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2012 Toyota Tundra

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2012 Toyota Tundra do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 144.5.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

119 reports with mileage · 36 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 57 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 25 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 21 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

7 crash reports2 fire reports1 injury reports

Fuel/propulsion System complaints

25 reports
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Mileage unknown · Aug 8, 2024
EngineFuel/propulsion System

Wife was driving truck and immediately went into limp mode on the highway. Check engine light came on, no accelerating then died. Had to get it towed. This is the 3rd incident with this issue.

NHTSA ODI #11607293

Mileage unknown · Feb 14, 2024
Fuel/propulsion System

The fuel pump failed on my Tundra. Several dashboard check engine lights suddenly lit up to warn me of the issue. While I was able to safely get it to a mechanic to repair the independent Toyota certified mechanic I use shared they have seen a volume of these where the car stops immediately with the Fuel pump failing completel…

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The fuel pump failed on my Tundra. Several dashboard check engine lights suddenly lit up to warn me of the issue. While I was able to safely get it to a mechanic to repair the independent Toyota certified mechanic I use shared they have seen a volume of these where the car stops immediately with the Fuel pump failing completely. I was lucky as the day prior to this I was driving through mountain passes on the highway in Colorado. I have since found out from the feedback from my mechanic that they have repaired a volume of these, and it is a known issue by Toyota who issued a technical service bulletin. The fuel pump needs to be replaced with a different specification - the original pump is not sufficient. My concern is putting driver/passenger safety at risk with a complete fuel pump failure while driving. I consider this a near-miss for me, and would worry about others that are about to have this issue.

NHTSA ODI #11571836

Mileage unknown · Dec 14, 2023
Fuel/propulsion System

ECM safety recall air injection pump failure

NHTSA ODI #11560105

Mileage unknown · Jun 2, 2021
Fuel/propulsion SystemPower TrainVehicle Speed Control

2012 Toyota Tundra has a known design flaw in that moisture is allowed to condense, accumulate and corrode in components of the secondary air intake system leading to decrease performance especially in regards to acceleration which is critical to operating a vehicle safely.

NHTSA ODI #11419400

87,000 miles · Aug 21, 2020
Fuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

VERY SERIOUS MALFUNCTION WITH AIR INJECTION PUMP. THIS HAPPENED TO OCCUR AFTER FILLING UP THE GAS TANK. MULTIPLE DASHBOARD LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE TRUCK WENT INTO LIMP MODE. THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY. $2000 PLUS IN REPAIRS FOR A VERY DANGEROUS AND APPARENTLY WELL KNOWN PROBLEM WITH RECALLS ISS…

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VERY SERIOUS MALFUNCTION WITH AIR INJECTION PUMP. THIS HAPPENED TO OCCUR AFTER FILLING UP THE GAS TANK. MULTIPLE DASHBOARD LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE TRUCK WENT INTO LIMP MODE. THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY. $2000 PLUS IN REPAIRS FOR A VERY DANGEROUS AND APPARENTLY WELL KNOWN PROBLEM WITH RECALLS ISSUED IN PREVIOUS MODEL YEARS OF TUNDRA AND OTHER MODELS OF TOYOTA TRUCKS.

NHTSA ODI #11350696

Mileage unknown · Aug 7, 2020
Fuel/propulsion System

THE TRAC OFF LIGHT AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CANS ON AT THE SAME TIME. I TOOK IT TO TOYOTA AND THEY SAID THERE WAS AN EXTENDED WARRANTY OF 10 YEARS OF 150,000 MILES. IF IT WAS THE SECONDARY VALVES AND AIR PUMPS. I GOT A CALL BACK AND THEY SAID IT WAS, BIG MY VIN WAS NOT PART OF THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. THIS IS AN ISSUES WITH 100S OF …

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THE TRAC OFF LIGHT AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CANS ON AT THE SAME TIME. I TOOK IT TO TOYOTA AND THEY SAID THERE WAS AN EXTENDED WARRANTY OF 10 YEARS OF 150,000 MILES. IF IT WAS THE SECONDARY VALVES AND AIR PUMPS. I GOT A CALL BACK AND THEY SAID IT WAS, BIG MY VIN WAS NOT PART OF THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. THIS IS AN ISSUES WITH 100S OF TUNDRAS. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. BECAUSE YOU CAN'T GO OVER 60 OR GET TO 60 SAFELY. THE TOYOTA BLOGS ARE FULL OF TUNDRA OWNERS COMPLAINING. THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED.

NHTSA ODI #11343890

87,860 miles · Jul 30, 2020
Fuel/propulsion System

MY 2012 TUNDRA HAD A TRAC OFF AND ENGINE LIGHT COME ON. THIS IS THE SAME PROBLEM FOR NUMEROUS TOYOTA TUNDRA IN REGARDS TO FAILURE OF THE SECONDARY AIR VALVES AND PUMPS. I WAS TOLD MY VIN NUMBER WAS NOT ON THE 10 YEAR , 150,000 MILE WARRANTY FOR THIS SAME PROBLEM. I URGE YOU TO FORCE TOYOTA TO ADD MY VIN NUMBER TO THE EXTENDED WA…

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MY 2012 TUNDRA HAD A TRAC OFF AND ENGINE LIGHT COME ON. THIS IS THE SAME PROBLEM FOR NUMEROUS TOYOTA TUNDRA IN REGARDS TO FAILURE OF THE SECONDARY AIR VALVES AND PUMPS. I WAS TOLD MY VIN NUMBER WAS NOT ON THE 10 YEAR , 150,000 MILE WARRANTY FOR THIS SAME PROBLEM. I URGE YOU TO FORCE TOYOTA TO ADD MY VIN NUMBER TO THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. MY VEHICLE CANNOT GO OVER 60 AND BE SAFE. IT WAS RAINING AND RAIN GOT INTO THE PUMP SYSTEM. TOYOTA HAS REPLACED THOUSANDS OF THESE BADLY DESIGNED SYSTEM AND MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE. IT COST OVER $2,000 TO REPLACE BADLY DESIGNED SYSTEM.

NHTSA ODI #11342387

101,000 miles · Jul 15, 2020
Fuel/propulsion System

2012 TOYOTA TUNDRA 4.6 L AT 101,000 MILES WENT INTO LIMP MODE CAUSING A LACK OF POWER AND ACCELERATION DURING CITY DRIVING WHICH COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A REAR END COLLISION. WAS ABLE TO LIMP VEHICLE TO NEARBY TOYOTA DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE SECONDARY AIR INJECTION SYSTEM WAS FAULTY. COST TO REPAIR WAS MORE THAN I WANTED TO…

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2012 TOYOTA TUNDRA 4.6 L AT 101,000 MILES WENT INTO LIMP MODE CAUSING A LACK OF POWER AND ACCELERATION DURING CITY DRIVING WHICH COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A REAR END COLLISION. WAS ABLE TO LIMP VEHICLE TO NEARBY TOYOTA DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE SECONDARY AIR INJECTION SYSTEM WAS FAULTY. COST TO REPAIR WAS MORE THAN I WANTED TO PAY BEINGTHAT I HAD JUST PURCHASED THE TRUCK WITHIN THE PAST MONTH OR SO. TOYOTA DID NOT COVER THE REPAIR SO A BYPASS KIT WAS INSTALLED AT MY EXPENSE TO GET THE TRUCK BACK UNDER POWER. CONTACTED TOYOTA AND THEY ADVISED THAT THE SYSTEM WAS NOT COVERED HOWEVER IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT ON 2010 MODELS AND OTHERS THE WARRANTY ON THE SYSTEM WAS EXTENDED TO 150,000 BUT NOT ON THE 2012 4.6L ENGINES THAT HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS AS THE OTHERS.

NHTSA ODI #11339597

97,000 miles · Apr 10, 2020
Fuel/propulsion System

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA TUNDRA. THE CONTACT STATED AFTER THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED, THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO WALKER TOYOTA (5735 COLISEUM BLVD, ALEXANDRIA, LA 71303) TO BE DIAGNOSED. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THERE WAS A HESITATION IN RESPONSE WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRE…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA TUNDRA. THE CONTACT STATED AFTER THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED, THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO WALKER TOYOTA (5735 COLISEUM BLVD, ALEXANDRIA, LA 71303) TO BE DIAGNOSED. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THERE WAS A HESITATION IN RESPONSE WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE BUT OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 97,000. *LN CONSUMER STATED MANUFACTURER IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE WITH 2010,2011, AND 2012 FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM (PWS) TOYOTA TUNDRAS. UPDATE: TOYOTA TECHNICIAN STATED ISSUE MAY BE PUMPS AND VALVES.*JB

NHTSA ODI #11320795

129,000 miles · Mar 7, 2020
Fuel/propulsion System

CHECK ENGINE AND TRACTION LIGHT CAME ON. 4LO SIGN FLASHED. VEHICLE GOES INTO LIMP MODE, SLOWING DOWN, AND AT TIMES CREEPING ALONG WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON THE HIGHWAY. THERE IS A LARGE DECREASE IN PERFORMANCE ESPECIALLY GOING UP ANY SORT OF INCLINE. TOOK IT TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP FOR EVALUATION. THEY RECOMMENDED REPL…

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CHECK ENGINE AND TRACTION LIGHT CAME ON. 4LO SIGN FLASHED. VEHICLE GOES INTO LIMP MODE, SLOWING DOWN, AND AT TIMES CREEPING ALONG WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON THE HIGHWAY. THERE IS A LARGE DECREASE IN PERFORMANCE ESPECIALLY GOING UP ANY SORT OF INCLINE. TOOK IT TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP FOR EVALUATION. THEY RECOMMENDED REPLACEMENT OF THE FUEL PUMP AND WAS TOLD TOYOTA IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND THIS MAKE/MODEL IS NOT PART OF THE RECALL AT THIS TIME. I CALLED THE TOYOTA HOTLINE, AND THE WORKER VERIFIED SHE COULD SEE INFO ON THE RECALL TALKING ABOUT WARNING SIGNS -BUT THEY WERE NOT SPECIFIC. SHE FORWARDED ON MY INFORMATION TO ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL. THAT INDIVIDUAL CALLED TODAY, AND SHE ADVISED MY WARRANTY WAS OVER AND MY VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL.

NHTSA ODI #11316749

Official recalls

3

21V920000 · Steering:hydraulic Power Assist System; Steering:rack And Pinion

Nov 23, 2021

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2008-2022 Sequoia and 2007-2021 Tundra vehicles. The power steering gear assembly may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can result in an oil leak.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An oil leak may cause a sudden loss of power steering assist, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the power steering gear assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on January 21, 2022. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 21TB10 and 21TA10.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Steering:hydraulic Power Assist System

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2008-2022 Sequoia and 2007-2021 Tundra vehicles. The power steering gear assembly may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can result in an oil leak.

Consequence: An oil leak may cause a sudden loss of power steering assist, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the power steering gear assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on January 21, 2022. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 21TB10 and 21TA10.

Steering:rack And Pinion

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2008-2022 Sequoia and 2007-2021 Tundra vehicles. The power steering gear assembly may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can result in an oil leak.

Consequence: An oil leak may cause a sudden loss of power steering assist, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the power steering gear assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on January 21, 2022. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 21TB10 and 21TA10.

13V123000 · Equipment:other:labels

Apr 9, 2013

Southeast Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 and 2010-2013 Toyota Tundra, 2010-2012 Rav4, 2012 Toyota Sequoia, 2010-2011 Toyota Corolla, 2010-2011 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser, 2011 Toyota Land Cruiser, 2010-2013 Toyota Venza, 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner, 2010-2013 Toyota Tacoma, 2011-2012 Toyota Sienna, 2012 Toyota Prius, 2013 Scion FR-S, 2011 Scion XD, 2011 Scion XB, and 2012 Scion TC vehicles. These vehicles were sold with labels that were outside the allowable one percent of accuracy of actual weight added. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An inaccurate label could lead to owners overloading their vehicles and tires. An overloaded vehicle can result in a tire failure which may result in a vehicle crash, personal injury, or property damage.

Remedy: Southeast Toyota will notify owners and provide a corrected label with instructions concerning its installation. A small group of the affected vehicles will need additonal remedies which are still being developed. The recall began on May 28, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

13V014000 · Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE ; Seats

Jan 16, 2013

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.

Remedy: Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Seats

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.

Consequence: If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.

Remedy: Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.

Consequence: If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.

Remedy: Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

1

EA19001 · Electrical Overstress

Opened Apr 19, 2019 · Closed Sep 19, 2024

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags: Air Bag/restraint Control Module

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation to determine if the failure of airbags to deploy during severe crashes, in certain vehicles, was the result of a safety related defect.  During the investigation a complex failure was studied that can result in non-deployment of subject vehicle air bags and other restraint system devices in severe crash events. The subject vehicles may be equipped with an airbag control unit (ACU) for the supplemental restraint system (SRS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) manufactured by ZF-TRW.  The ECU receives signals from crash sensors mounted in the vehicle and deploys the vehicle air bags and seat belt pretensioners in accordance with manufacturer design specifications.  The ECU in the subject vehicles contains a model DS84 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) which controls the communication of the crash sensor signal, firing commands (i.e., when to deploy the airbag(s) and/or pretensioners), and fault information (e.g., diagnostic trouble codes). In September 2016, FCA announced recall 16V-668 for certain model year (MY) 2010 to 2014 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep products manufactured with the subject ZF-TRW ACU.  In this recall, FCA discussed an EOS condition that resulted in a failure of the subject DS84 ASIC, which caused air bag non-deployment.  FCA noted that the defect condition had only been observed in vehicles equipped with sensor harnessing routed across the front of the vehicle.  Other FCA vehicles that also used the subject ACU, but were not equipped with cross-car harnessing, had not experienced EOS failures, despite similar time in service. During the course of this investigation, ODI sent two separate Information Request (IR) letters to six vehicle manufactures (including FCA, Hyundai, Honda, Kia, Mitsubishi, and Toyota) and one IR letter to ZF-TRW.  These IR letters resulted in ODI receiving comprehensive data from these manufacturers and suppliers. Studies of this data found that the DS84 ASIC does not have sufficient protection against negative electrical transients or electrical overstress (“EOS”) that can be generated in certain severe crashes.  An electrical transient occurs when the electrical power supplied to a circuit changes momentarily over a short duration of time.   In these severe crash cases, the crash sensors and other powered wiring can be damaged and short circuited so as to create a negative electrical transient of sufficient intensity and duration (that are outside the vehicle manufacturer's specification) to damage the ASIC before the restraint device deployment signal is received by the SRS ECU.  This damaged signal can lead to incomplete or nondeployment of the air bags and/or pretensioners.  Airbag non-deployment and/or lack of pretensioner operation can increase the risk or severity of injury in a crash.A total of 8 fatalities and 14 injuries were associated with known EOS events. The common element in all investigated manufacturers vehicles is the SRS ECU containing a DS84 ASIC manufactured by ZF-TRW.  The risk associated with the ASIC is equally shared among all OEMS involved in the investigation.  The actual real-world risk can be mitigated by other factors which were assessed by ODI during this investigation. The first mitigating factor involves protections built into the ACU design which protect the DS84 ASIC from damage.  There are multiple strategies and levels of protection employed by different OEMs that provide effective EOS mitigation.  The two most common strategies at the ACU level are circuit protection diodes on the remote senor signal lines, and current limiting resistors that protect critical components. The second mitigating factor is found at the vehicle level and involves the location and routing of the wires leading from the crash sensors to the SRS ECU.  If the wires are well protected in a crash and are not routed with other power wires carrying large currents, the risk for an EOS event is significantly reduced or eliminated. These design specific factors combine to produce a spectrum of risk for the vehicles equipped with ACUs using the DS84 ASIC.  Given the many of years of field exposure, it is possible to divide the subject population into two groups; vehicles which have experienced EOS events, and vehicles which have not experienced EOS field events. Four of the six OEMs involved in this investigation have experienced EOS field events on at least one of their models equipped with a DS84 ASIC.  All vehicle models (including the Toyota models identified in the Failure Report Summary of the opening resume for this investigation) with field events have been recalled.  In an abundance of caution, ODI kept this investigation open five years to monitor field performance and did not identify any field events on vehicles not included in existing safety recalls. Given the spectrum of risk identified in this investigation and that all vehicles with a demonstrated unreasonable risk have been recalled, ODI is closing this investigation. ODI is closing this investigation with the following manufacturer safety recalls: 16V-668, 18E-043, 18V-137, 18V-363, and 20V-024.  With the recall actions taken by the subject vehicle and equipment manufacturers, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exists on other model or model year vehicles outside of the recall scopes. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.