Apparently the stainless steel clamps holding those shiny exhaust tips on your Toyota Highlander's exhaust pipe can fail, leading to the potential and catastrophic (sarcasm intended) failure and loss of the part. A whopping 10 cases have been reported of the small exhaust tip falling off so far, nationwide. Doh! There have been no reports of injuries...

This is quite possibly the most insignificant recall we've heard of in recent times, though I personally ride a motorcycle every now and then and wouldn't enjoy a shiny piece of stainless steel piping flying up on the freeway and smacking my expensive Shoei helmet or striking my knuckles, even if the odds are literally like one-in-a-million. Carry on, Toyota. And if you're an effected Highlander owner with time on your hands and want to sip some stale coffee and hang out for 30 minutes at your local dealership while they fix it, by all means go ahead.

Official press release

TORRANCE, Calif., April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. will launch an Equipment Safety Recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) involving approximately 39,100 Toyota Stainless Steel Exhaust Tip retention Clamps. This optional accessory was designed specifically for 2008 model year Highlander and Highlander HV vehicles sold in the United States.

Due to improper heat treatment, the original clamp used to secure the stainless steel exhaust tip to the exhaust pipe may develop microscopic cracks. If this occurs, the crack may expand causing the clamp to break and in the worst case the exhaust tip may fall off.

There are approximately 39,100 accessory kits that may be affected by this condition. Because this accessory is installed at the Toyota vehicle processing centers and dealers, and is available over-the-counter, all of approximately 121,000 vehicle owners will be notified.

There have been ten reported incidents of this condition in the United States; no other Toyota or Lexus vehicles are involved in this recall.

Toyota will inform owners of the involved vehicles with a Safety Recall notification via first-class mail beginning in early May. The notification will include inspection instructions for owners to determine if their vehicle is equipped with this accessory. Affected owners are requested to contact their local Toyota dealer for inspection and repair.

Customers with questions or concerns should contact the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.

Source: http://www.toyota.com