An additional Toyota recall was issued. Wednesday, Toyota Motor Corp. announced a program to upgrade software to prevent a loss of control in turns for about 50,000 Toyota Sequoia SUVs made in early 2003. The Toyota Sequoia recall appears to be just another fire for Toyota’s public relations department to get rid of. Toyota has been hemorrhaging cash and losing market share. The growing Toyota recall list adds insult to injury in an anemic market for new cars and trucks. Toyota Sequoia recall notices will start going out to affected owners next month.
Adding to the Toyota recall list
The Toyota Sequoia recall to fix the vehicles’ stability within the electronic control follows closely on the heels of a rare “don’t buy” rating for the Lexus GX 460 issued by Consumer Reports. Tests on the Lexus GX 460 performed by the magazine exposed defects in the electronic stability control that could cause a rollover of the SUV in everyday driving. After the Consumer Reports “don’t buy” rating, production of the Lexus GX 460 was suspended. Consumers don’t want to get auto financing for Toyotas because of a parade of bad PR that started in 2009 with widespread reports of braking and unintended acceleration problems.
Toyota Sequoia recall reasons
In the Toyota Sequoia recall announcement, Toyota said drivers in vehicles without the upgrade could experience the stability control system briefly activating at low speeds – less than 10 mph – as the Sequoia accelerates from a stop. This could keep the vehicle from getting as fast as a driver wants. No injuries or accidents as a result of this condition are reported so far. Electronic Stability Control is a system that coordinated the accelerator and brakes to maintain control in unexpected situations.
Toyota Sequoia recall now official
The Los Angeles Times reports that Toyota has known about the Sequoia stability control problem for seven years. Toyota fixed the problem on later models financed with auto loans. Anybody who complained about their early 2003 Toyota Sequoias was dealt with by the dealers. An investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of electronic stability control malfunctions in Toyota Sequoias showed that there were 163 safety-related failure incidents within the last 18 months. .
Recall list for Toyota
A few weeks before the Toyota Sequoia recall announcement, the Consumer Reports warning not to get a automobile loan to buy a 2010 Lexus GX 460 led to a recall of 9,400 of the SUVs. A Toyota recall, this time voluntary, was issued soon after for about 600,000 Sienna minivans sold in the U.S. because of possible corrosion in the spare-tire carrier cable. There is a lot more still. Recently the federal government slapped Toyota with a record $ 16.4-million fine for failing to inform the public that gas pedals in eight models could stick and cause sudden acceleration. It was the largest fine on an automaker ever levied by the NHTSA.
Article Resources
The LA Times
href=”http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toyota-recall-20100428,,6993931.story
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/results.cfm?rcl_id=10V017&searchtype=quicksearch&summary=true&refurl=email
