2001 TOYOTA TUNDRA — Complaint #1185542
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT filed May 26, 2015
NHTSA complaint #1185542 (ODI reference 10721526) concerns a 2001 TOYOTA TUNDRA and was filed on May 26, 2015. The owner reports the failure occurred on May 22, 2015. The vehicle had 127,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Idaho based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as suspension:front:control arm:lower ball joint, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same TOYOTA TUNDRA cohort independently describe similar suspension:front:control arm:lower ball joint failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2001 TOYOTA TUNDRA shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 TOYOTA TUNDRA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH, THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE WHEEL DETACHED FROM THE AXLE AND CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO COME TO AN ABRUPT STOP WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE LOWER BALL JOINT ON THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 05V225000 (SUSPENSION). THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 127,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1185542 |
| ODI Number | 10721526 |
| Date Filed | May 26, 2015 |
| Failure Date | May 22, 2015 |
| VIN | 5TBBT48191S |
Similar SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT Complaints for 2001 TOYOTA TUNDRA
The contact owns a 2001 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the steering wheel suddenly pulled to the right and front driver's side wheel detached from underneath the
VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN APPROX. 35 MPH WHEN BALL JOINT FAILURE OCCURRED. LOWER PASSENGER SIDE BALL JOINT WAS AT FAULT. BALL UNDER SOCKET SEPARATED ALLOWING TIRE TO SWING 90 DEGREES AND JAM UNDER FRAM
I OWN A 2001 TOYOTA TUNDRA SR5 4WD TRUCK. MY VEHICLE WAS PARKED OUTSIDE MY HOUSE AND I WAS PLANNING ON REPOSITIONING IT SO THAT I COULD PUT SOME THINGS IN THE BED. I PULLED FORWARD ABOUT 10 FEET AND A
MY SON WAS DRIVING MY 2001 TUNDRA 4X4, ON HIGHWAY 1, WEST OF WATSONVILLE CALIFORNIA, AT APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH ON STRAIGHT AND LEVEL FREEWAY THE LEFT FRONT LOWER BALL JOINT FAILED DETACHING, EXCEPT FOR
MY HUSBAND FIRST NOTICED A VIBRATION AND SAID THAT THE STEERING FELT ODD IN OUR 2001 TUNDRA. HE WAS THEN SUDDENLY SURPRISED WHEN THE DRIVER'S SIDE FRONT WHEEL DETACHED AND THE DRIVER'S SIDE FRONT END
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.