Toyota Recall
by Michael Ottis LincsMag Photographer & Writer.
Date: 06 February 2010
Toyota owners in not just the UK but also the US and elsewhere have been warned to stop driving their cars amid growing concerns about a potentially lethal accelerator fault.
Toyota have also acknowledged that there are design problems with the brakes in its prized Prius, adding to the growing catalogue of safety faults that it seems to be encountering of late.
THE MODELS RECALLED
The recalled models are from seven of Toyota's main line-ups and are as follows:
- iQ
- Aygo
- Yaris
- Auris
- Corolla
- Avensis
- Verso
But they say that only cars manufactured after 2005 have these potential problems. For full details visit the Toyota website HERE! where you can type in your registration details. Toyota will give you an immediate email confirming whether or not your vehicle needs to be recalled.
You can also telephone free on 0800 1388744. (if you use a mobile you may still be charged a network fee)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has been informed by Toyota GB of the precise list of cars that are directly affected by this accelerator pedal safety recall.
Over 180,000 vehicles are included, the owners of which Toyota and the DVLA will contact directly to arrange a repair at their local Toyota dealer.
Toyota is said to be working closely alongside the DVLA and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) over this issue, but it is facing growing criticism that it has not done enough to make sure its vehicles are safe.
Only a few days after the recall was first announced, Toyota said it was planning to write to over 180,000 British owners and arrange for their cars to be repaired at dealerships with a special fix for its faulty accelerator pedals, that has been shipped in specially from Japan. Toyota said the fix would take only 30 minutes to fit for each car, with the first repairs being scheduled to begin on 10 February 2010.
The US problem
Over in America the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said that it had received about 100 reports of faulty Prius brakes, with a further 14 reported in Japan.
It now faces a US government probe into the safety of the Prius, its flagship hybrid model, after transport officials there received well over 100 complaints.
Toyota has two separate issues going on in the US and these revolve around the sticky accelerator pedal as in the UK, but also a separate issue regarding the floor mats which become loose and trap the accelerator pad. The later issue has it seems caused accidents with one being fatal.
From 2009 into 2010
Toyota having done well with two of its cars in the recently released Euro NCAP top 5 (see LincsMag article HERE!) has since dramatically slid down hill in the public’s eyes with its current recall problems. How could such a company which was one of the worlds largest in terms of production and sales, make such a mistake?
The recent bad news has overshadowed its recent announcement on 4 February that it made pre-tax profits of £1.55bn in the last three months of 2009. how profits will look in the first three month of 2010 remain to be seen.
Toyota has already estimated that the accelerator pedal recall alone will cost it around £500m in lost sales, while the fix process for these cars affected is expected to cost another £700m.
But the damage to its reputation could well surpass all these figures.
