Week in Off-Road: Tacoma shock recall, Raptor camera notices and dust season

Toyota's 26V-514 was filed with NHTSA this week and it is the safety desk's lead. It covers the 2024 Tacoma Hybrid and 2024 to 2025 Tacoma on the N300 platform. The metal flange on the front and rear shock absorbers may corrode and fail, which can let the external oil reservoir detach. Dealers will inspect and replace the front and rear shock absorber assemblies as necessary. Owner letters are expected in the second half of September.

The desk noted the parallel with 25V-025 on the Bronco U725 platform, filed in early 2025, where rear shock absorbers on 2021 to 2024 trucks could corrode and shed their external reservoirs. Two different manufacturers, the same component, the same failure. Reservoir shocks are a genuine off-road upgrade and both of these are factory-fitted, so if you have aftermarket reservoir shocks the lesson is to rinse them after mud and salt and look at the flange and hose mounts on every service.

Ford's 26V-489 interim letters went out this week to owners of 2021 to 2023 F-150s on the Raptor platform with the 8-inch SYNC screen, where a software error can put the home screen over the rearview camera image. The remedy is a software update, at a dealer or over the air, and was still pending. Bronco owners should be receiving phase two notifications on 26V-468, the engine compartment harness sheathing campaign, around the middle of the month.

Maintenance week was about dust. The UTV file says check and clean the air filter every 25 hours, or every 10 in sand or desert. The ATV file says every 20 hours, or every 8. On a dirt bike it is every 5 hours, or every 2, which in dust means every ride. The explainer covered why a filter that looks fine can still be passing dust at the seal, and why the problems database lists airbox intakes pulling in dust as a known issue on several platforms.

Related, the desk ran a piece on the KTM 350 EXC-F and Honda CRF450RX valve clearance interval, which the dirt bike file puts at 30 hours. Four-strokes tighten up as they wear and the problems file lists tightening clearances on high-hour engines. The values are in your manual. A bike that has become hard to start hot is often a bike whose valves have gone tight, and that is worth checking before it becomes a top-end job.

The upgrade desk followed the dust theme with the Sandcraft particle separator intake for the RZR Pro and a look at beadlock wheels for the desert, covering the DWT and Method options in the parts database. It also ran a piece on the Warn AXON winch for UTVs, which is the recovery item readers ask about most.

The trails desk's guides covered the Rockies, which are at the best point of their short season. The Alpine Loop in Colorado, Rampart Range, Killpecker Sand Dunes in Wyoming and Pipestone in Montana all featured. High country opens late June and closes with the first heavy snow, and August is the sweet spot. Several of these are on BLM or Forest Service land; confirm current road status, fire restrictions and any permit requirement with the managing agency before you go.

The desk also flagged the Sierra for readers in Northern California, with the Rubicon, Fordyce Creek and Dusy-Ershim all open. The Rubicon is managed by El Dorado County and has its own rules; check them before you commit to a trip.

One more note from the safety desk: the F-150 Raptor and Bronco lists on our site carry several open camera and infotainment campaigns, and several of them are re-repairs of earlier fixes. If you have had recall work done on a SYNC screen and the camera still misbehaves, that is a known pattern, not something to live with. Take it back and quote the campaign number.

A question worth answering: does a corroded shock reservoir count as a maintenance failure or a defect? On the two recalled platforms it is a defect and the manufacturer pays. On an aftermarket shock it is on you, which is why the trucks file puts a sidewall and underbody look at every 5,000 miles and why the desk keeps saying rinse the salt off. Look at the reservoir hose and the flange every time you look at the tires.

Upcoming events: the Sand Sports Super Show in Costa Mesa is listed for mid-September. Further out, Camp RZR at Glamis is listed for the end of October. Check the organizer for dates. Next week the safety desk will follow up on Tacoma parts availability and the maintenance desk turns to brakes.