There is another Toyota recall out there. Toyota Motor Corp. announced a program to upgrade software on Wednesday to prevent a loss of control in turns for about 50,000 Toyota Sequoia SUVs made in early 2003. The Toyota Sequoia recall seems to be just one more fire for Toyota’s public relations department to get rid of. The automaker has been hemorrhaging money and losing market share. The list of recall that appears to be growing is adding, in an anemic market, insult to injury for new cars and trucks. Next month, Toyota Sequoia recall notices will start going out to owners who are affected by this.
Toyota recall list being added to
The Toyota Sequoia recall to fix the vehicles’ electronic stability 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 within the electronic stability control that could cause a rollover of the SUV in everyday driving. Production of the Lexus GX 460 was suspended after getting the consumer reports rating of “don’t buy”. Consumers are reluctant to get auto financing for Toyotas because of a parade of bad PR that began in 2009 with widespread reports of braking and unintended acceleration problems.
Toyota Sequoia recall reasons
In the Toyota Sequoia recall announcement, Toyota said that drivers in automobiles that didn’t have 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. So far, there are no reports of injuries or accidents from the condition. Control is maintained in unexpected situations by the computerized system called Electronic Stability Control.
Now official is the Toyota Sequoia recall
The LA 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. If individual owners of early 2003 Toyota Sequoias complained about the problem, dealers have taken care of them. An investigation that was done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of electronic stability control malfunctions in Toyota Sequoias turned up 163 safety-related failure incidents within the last 18 months. .
Recall list for Toyota
It was only a couple of weeks before the Toyota Sequoia recall announcement when the Consumer Reports warned not to get a auto loan to buy a 2010 Lexus GX 460 led to a recall of 9,400 of the SUVs. Soon after, a Toyota recall, this time voluntary, was issued for about 600,000 Sienna minivans sold within the U.S. because of possible corrosion in the spare-tire carrier cable. There is a lot more still. 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 biggest fine an automaker ever received from the NHTSA.
Sources
The Los Angeles 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
