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BREAKING: Toyota adds another 1.1M cars to floor mat recall

BREAKING: Toyota adds another 1.1M cars to floor mat recall

Posted Jan 28th 2010 8:01AM

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1/27/10 Toyota pedal entrapment recall vehicles – Click above for high-res image gallery

If you need to announce another recall around the same time a controversial president is making his highly anticipated State of the Union address, you probably won't curse that particular luck. That is exactly what Toyota felt it needed to do, revealing yesterday evening that it's recalling a further 1.1 million cars to fix "pedal entrapment problems" caused by floor mats.

This action is tied to Toyota's largest recall ever last year of 4.26 million cars for the same issue, but is different than the recall of 2.3 million cars for a sticking accelerator announced last week. The new models in question are:

2008-2010 Highlander
2009-2010 Corolla
2009-2010 Venza
2009-2010 Matrix
2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe

Toyota reportedly has a number of fixes planned for all of the issues. Now it will just want the time to be able to focus on fixing them, without any more surprises. Hat tip to JT!

Related GalleryToyota Pedal Entrapment Recall - 1/27/10

[Source: The Detroit News]

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wassaaap

I had a paint chipping problem with my black 2009 Toyota and was told that it was because some Toyota's now have GM bodies.
There's an interesting article on GM and Toyota ending their long partnership but continuing to collaborate on safety and energy research.......hhhmm!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11654151/ns/business-oil_and_energy/

I think a few of you should be recalled.

February 06 2010 at 12:29 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Lars

This is a dreadful situation and for the sakes of their customers, their employees, and their suppliers, stakeholders, and officers, to say nothing of those of us who like cars, your guy here hopes this mess becomes a bad memory soon.

The reporting by Brian Ross and Kate Snow on ABC World News pretty much covered everything. Recorded in real time, Snow called Toyota USA's customer service line to ask what to do.

After making the reporter wait on hold for over half an hour (time lapsed for television), the call center rep stalled awkwardly, seemingly caught unaware by question apparently nobody told he to expect. Finally, she struggled to conclude that the reporter should just wait for a postcard of instructions.

The most exigent bit in the story however was what appeared to be Internet footage of a Toyota executive confirming what we suspected and admitting that the root cause of this mess is that the company overextended itself.

Don't we know it. Other journalists have seen it too. When Car and Driver Magazine performed a comparison test of midsize family sedans a few years ago, one of the writers observed that the Camry suffered some peculiar quality lapses. He cited the case of the rear armrest cupholder.

He said you could simply pull it out with your fingers, leaving an ugly ragged unfinished cloth hole. And we all nodded when we read his concluding line, something to the effect of: if Toyota can't fall back on its build quality, then what else is there? And here we are.

I haven't, but many people I know have bought and enjoyed multiple Toyota cars. I hope the car company uses the lessons learned the hard way by Tylenol and Audi, who not only recovered from their own otherwise brand-ruining crises in our litigation-sensitive nation, but are still here and stronger than ever.

I'm going to the Washington Auto Show tomorrow. I'll express sympathy for the embarrassed Toyota people. I might also ask the Audi people to go over and offer them words of encouragement.

January 29 2010 at 1:18 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Avinash machado

The bigger they are,the harder they fall.

January 29 2010 at 12:27 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

333

i feel bad for toyota. the way they were showing this in news.. got even me scared.. showing crashes, 911 call to crashes, cars in ditch, through walls.. etc. even where it was the drivers fault... it is now blamed on toyota

January 28 2010 at 7:36 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

mikemaj82

wow, imagine all the Toyota owners? The fear they must feel every time they turn the key on in their cars? That must really suck. But at least they got their Jap car!

January 28 2010 at 4:47 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Grumpy

What about the re-badged Lexus models?? Surely they must be recalled as well ...right??

January 28 2010 at 3:50 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

RSR

I feel quite sorry for the engineers who must be working like crazy under tremendous pressure.

January 28 2010 at 1:15 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Smokem

Isn't the recall from yesterday was for something else that isn't related to the floormat?

January 28 2010 at 12:35 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

v6sonoma

I love that this is coming to light. Everyone thought Toyota was great and made the best cars and that GM and Ford had all the problems. Toyota is no better they have been having more and more problems. Between frames rusting to death and floor mat problems, and now gas pedals that stick down on their own while the floor mats are in the trunk. They knew there was a problem and they hid it. Now they have no idea how to fix it. Toyota makes the most bland and uninspired cars and now they are showing growing quality issues. It goes to show you being at the top isn't always the best.

January 28 2010 at 12:09 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

heaven_on_mars

People are so quick to call Toyota the new GM or to say Toyota is no going to die or something stupid like that. Toyota is going to suffer for a while, but they can bounce back. I see them dropping to number 3 or 4 in the world for a few years. It is sad that someone at Toyota did not chose to use technology that other companies had already been using to deal with stuck throttles. That was a clear example of trying to save a dime costing them a dollar, no more like millions of dollars.

Toyota vehicles are known to last. If this throttle problem is truly fixed, I would say there will be some great deals on reliable Toyota vehicles coming soon. There is no way Toyota can avoid not offering massive deals to get customers back. Sadly, great deals will not be enough for many. Only time can make people feel good about Toyota again. If the next couple of years of vehicle production is clean, as in no safety recalls, then people will return to Toyota.

January 28 2010 at 11:52 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to heaven_on_mars's comment

John H.

Toyota definitely is the new "old GM":
- brand new small car division made of FAIL - Scion instead of Saturn
- corner cutting in car design & development
- model bloat
- declining build quality
- spinmeisters stonewalling and burying product failure information
- recall leader for safety issues

Completely served & deserved!

January 28 2010 at 12:28 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply