RECALL NEWS
10/21/10
More than 1.5 million cars will be recalled by Toyota, the World’s largest car manufacturer in order to fix a brake fluid leak.
Thus, over 600,000 cars in Japan, 30,000 in Australia and 740,000 in USA will be called back to be repaired by Toyota’s engineers.The harsh decision will be applied to 13 models, including the Toyota Mark X, Toyota Crown sedan, the Lexus IS, RX and GS. There will be another several hundred GS models built between September 2004 and February 2006 that will be recalled due to a failure in the fuel pump. Earlier this year, Toyota was battered by a global safety crisis.
If you own a Toyota and want to determine if your car is affected, check the control panel of your car: If there’s a leak of break fluid, you will notice a warning light displayed on the panel. Moreover, when driving, you will notice a progressive decline in the response time and performance of the brakes, and a spongy feel when pressing the brake pedal.
Source: providingnews.com
Toyota to recall about 50,000 Sequoia SUVs
Toyota Motor Corp. recalled about 50,000 Sequoia sport utility vehicles from the 2003 model year to fix an unexpected slowing of the vehicle in the latest recall issued by the Japanese automaker.
Toyota said Wednesday that the recall would address the vehicle’s electronic stability control system, which helps maintain traction during turning. In some cases, the stability control could activate at low speed and prevent the SUV from accelerating as quickly as a driver expects, the company said.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had been investigating the issue and Toyota said it decided to recall the vehicles to address the government’s concerns. The automaker said they had no reports of accidents or injuries connected to the issue and about half of the vehicles had already been repaired under warranty.
“Toyota is committed to investigating customer complaints more aggressively and to responding quickly to issues we identify in our vehicles,” said Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief quality officer for North America.
Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide since October because of acceleration problems in multiple models and braking issues in the Prius hybrid. The company recently agreed to pay a record $16.4 million fine to the government for a slow response to problems with sticking gas pedals.
In the Sequoia case, Toyota said it issued a production change during the 2003 model year to address the stability control problem and published a technical service bulletin to dealers in fall 2003. Owners who have complained about the problem since then have had the skid control engine control unit replaced by dealers and the company said about half have been repaired under warranty.
Toyota said owners who paid to have the work done will be reimbursed.
NHTSA spokeswoman Julia Piscitelli said Toyota was “cooperating with NHTSA’s request to issue a safety recall” of the 2003 Sequoia. During the past 1 1/2 years, she said NHTSA and Toyota have received 163 complaints about the problem.
Separately, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., introduced legislation that would bar NHTSA officials from working for an automobile company for three years if the job required communicating with the agency.
Some lawmakers have accused carmakers of benefiting from a “revolving door” of former NHTSA officials who work for automakers. Two key safety officials with Toyota worked for NHTSA previously.
Toyota owners will receive letters about the recall in late May. The company said owners who paid for the fix should mail a copy of their repair order to the company’s U.S. headquarters in Torrance, Calif., for reimbursement consideration.
Source: The Associated Press
Toyota to recall 2010 Lexus GX 460 SUVs
A Transportation Department official says Toyota will recall the 2010 Lexus GX 460 to address a potential problem with the SUV rolling over.
The recall affects about 6,000 vehicles that have been sold since the SUV went on sale in late December. Consumer Reports issued a “Don’t Buy” warning last week on the 2010 GX 460, saying
it was susceptible to rolling over.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no formal announcement has been made.
Toyota responded by halting sales of new GX 460s and conducting tests on all of its SUVs.
The automaker also agreed to pay a record $16.4 million fine on Monday for failing to properly report a safety problem with defective gas pedals.
Source:The Associated Press.