Another Toyota recall has been issued. 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 is another fire for Toyota’s public relations department to put out. The automaker has been losing market share and hemorrhaging money. The recall list for Toyota is just adding insult to injury in an anemic market 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 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 are reluctant 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 troubles.
Reasons behind Toyota Sequoia recall
Within the 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 driver from accelerating to a desired speed. So far, there have been no reports of injuries or accidents from the condition. Electronic Stability Control is a computerized system that coordinates the brakes and accelerator to help maintain control in unexpected situations.
The Toyota Sequoia recall is now official
The Los Angeles Times is now suggesting that Toyota has known about the Sequoia stability control problem for seven years. On later models financed with auto loans, Toyota fixed the problem. Dealers have been taking care of individual owners of early 2003 Toyota Sequoias if they complained about the problem. An investigation 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. The latest Toyota recall contributes to a total of about 10.5 million Toyota recall notices worldwide in the last seven months for troubles ranging from unintended acceleration to braking and corrosion.
Recall list for Toyota
A few weeks before the Toyota Sequoia recall announcement, the Consumer Reports warning not to get a car loan to purchase 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 within the U.S. because of possible corrosion in the spare-tire carrier cable. There is 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 biggest fine an automaker ever received from the NHTSA.
Sources for the article
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
