2001 TOYOTA TUNDRA — Complaint #912718
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT filed April 2, 2012
NHTSA complaint #912718 (ODI reference 10453879) concerns a 2001 TOYOTA TUNDRA and was filed on April 2, 2012. The owner reports the failure occurred on April 1, 2012. The report was geocoded to Connecticut 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: yes, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. 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
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 FRAME. CV AXLE WAS TORN FROM FRONT DIFFERENTIAL HOUSING UPON FAILURE. DIFFERENTIAL OIL LOSS OCCURRED. TIE ROD, UPPER BALL JOINT AND BRAKE LINE REMAINED INTACT. BODY DAMAGE RESULTED ON FRONT PASSENGER FENDER. *TR
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 912718 |
| ODI Number | 10453879 |
| Date Filed | April 2, 2012 |
| Failure Date | April 1, 2012 |
| VIN | 5TBBN441X1S |
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
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. TH
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.