Toyota Recalling SUVs and Pickup Trucks Over Faulty Tire Pressure Monitors

Approximately 22,000 Toyota trucks and SUVs are being recalled due to a faulty calibration of the tire pressure monitoring system that does not activate the low tire-pressure warning light at the required minimum activation pressure. The affected vehicles include the Toyota FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser, Tacoma, Sequoia and Tundra from the 2008 through 2011 model year.

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Toyota Spices Up Tacoma with SEMA-Inspired TRD Packages

As some of you may remember, Toyota showcased the Tacoma TX concept pickup truck fitted with various TRD (Toyota Racing Development) items at last year's SEMA Show. Now, the Japanese automaker is introducing two new packages inspired by the concept that are called the T|X and T|X Pro and are available on the Tacoma V6 Access Cab or V6 Double Cab on both 4x2 PreRunner and 4x4 models. And if you're wondering, the "T|X" stands for Tacoma Extreme.

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Minor Upgrades for 2011 Toyota Tacoma, Priced from $16,365

The Toyota Tacoma pickup truck is entering the new model year with additional features and a revised lineup. For the 2011MY, the Japanese automaker discontinued three manual transmission models and added five four-cylinder, four-speed automatic models including the Access Cab 4x2 PreRunner, Double Cab 4x2, Double Cab 4x2 PreRunner, Regular Cab 4x4, and Access Cab 4x4.

Added features for the 2011MY Tacoma include a newly designed grille on all Base, SR5, TRD Off-Road, TRD Sport and X-Runner models. Regular Cab models now come with standard air conditioning while the 4x2 versions also gain standard 15-inch steel wheels.

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Apple's iPad Tablet find its Way into a Car [with Video]

Apple's much-hyped iPad tablet PC was only just launched this past Saturday, April 3, yet we already have the first in-car application of the computing gadget. The people responsible for the lightning-fast installation of the iPad on a vehicle (a Toyota Tacoma, to be specific) are the guys from SoundMan Car Audio located in Santa Clarita, California.

Here's what 'SoundMan' had to say about the iPad project:

"We chose to use the iPad as the only source for the vehicles entertainment system. The dock connector will plug into a cable that runs to a Onkyo ND-S1 which will send the digital signal from the iPad directly into an Audison Bit One. The Bit One will then act as the D/A converter, and will also process the audio signal. The Bit One also has a great controller for adjusting the volume and audio settings. The amplifier we chose is the McIntosh MCC406M."

If you follow the jump, you can watch a video demonstrating the installation process.

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Toyota Announces Voluntary Recall on 8,000 Tacoma Trucks Over Potential Defect in Front Drive Shaft

Appearing to have learned its lesson from its accelerator pedal / floor mat woes, Toyota is now issuing voluntary recalls right and left before problems escalate to a point of crisis.

In this latest episode, the Japanese automaker announced it will conduct a voluntary safety recall to inspect the front drive shaft on a small production run of certain 2010 model year Tacoma 4WD trucks.

According to Toyota, the front shaft in these vehicles may include a defective component that contains cracks that developed during the manufacturing process. As the truck get used, the cracks may lead to the separation of the drive shaft at the joint portion.

Toyota said that the recall affects approximately 8,000 Tacoma 4WD trucks in the U.S. adding that no other Toyota or Lexus vehicles are involved.

The company's dealers will inspect the affected vehicles and if necessary, replace the front drive shaft.

Toyota said that it will notify owners by first class mail starting in mid-March, 2010.