Somewhere in late June 2026, a batch of forged aluminum steering knuckles at a North Carolina plant went through production without a heat-treatment step they were supposed to get. Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing has now recalled 617 vehicles because of it, and 253 of them are 2026 Toyota Grand Highlanders: 126 gas models and 127 hybrids. The rest are 2026 Lexus RX and TX SUVs.
The supplier is Bharat Forge Aluminum USA, in Sanford, North Carolina.
A batch that skipped the aging furnace
According to Autoblog’s reading of Toyota’s filing, the forged-aluminum front steering knuckles in question came from one batch that skipped the aging furnace. Aging, the controlled heating step that follows forging, is what brings aluminum up to its specified strength, so a knuckle that misses it is softer than the drawings assume. Autoblog reports that the supplier identified the problem during a quality audit in late June 2026 and that the affected knuckles were produced between June 18 and June 26.
The weakness shows up under shock. The same report says the parts are prone to fracture under large impacts such as a pothole or a curb strike, which is when a front knuckle carries the combined load of the strut, the tie rod and the wheel.
The failure as NHTSA’s record states it
The NHTSA campaign record for 26V598 puts the defect in one sentence: manufacturing defects in front steering knuckles may cause them to crack and break, which can result in a loss of vehicle steering control. A second sentence says a loss of steering control increases the risk of a crash. The record lists six 2026 models: Toyota Grand Highlander and Grand Highlander Hybrid, Lexus RX and RX Hybrid, and Lexus TX and TX Hybrid. Toyota’s internal reference numbers are 26TA19 and 26LA09, and the manufacturer’s report date on the NHTSA record is September 17, 2026.
The remaining 364 vehicles are the Lexus RX and TX, the two Lexus nameplates that sit in the same recall population. Kelley Blue Book’s summary of the filing describes the parts as incomplete forgings that are weakened at the strut and tie rod attachment points, and says the NHTSA report ties the problem to knuckles from a specific production batch from a specific supplier. The same summary says no prior warranty claims or field reports from U.S. customers were documented, which matches the September 9 statement Autoblog attributes to Toyota.
Audit, simulations and a September filing
The chronology as reported shows a manufacturer moving before any customer was hurt. Autoblog’s account has Toyota telling NHTSA on September 9 that it had no warranty claims or field technical reports, and that Toyota issued its voluntary safety recall on September 11. Autoevolution’s summary of the same filing adds that Toyota ran computer-aided engineering simulations in August and September to judge what an under-aged knuckle could survive.
The 573 requirement is what compels the fast turnaround. Under 49 CFR Part 573, a manufacturer that determines a safety defect exists must file a report with NHTSA within five working days, which fits a September 11 decision and a report received on September 17.
Small as the recall is, it depends on traceability. The population is 617 vehicles rather than every 2026 RX, TX or Grand Highlander because the suspect knuckles can be tied to one lot. Autoevolution reports that each knuckle carries a dimpled alphanumeric code, and that a technician reads the code with a borescope to see whether the part came from the suspect lot, without taking the knuckle off the vehicle first.
The inspection and replacement visit
NHTSA’s record says dealers will inspect and replace the front steering knuckles, as necessary, free of charge. Toyota’s notice, as Kelley Blue Book quotes it, tells owners to return the vehicle to a Toyota or Lexus dealer, where an inspection decides whether the knuckles belong to the affected batch before any part is replaced. In practice that is a two-step visit. Autoevolution describes reading the codes on both front knuckles first, and replacing them only where the code matches the batch. The replacement is not trivial: the work involves disabling the brake control, removing the axle shaft, detaching the tie rod and ball joint, and then realigning the vehicle.
Owner letters are scheduled to begin on November 2, 2026, with mailing continuing through November 16 according to autoevolution. Owners who want an answer sooner can enter a VIN into NHTSA’s recall lookup, which will show whether the vehicle is among the 617.
Beyond the inspection, one figure remains unpublished: the count of the 617 vehicles that actually contain a knuckle from the June 18 to 26 lot. NHTSA’s record does not give a defect rate, and the trade reports of the filing do not either.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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