Despite Recall Woes, Toyota Earns Top Safety Pick Awards
March 5, 2010 – Facing a multitude of state and federal investigations, lawsuits and bad press over a recent global recall of more than 9 million vehicles for various safety concerns, the Toyota Motor Corporation had two models earn prestigious “Top Safety Pick” awards from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The Toyota Corolla and Scion xB models earned top safety awards after scoring the highest possible safety ratings during impact testing on front, side and rear impacts as well as vehicle rollovers. Vehicles also must be equipped with electronic stability-control systems to earn top safety marks.
The Toyota models are the automaker’s first to earn top safety marks after the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety officials this year implemented rollover testing to help determine its top safety picks. A vehicle’s roof must be able to withstand the equivalent of four times its weight without collapsing to earn the highest safety marks from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Federal safety regulations require a vehicle’s roof be able to withstand only 1.5 times its weight. The roof of the xB withstood 6.8 times its weight while the roof of the Corolla withstood 5.1 times its weight, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Officials for the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration recently said they have received complaints of at least 34 deaths caused by sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles since 2000. Toyota Motor Corporation officials recently recalled nearly 10 million vehicles worldwide to correct problems with vehicles suddenly accelerating and other problems.
The first recall issued last year was to fix floor mat problems blamed for causing some vehicles to accelerate suddenly. When that fix failed to fully address safety issues, Toyota issued another recall of several popular models, including the Camry and Corolla, to replace gas pedals in millions more vehicles in China, Europe and North America. And Toyota officials last week issued yet another recall, this time for the automaker’s popular Prius hybrid and other hybrid vehicles for braking problems blamed on faulty software programming.
The latest recall comes in addition to the about 9 million vehicles across eight model lines Toyota officials have recalled already worldwide – including about 2.3 million vehicles in the United States. 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.
The automaker also recalled another 437,000 hybrid vehicles due to braking problems, including its popular Prius hybrid model, the Lexus HS259h hybrid sedan and the Sai hybrid compact sedan. Company officials say a simple software fix will eliminate potential braking problems when the vehicles are driven over uneven terrain and take about 40 minutes to complete at local Toyota dealerships. Owners have complained of vehicle braking systems not operating properly when driving over speed bumps and other uneven surfaces.
Toyota officials say the combined recall efforts could cost the company about $2 billion. Toyota is the world’s largest manufacturer of automobiles and recently overtook bankrupted General Motors as the auto industry’s top seller.
Federal Officials Say at least 34 Deaths Caused by Toyota Recall Issues
Feb. 15, 2010 – Federal officials today posted information indicating at least 34 people in the United States allegedly have died because of problems with Toyota vehicles.
Officials for the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration said they have received complaints of at least 34 deaths caused by sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles since 2000, according to an Associated Press news report. Toyota Motor Corporation officials recently recalled nearly 10 million vehicles worldwide to correct problems with vehicles suddenly accelerating and other problems.
The first recall issue last year was to fix floor mat problems blamed for causing some vehicles to accelerate suddenly. When that fix failed to fully address safety issues, Toyota issued another recall of several popular models, including the Camry and Corolla, to replace gas pedals in millions more vehicles in China, Europe and North America. And Toyota officials last week issued yet another recall, this time for the automaker’s popular Prius hybrid and other hybrid vehicles for braking problems blamed on faulty software programming.
The latest recall comes in addition to the about 9 million vehicles across eight model lines Toyota officials have recalled already worldwide – including about 2.3 million vehicles in the United States.
Federal officials recently opened an investigation into the high number of complaints they have received regarding braking issues with the Toyota Prius, which was not among the initial eight models the auto manufacturer recalled worldwide last month for problems with sticking gas pedals and sudden acceleration.
Federal officials said combining all the complaints they have received on all eight recalled 2010 Toyota models wouldn’t amount to half of the 171 complaints already received on the 2010 Toyota Prius. Some 124 of the complaints about the Prius focus on similar braking issues. By comparison, Toyota recalled its Corolla model, which only had 33 complaints thus far in 2010.
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.
The automaker last week recalled another 437,000 hybrid vehicles due to braking problems, including its popular Prius hybrid model, the Lexus HS259h hybrid sedan and the Sai hybrid compact sedan. Company officials say a simple software fix will eliminate potential braking problems when the vehicles are driven over uneven terrain and take about 40 minutes to complete at local Toyota dealerships. Owners have complained of vehicle braking systems not operating properly when driving over speed bumps and other uneven surfaces.
Toyota officials say the combined recall efforts could cost the company about $2 billion. Toyota is the world’s largest manufacturer of automobiles and recently overtook bankrupted General Motors as the auto industry’s top seller.
Toyota Recalls 437,000 Hybrid Vehicles to Fix Brakes
Feb. 9, 2010 – Officials for the Toyota Motor Corporation today announced a recall of another 437,000 hybrid vehicles due to braking problems, including its popular Prius hybrid model.
The latest recall by Toyota is for its Lexus HS259h hybrid sedan, the Sai hybrid compact sedan and the Prius hybrid. Company officials say a simple software fix will eliminate potential braking problems when the vehicles are driven over uneven terrain and take about 40 minutes to complete at local Toyota dealerships. Owners have complained of vehicle braking systems not operating properly when driving over speed bumps and other uneven surfaces.
Toyota has recalled nearly 10 million vehicles worldwide, and company officials are scrambling to maintain the Toyota’s reputation for building quality vehicles.
“Let me assure everyone that we will redouble our commitment to quality as the lifeline of our company,” Toyota chief executive Akio Toyoda said during today’s news conference announcing the additional recall.
The recall comes in addition to the about 9 million vehicles across eight model lines Toyota officials recently have recalled already worldwide – including about 2.3 million vehicles in the United States.
Officials for the U.S. National Highway Traffic Highway and Safety Administration recently opened an investigation into the high number of complaints federal officials have received regarding braking issues with the Toyota Prius, which was not among the eight models and 9 million vehicles worldwide the auto manufacturer recently recalled due to problems with the gas pedal sticking and causing sudden acceleration.
Federal officials said combining all the complaints received on all eight recalled 2010 Toyota models wouldn’t amount to half of the 171 complaints already received on the 2010 Toyota Prius. Some 124 of the complaints about the Prius focus on similar braking issues. By comparison, Toyota recalled its Corolla model, which only had 33 complaints thus far in 2010.
Toyota earlier recalled several popular vehicles models for problems with the gas pedal, 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.
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 officials say the combined recall efforts could cost the company about $2 billion. Toyota is the world’s largest manufacturer of automobiles and recently overtook bankrupted General Motors as the auto industry’s top seller.
Toyota President Apologizes, Announces 6-Point Plan
Feb. 5, 2010 – The president of the Toyota Motor Corporation today apologized for the auto manufacturer’s recent safety problems and promised to implement stronger quality control standards during the manufacturing process after recalling 2.3 million vehicles in the United States and 9 million worldwide.
“I deeply regret the inconvenience and concern caused to our customers and others by our recent recalls of multiple vehicle models across multiple regions,” Toyota President Akio Toyoda said during a new conference in Nagoya, Japan. “Under the banner, ‘Let’s build better cars,’ we will go back to the basics of ‘customer first.’ All our employees around the world, all of our dealers and all of our suppliers will unify in their utmost efforts to regain the trust of our customers as soon as possible.”
Having recently displaced General Motors as the world’s number one auto-manufacturer, Toyota officials have come under fire in recent weeks for taking their time in correcting known problems on several popular vehicle lines.
Problems with sticking gas pedals forced the Japanese automaker to recall 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. Auto industry analysts estimate Toyota will spend about $250 million to correct just the 2.3 million vehicles recalled in the United States.
Another recall could be issued for the popular Toyota Prius hybrid car, which has been plagued with braking problems.
Officials for the U.S. National Highway Traffic Highway and Safety Administration recently opened an investigation into the high number of complaints received regarding braking issues with the Toyota Prius. Federal officials said say combining all the complaints they have received on all eight recalled 2010 Toyota models wouldn’t amount to half of the 171 complaints already received on the 2010 Toyota Prius. Some 124 of the complaints about the Prius focus on similar braking issues. By comparison, Toyota recalled its Corolla model, which only had 33 complaints thus far in 2010.
In light of the apparent manufacturing problems afflicting the automaker, Toyoda today announced a 6-point plan to improve the manufacturing process and ensure the safety of Toyota owners and their families. Toyoda said he will lead a special company task force focused on improving manufacturing quality through greater oversight, improving communication with customers to identify problems sooner and establishing an “Automotive Center of Quality Excellence” to enhance management oversight of quality-control issues.