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Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Recalls/TSBs, Safety

Is Toyota trying to sneak in a recall under the radar?

Toyota is issuing a recall Special Service Campaign for 9,000 FJ Cruisers so that the company can inspect vehicles equipped with Dunlop and Bridgestone tires. There is concern that the inner bead may have been damaged due to a supposedly unique mounting process. This, in itself, is not particularly unusual, but what is a bit strange is how the company announced the recall campaign - with a post on an enthusiast message board.  

The message was posted on the FJ Cruiser Forum by a user with the name "TMS USA", and the spokesperson says that the automaker has not contacted the mainstream media regarding "this small volume service action", but is trying "to be a bit more proactive and provide the right information to consumers and customers via consumer-generated internet discussions".

Now, by law, automakers have to contact owners regarding recalls, but no specifics are put into place regarding the type of media that is to be used. The FJ Cruisers Forum currently has around 3,500 members, which would seem to represent an unusually high percentage of FJ owners. In this sense, it would seem that Toyota has found a tightly-focused means by which to spread the word to the appropriate parties, but it also might appear as if the automaker is making a deliberate attempt to avoid the media scrutiny that follows such announcements. Indeed, as of the writing of this post, a search of Google News returns no hits on this subject.

[Source: FJ Cruisers Forum; tip courtesy of JayC]

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