicle is included is settled by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2006 Lexus RX Hybrid; 2007 Lexus RX Hybrid; 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid; 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs PE11005 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 11V342000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE11005 still open?
No. It closed on Jul 20, 2011 and led to recall 11V342000.
Which vehicles does PE11005 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 4 model years: 2006 Lexus RX Hybrid, 2007 Lexus RX Hybrid, 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.