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Recall Alert: 2005-2008 Toyota Corolla, Matrix

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

Toyota is recalling nearly 1.3 million 2005-2008 Corolla and Matrix models for a faulty engine control module. Last week, we heard the government was intensifying its investigation into the defect. Toyota will begin notifying owners of the recall in mid-September, but it doesn’t have a timetable for when replacement parts will be available.

In a statement released today, Toyota said there had been "three unconfirmed accidents alleged to be related to this condition, one of which reported a minor injury."

The ECM in some of these vehicles is defective and can lead to harsh shifting, stalling, or the vehicle could fail to start. Dealers will inspect the part to see if it is one of the defective units and replace it if necessary free of charge to owners.

Owners can contact Toyota at 800-331-4331 or the National Highway Safety Administration at 888-327-4236.

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Government Expands Toyota Corolla, Matrix Investigation

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is moving its investigation of nearly 1.2 million 2007-2010 Toyota Corolla and Matrix models into a new phase, the New York Times has reported. NHTSA began a preliminary investigation into stalling complaints in November 2009 but says it has received 163 complaints about the issue.

Of the complaints, only six led to an accident with no fatalities. The wide-ranging acceleration issues that forced Toyota to recall millions of cars over the past year had more than 1,500 complaints as of March.

Toyota has known about the problem since November 2005 and redesigned the suspect part – a control module – in June 2007. It has issued four safety bulletins to dealers to inform owners, but some complaints with NHTSA suggest owners are being asked to pay for the repairs.

A Toyota spokesman said the automaker is working with NHTSA to remedy the problem and that it has approved 4,200 warranty claims so far regarding the control module.

Stalling Problems Could Affect 1.2 Million Toyotas (New York Times)

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Feds Haven’t Found a Toyota Electronics Glitch

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

In a report to Congress today, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials say the agency hasn’t found an electronics problem in any of the Toyotas it has investigated as part of its probe into millions of recalled vehicles.

The statements to Congress come less than a month after the Wall Street Journal reported that NHTSA couldn’t find any faults after gaining access to Toyota’s electronic data recorders. The federal government says the investigation is ongoing, but of the 58 cases it has already reviewed, 35 had evidence that the brake pedal wasn’t applied. The agency concluded that those 35 instances were likely human error and not a problem with Toyota’s electronic throttle.

Pedal entrapment — the problem attributed to nearly 7 million recalled vehicles in the U.S. — occurred in one of the incidents. The rest either had inconclusive results or partial brakes were applied.

NHTSA: No evidence of Toyota electronics problems (Detroit News)

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Recall Alert: 2003-2007 Lexus LX 470

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Toyota is recalling approximately 39,000 of its Lexus LX 470 SUVs from the 2003-2007 model years over a defect in the steering shaft. The recall is the second announced by Toyota today and follows a series of significant recalls dating back to last fall.

This particular recall involves the snap ring on the steering shaft, which can disengage when the vehicle has a significant impact to the wheels such as a large pothole. The entire steering shaft could disengage over time after the impact, so drivers would not necessarily notice the problem immediately.

Toyota will begin the recall campaign in mid-August with mailings to owners. The company says no accidents have been reported because of the defect. For more information, owners can contact Lexus at 800-255-3987 or Lexus.com/recall.

Posted in Lexus, Lexus LX, Recalls, Toyota Recall | Comments Off

Feds Find Driver Error in Toyota Investigation

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that in an ongoing investigation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that issues of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles were due to driver error and not an issue with the vehicles themselves.

The newspaper cites “people familiar” with the finding, as the government has neither released the information publicly nor confirmed the Journal’s sources.

The reports say that NHTSA analyzed dozens of data recorders in Toyota vehicles whose owners claimed experienced unintended acceleration. In all of them, the data shows the throttle was wide open and the brakes were not depressed, suggesting driver error, not a problem with the vehicles themselves. These tests were done independently of Toyota, and NHTSA selected the cars to test.

These findings seem to vindicate Toyota, but the recalls for sticky accelerator pedals and floormats are still blamed in a fatal crash involving a California state trooper and his family that led to the recall of millions of vehicles.

NHTSA says its investigation is incomplete and will take months to finish. This report, while intriguing, is far from the end of the story.

Crash Data Suggest Driver Error in Toyota Accidents (Wall Street Journal)

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Recall Alert: 138,874 Lexus Cars

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Lexus has formally submitted its recall for an engine issue we reported last week. The recall involves a number of different models, including:

2007-2008 Lexus GS 350 and GS 350h
2008 Lexus GS 460
2006-2008 Lexus IS 350
2007-2008 Lexus LS 460, LS 460 L
2008 Lexus LS 600h L

The problem stems from a valve spring that could degrade and break, leading to the engine stalling while in motion. Lexus says the likelihood of this happening is 0.2%; however, the recall still compounds Toyota’s continuing quality issues.

The company will begin notifying owners via mail this month and will replace all valve springs for free. Owners can contact Lexus at 800-255-3987 or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at 888-327-4236.

Posted in Lexus, Lexus GS, Lexus IS, Lexus IS 350, Lexus LS, Recalls, Toyota, Toyota Recall | Comments Off

Lexus Recalls HS 250h, Halts Sales

Friday, June 25th, 2010

Toyota’s luxury division Lexus is recalling its first hybrid-only model, the HS 250h, due to a problem with its fuel system.

During an impact that involves the car rotating 90 degrees, an excessive amount of fuel can leak out and, if ignited, result in a fire.

Toyota filed the recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today, and Toyota released a statement saying it will halt sales of the vehicle until a remedy is found. There has been no word on whether the company will provide loaner vehicles to owners, and currently it seems that it is for 2010 model year vehicles, potentially 17,000 cars in all.

Owners can call Lexus at 800-255-3987 or NHTSA’s hot line at 888-327-4236.

More on Toyota's recent recalls

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Lexus Planning Recall of Flagship Sedan

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

Bloomberg News is reporting that Lexus will recall 3,800 LS models in the U.S., including the LS 460, LS 460 L, LS 600h and LS 600h L, for an unspecified steering issue. The report says that the wheels don’t return to the original position fast enough after making a turn, but we’re not sure what that involves. The recall will affect an additional 7,700 Lexus sedans outside the U.S.

A Lexus spokesperson in Japan said it was both a mechanical and software problem. There was also no mention of model years or build dates for the recalled vehicles. Lexus has sold 3,967 LS models for the year through April. We’ll update this post as soon as we learn more.

Toyota Prepares to Recall 11,500 Lexus Cars Globally (Bloomberg)

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Toyota President Admits Quality Decline Began in 2003

Monday, May 17th, 2010

In an interview with Automotive News, Toyota President Akio Toyoda admitted that his company saw a decline in quality and communication roughly around 2003, which is when it passed the 6-million-vehicle mark.

“We look at that as the turning point,” said Toyoda. “When we hit the 6 million mark, we maybe couldn’t apply the Toyota Way as thoroughly as we should.”

Toyota’s growth curve made it difficult to apply the quality principles that brought Toyota to its zenith as one of the world’s most respected automakers. Its production system, called the “Toyota Way,” suffered quality breakdowns as the company’s growth accelerated so rapidly.

Toyoda also pointed to internal communication problems as giving the appearance that the company was trying mask its problems.

“Toyota doesn’t go about hiding things and trying to deceive people,” Toyoda said. “But if you are looking from the outside, and we are taking a long time to give a response or do something, they come to the conclusion that maybe we are hiding something.”

In the same interview, the Toyota president also stressed the company’s need to move away from profit-eating sales incentives and revive the embattled Scion brand, which has seen sluggish sales in the U.S.

Toyota President Pinpoints Date of Quality Decline: 2003 (DriveOn)

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NHTSA Investigates 2005 Toyota Steering Recall

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

If you thought all of the federal government investigations into Toyota were over, guess again. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a fresh investigation into a 2005 recall of 977,000 Toyota 4Runner SUVs and T-100 pickup trucks. If you own one of these vehicles and have already had the recall work done there’s nothing to worry about. This investigation is about the amount of time it took Toyota to report the problem to the government.

NHTSA claims the company issued a recall of Japan-based trucks in 2004 and assured the U.S. agency that the same problem did not affect U.S. models. It took another year before U.S. vehicles were recalled. NHTSA requires notice of a recall within five business days of the discovery of the safety defect.

Toyota faces new probe (Detroit News)

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