Congressional Probe Planned for Toyota Recall
Jan. 29, 2010 – In light of the Toyota Motor Corporation’s massive, international recall of eight popular models and 9 million vehicles, a U.S. Congressional panel plans to probe the matter.
Congressman Henry Waxman (D-California) chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee and has requested documents relating to recent vehicle recalls from Toyota and federal safety regulators. Waxman yesterday announced plans to hold a formal Congressional hearing into the matter next month.
“Like many consumers, I am concerned by the seriousness and scope of Toyota’s recent recall announcements,” he said in a statement.
Toyota officials earlier recalled several popular models, claiming a floor mat could cause the accelerator to stick. But the company expanded the recall when the initial fix failed to fully address problems with its popular Camry sedan and other models.
“Nothing is more important to Toyota than doing the right thing for our customers – and restoring their confidence in the safety of our vehicles. We deeply regret the concern that our recalls are causing for our loyal customers, and we are making an all-out effort to develop and implement effective remedies as quickly as we can,” Toyota officials said in a company statement. “We’ve identified the cause of the problem and are focusing all of our energy and resources on developing and thoroughly testing remedies.”
Toyota officials said the floor mats in some vehicles have caused a small number of accelerators on various models to become stuck while driving, but the problem has occurred only rarely and never suddenly. Toyota’s U.S.-based parts supplier has redesigned the accelerator pedal to remedy the problem, and Toyota is sending out consumer product recalls in batches of 10,000 to address the matter.
The Japanese automaker has recalled all Camry models manufactured from 2007 to 2010 as well as 2009 through current-year models Corolla, Matrix and the RAV4. Also recalled are the 2005 through 2010 Avalon, the 2008 through 2010 Sequoia and the 2010 Highlander. The recall covers about 9 million vehicles sold in North America, China and Europe. Toyota also has halted manufacturing new models until the matter is resolved.
Toyota is the world’s largest manufacturer of automobiles and recently displaced recently bankrupted General Motors as the auto industry’s top seller. But in light of Toyota’s current production problems, officials at Ford and General Motors officials are offering special buyer incentives to people trading in Toyotas for new Ford and GM vehicles.
Auto industry analysts estimate Toyota will spend about $250 million to correct just the 2.3 million vehicles recalled in the United States, according to Reuters.
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