New York AG Announces Vehicle Repair Agreement with Toyota
Feb. 24, 2010 – More than 500,000 Toyota vehicles in New York will have repairs facilitated through an agreement reached between company and state officials, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced today.
Toyota officials agreed to pick up and return recalled vehicles owned by New York residents as well as alternative transportation, such as a rental car or reimbursement for taxi expenses, for the time Toyota owners are without their vehicles. New York Toyota and Lexus dealers will pay the costs for expediting repairs on recalled vehicles and providing alternative transportation in New York, the cost of which the Toyota Motor Corporation ultimately must repay to the dealerships.
The agreement comes as Toyota Motor Corporation officials this week are grilled by a Congressional panel investigating recent massive vehicle recall and the Japanese automaker faces dozens of class action lawsuits over its response to repeated complaints of sudden acceleration, braking and steering problems in various Toyota models.
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. 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 earlier recalled worldwide – including about 2.3 million vehicles in the United States.
At least 44 class-action lawsuits have been filed in various state and federal courts at an estimated cost of about $600 per recalled vehicle and $3.6 billion combined, according to Northeastern University law professor Tim Howard. Howard is helping to coordinate lawsuits against Toyota, and a legal hearing is scheduled March 25 in San Diego to determine which of the courts will preside over a single national class-action lawsuit.
Among parties suing Toyota are owners of recalled vehicles and several dealerships and auto brokers wanting compensation for losses incurred when Toyota officials halted all sales of recalled models. Federal officials investigating Toyota’s response to consumer complaints over the past decade also could fine the firm.
Report: Toyota to Recall 300,000 Prius Hybrids
Feb. 8, 2010 – The recent manufacturing safety woes of the world’s largest automobile manufacturer, the Toyota Motor Corporation, have caught up the world’s most popular hybrid vehicle, the Toyota Prius.
Toyota officials reportedly are recalling some 300,000 Prius hybrid cars manufactured since May 2009 due to widespread complaints of braking problems, Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported today. The 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.
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, which is 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.
Officials for the Japanese government already have ordered Toyota officials to look into the matter, which reportedly can be fixed with a change in software programming. Toyota officials say no accidents have been caused by the braking problem in the Prius, but U.S. officials said it is responsible for causing four non-injury accidents in the United States.
Toyota officials 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 also has halted manufacturing new models until the matter is resolved.
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 sellers.
Toyota Prius Might Join List of Recalled Vehicles
Feb. 4, 2010 – Already dealing with an extensive recall of 2.3 million vehicles in the United States and 9 million worldwide, problems with the popular Toyota Prius hybrid car might force yet another round of recalls for the Japanese auto maker.
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, which is 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 say 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.
Because Toyota officials apparently haven’t taken seriously consumer safety concerns with the popular Prius hybrid, federal officials announced the investigation into the matter this week. Officials for the Japanese government already have ordered Toyota officials to look into the matter, which reportedly can be fixed with a change in software programming. Toyota officials say no accidents have been caused by the braking problem in the Prius, but U.S. officials said it is responsible for causing four non-injury accidents.
Toyota officials 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.
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.
Auto industry analysts estimate Toyota will spend about $250 million to correct just the 2.3 million vehicles recalled in the United States. Toyota is the world’s largest manufacturer of automobiles and recently overtook bankrupted General Motors as the auto industry’s top sellers.