The 1990 Toyota Pickup has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 977,839 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 29 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine and engine cooling. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
STEERING05V3890002005-09-06977,839 affected
Defect
ON CERTAIN PICKUP TRUCKS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, IF THE STEERING WHEEL IS REPEATEDLY TURNED UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS WHERE HIGH STEERING EFFORT AND POWER ASSIST ARE REQUIRED, FOR INSTANCE, WHEN FULLY TURNING THE WHEEL WHILE THE VEHICLE IS STOPPED, A FATIGUE CRACK MAY DEVELOP IN THE STEERING RELAY ROD.
Consequence
IF THE VEHICLE IS CONTINUED TO BE OPERATED IN THIS CONDITION, THE RELAY ROD MAY FRACTURE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STEERING RELAY ROD. THE RECALL BEGAN OCTOBER 5, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
Complaints by component
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
8
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
3
TIRES:TREAD/BELT
3
SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER
2
STEERING
2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FRONT UNDERHOOD
1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
1
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
1
Total complaints29
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Me and my daughter where driving to federal express to drop of some packages. As I approached the stop light I pressed in the clutch and it popped really loud and I almost rearended a cadillac escalade. I swerved right to avoid hitting him and continued down the road and took the truck out of gear…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 1990 toyota pickup truck 4x4. After turning on the heater, leaves caught fire inside of his truck. The fire department extinguished the fire. A report was available. The toyota manufacturer was notified, and a letter was sent advising him that no assistance would be…”
“Tl*the contact owns a 1990 toyota pickup. The contact received a recall letter from toyota pertaining to the steering. He scheduled an appointment to have the recall repaired, but the dealer stated that they had no record of the appointment and no parts were available. There had been no failure to…”
“I have a 1990 toyota pickup with a set of firestone affinity tires in size 205/70r14. Yesterday while on the way to work on i85 the front of the truck began vibrating horribly as if it had a flat tire. I pulled over and inspected the tires and they all still had air in them. I continued on my way…”
“Recall notice, cannot get repaired. Dealer will not return calls. *jb”
“My 1990 toyota pick-up was recalled ssc 50n to replace steering relay rod. The nearest dealer is two hundred miles from the vehicle. The recall center stated that this recall must be performed by a toyota dealer. There must be another way to fix the vehicle. Toyota could provide the parts and I…”
“My 1990 toyota pickup was recently recalled. I took it to the local dealership on 3/10/2006. I assume they fixed the problem. I now have a new problem because of taking this in. I have a huge oil leak, enough to where I have to add oil nearly every day. I do not have the money to fix this (( or to…”
“This vehicle was part of the head gasket recall by toyota, as a result they replaced the orginal engine block due to leakage of coolant into the cylinders. After approx. 45,000 miles of normal driving using a connecting rod exploded with no apparent reason. Giving no warning signs of any kind. The…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1990 Toyota Pickup as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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