Toyota Motors Engineering and Manufacturing has determined that 11,418 units of the RX and NX may have been produced with front headrests that may be inadvertently removed without pressing the lock release button. The problem stems from an error in the machining process of the head restraint stay, with said error attributed to a sub-tier supplier of automotive seating components manufacturer JR Manufacturing.
Toyota notes that one notch of the stay features a larger-than-intended radius, allowing the headrest to be removed without pressing the lock release button. This, in turn, increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger in the event of a rear-end collision. Affected vehicles do not meet the safety requirements of FMVSS 202.
Five part numbers are listed in the recall report for the Lexus RX and NX, with affected vehicles produced between March 25, 2024 and May 6, 2024 for model years 2024 and 2025. Toyota believes that 26.3 percent of the population features an improperly machined notch. 26.3 percent of 11,418 results in 3,003 crossovers.
Toyota's numbers for this recall are 24LB06 and 24LA06, whereas the safety boffins at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration call it 24V-482. Affected nameplates include the non-hybrid RX 350, NX 350, and NX 250, plus the hybrid-assisted RX 350h and NX 350h.
Owners will be notified through August 26 via first-class mail, while dealers are required to replace both the driver and front passenger headrest assemblies at no charge to said customers. Running the 17-character VIN on Toyota's recall portal is the easiest way of telling whether your crossover is affected or not.
Photo: Lexus
Toyota's sales reports for the first half of 2024 and the entirety of 2023 reveal that RX and NX are doing pretty well for themselves. In the US market, the front-biased sport utility vehicles moved 54,995 and 34,639 units in the first half, plus 114,033 and 74,525 units last year.
The RX remains the most popular Lexus of the bunch in the United States of America, with prices kicking off at $49,950 for the front-drive RX 350 and $51,550 for the all-wheel-drive spec. Although 350 used to mean 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6, it now stands for a turbo inline-four engine with 275 horsepower to its name.
Step up to the RX 350h, and you're presented with a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated I4. RX 500h, on the other hand, features a hybrid system built around the aforementioned 2.4-liter turbo. A plug-in hybrid is available too, with Lexus dubbing it RX 450h+. The manufacturer-estimated electric range is 37 miles (60 kilometers) on a full charge of the battery.
The NX also comes in three distinct flavors, beginning with the internal combustion-only NX at $41,765 and the hybrid at $46,075. As for the plug-in hybrid, which uses the same 18.1-kWh battery as the RX 450h+, make that $62,290.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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