In a move that could damage its efforts to win back consumer trust, Toyota Motor Corp. has announced another massive recall of vehicles to fix accelerator pedal problems.
The recall of the 2.17 million vehicles brings to 14 million the number of cars and trucks that Toyota has brought in since late 2009 for repair due to unintended acceleration or other safety issues. The development came just two weeks after the world’s No. 1 automaker got some welcome news — federal investigators concluded that the unintended acceleration problem, which has been linked to dozens of deaths in the U.S., is not the result of an electronic defect.
Industry analyst Dan Gorrell of California-based AutoStratagem told msnbc.com, that, before the latest recall, Toyota officials “were beginning to repair the damage and regain trust, but this strikes at the core emotional concerns people have” about the safety of the company’s vehicles.
Toyota said it wasn’t aware of injuries from the latest accelerator pedal problems. But, as The New York Times reports, Clarence Ditlow, the executive director of the Center for Auto Safety watchdog group, scoffed at that notion. Ditlow noted that reports filed by Toyota to meet federal requirements showed six deaths and 110 injuries under the broad category of “speed control” for vehicles included in the recall.
The recall will fix accelerator pedals that could become trapped in floor mats or jammed in driver’s side carpeting, potentially causing sudden, or unintended, acceleration. According to a news release, the recall affects 20,000 2006 and early 2007 Model Year GS 300 and GS 350 All-Wheel Drive models; 372,000 2004 through 2006 and early 2007 RX 330, RX 350 and RX 400h vehicles; and approximately 397,000 2004 through 2006 Highlander and Highlander HV models.
Separately, Toyota also is adding three models to its previous October, 2009, pedal recall. They include about 600,000 4Runner SUVs from the 2003-2009 model years; 761,000 RAV4 compact SUVs from the 2006-2010 model years; and 17,000 Lexus LX 570s from the 2008-2011 model years.
Gorrell said Toyota was caught “between a rock and a hard place” since, if it had not ordered the new recall, it would have risked another fight with government regulators and the possibility of a huge fine for failing to act with reasonable haste on a known safety issue. Last year, the company paid a series of record fines totaling $48.8 million for notification delays.
The new recall, requested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, closes out the federal investigation of Toyota, said NHTSA administrator David Strickland.
In the government report on unintended acceleration, researchers said there was no evidence that defects in Toyota’s electronic engine control systems were causing the problem.The report found that accelerator pedal problems were “the only known causes” for the unintended acceleration incidents.
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Weird timing. On first glance it makes me wonder whether they would have stalled the recall until after the US announced the prior accelerator problems were not electronic. But delaying a recall is what they were faulted with last year and penalized with a $16.4 million bill. So I doubt that they would be that risky.
oh yea thats what they think my car was a ES330 lexus 2005 model and I had a masive car accident and almost died braking my wrist every rib my colar bone my stirman my back L 1 and 2 and was in a traction for 6 mos. that was last december the tenth 2009 AMD WE FOUND OUT IT WAS THE BLACK BOX I WAS DRIVING A DEFECTIVE CAR THANK G-D I WAS NOT WITH MY GRANDCHILDRENA ORCHILDREN. I AM WORTH MORE ALIVE THAN DEAD. EVERYONE WILL HEAR MY STORY I WAS DRIVING 20 MILES PER HOUR AND MY CAR EXELERATED TO 120 MPH I WENT INTO THE SKY LIKE A JET OUT OF HELL. THEY WILL HEAR FROM ME. TRUST ME IT WAS NOT MY MAT OR GAS PEDEL IT WAS THE ELECTRONICS OF THE CAR AND IT TOOK 6 MOST TO CONFIRM THAT…