Toyota suspends sales of eight models

[Foxrac]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. said Tuesday it is asking dealers to temporarily suspend sales of eight models.

The company's sales suspension is part of a recall announced last week to correct a problem that could cause the accelerator pedal to stick.

"Helping ensure the safety of our customers and restoring confidence in Toyota are very important to our company," said Toyota USA group vice president Bob Carter. "This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized."

About 2.3 million vehicles will be affected by the recall, Toyota (TM) said Tuesday in a statement.

The automaker also said that it will halt the production of vehicles in certain production facilities in Canada, Indiana, Kentucky and Texas during the week of Feb. 1 to "assess and coordinate activities."

The vehicles covered under the recall are:

2009-2010 RAV4, Corolla, Matrix, 2005-2010 Avalon, certain 2007-2010 Camry, 2010 Highlander, 2007-2010 Tundra and the 2008-2010 Sequoia.

The new recall involving sticking accelerator pedals is separate from an on-going recall of 4.2 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles due to the risk of pedal entrapment because of a loose floormat.

About 1.7 million Toyota Division vehicles have been affected by both recalls.

Toyota owners with questions should call Toyota's customer service line at 800-331-4331.

Toyota recall prompts automaker to suspend sales - Jan. 26, 2010

 

[Foxrac]

Not surprised, American automakers aren't alone to issue an recall so now, Japanese automakers made recall too.

 

[Chevy57]

Not surprised, American automakers aren't alone to issue an recall so now, Japanese automakers made recall too.

My 2007 Honda CR-V's recall is nothing.

 

[sablescort]

Well well its gonna be both Ford and Honda's advantage to eat thru the Toyota pie with the Camry being knocked out due to the recall and sales suspension.

I predict that the Camry will lose #1 best selling car crown this year to either Fusion or Accord.

 

[sequoias]

Yeah, I watched it on the news yesterday and thought it was pretty serious recall. They said the issue has killed 20 people and injured more than 2,000 people nationwide. Honda recalls are notorious for seat belt issues and other issues. I think mine had that seat belt recall back then, not sure.

 

[PowerON]

bigger loser for Toyota. Look like Nintendo is going to be No. 1 in business in Japan. heh heh

Someone mention that one truck have bad cheap metal cause too rust on the bottom.

 

[sablescort]

Reminds me the only 2010 Camry that aint affected by the Toyota recall happens to be the Sprint Cup car. No Throttle-by-wire pedal for that Camry. Just good old-fashioned throttle cable linked to the old fashioned carburetor in the V-8 engine (Sorry it aint for sale at any Toyota dealer heh)

 

[sara1981]

i watch news about that and i didnt know that but im sure customer need know best not purchase toyota cars and trucks for good reasons as recalls..

mostly customer always purchase Honda,Ford,Chevolet,Dodge,etc of brand purchase..

IF you drive SUV same chevolet or brand cars,trucks

 

[sequoias]

Reminds me the only 2010 Camry that aint affected by the Toyota recall happens to be the Sprint Cup car. No Throttle-by-wire pedal for that Camry. Just good old-fashioned throttle cable linked to the old fashioned carburetor in the V-8 engine (Sorry it aint for sale at any Toyota dealer heh)

Yeah...my car is cable throttle..

 

[sara1981]

update from cnn

Toyota president 'sorry to have made customers uneasy'
Toyota president 'sorry to have made customers uneasy' - CNN.com

Davos, Switzerland (CNN) -- Toyota's president apologized Friday for the gas pedal problems that have forced the recall of millions of vehicles in the United States and Europe, Japanese media reported.

It was Akio Toyoda's first remarks since the latest round of recalls began last week.

"We're extremely sorry to have made customers uneasy," he told Japanese news agency NHK. "We plan to establish the facts and give an explanation that will take away the customers' concern as soon as possible."

The recall is to correct a problem that, under certain circumstances, could cause the gas pedal, as it becomes worn, to stick partway down. Toyota recalled 2.3 million vehicles in the United States for the problem this week, although no repair procedure has been put in place.

A Toyota spokesman said that the carmaker is close to announcing a solution for cars in the United States. The company would still need to get regulatory approval for any proposed repair in the United States and in Europe before a fix could be made.

The European recall involves eight models, several of them not sold in the United States. The number of vehicles involved in that recall is under investigation, but could reach 1.8 million, Toyota said in a statement.

The recall is separate from one begun in November to fix a problem in which the gas pedal can catch on the edge of the removable floormat.

The floormat recall was recently expanded to cover 5.3 million vehicles.

In many cases, the same vehicles are involved in both recalls. It was not clear how many different vehicles, in total, are part of both actions.

When it came to capturing U.S. market share, Toyota Motor had its pedal to the metal for years. But the gas pedal problems could throw its sales into reverse.

The halt of sales and production of the company's most popular U.S. models will cause this month's sales to tumble 12 percent compared to January 2009, according to a forecast from sales tracker Edmunds.com.

Michelle Krebbs, senior analyst for Edmunds.com, said that, if not for this week's problems, Toyota's sales would have been up at least slightly for the month.

The expected drop could send Toyota's market share below 15 percent, which would be its lowest level in nearly four years.

Most of Toyota's rivals are expected to post higher sales compared to a year ago. Ford Motor, which last year reported its first market share gain in the United States since 1995, is expected to pass Toyota in market share in January, according to Edmunds.com.

Ford has joined General Motors and other automakers trying to capitalize on Toyota's problems, offering $1,000 to buyers who trade in Toyotas when purchasing a new car.

That could be a big problem for Toyota.

"People buy Toyotas for their bullet-proof reliability," said Krebbs. "That was their main selling point, and that's taken a huge hit."

Even after Toyota fixes the gas pedal problems, it is likely to have trouble regaining share, some say. A loss in market share this year would be Toyota's first since 1994.

"This is a game changer for Toyota," said Art Spinella, head of CNW Market Research. "They have some serious, serious work to do to repair the damage done to their image."

Spinella said Toyota was already vulnerable. His firm's consumer survey from mid-January showed Toyota had fallen from its long-held position of first or second in quality estimates to seventh among potential buyers. Apparently, recalls that began late last year are having an impact.

"This was just the latest recall problem for Toyota," said Spinella. "Word of mouth is the key for all of this, and always has been. And it's much tougher to move back up the list than to fall down."

Toyota spokeswoman Sona Iliffe-Moon said the company won't comment about any potential hit to sales or market share before its scheduled release of January sales on February 2.

"Clearly there will be a sales impact with the stopped sales," she said. "Really, right now our focus is working on a remedy."

 

[sara1981]

Toyota Sending New Pedals to Factories
Toyota Sending New Pedals to Factories - CBS News

(CBS/AP) Toyota is sending new gas pedal systems to car factories rather than dealerships who want the parts to take care of millions of customers whose pedals may stick, the Associated Press has learned.

Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons confirms information in a company e-mail obtained by the AP that says parts were shipped to factories. Lyons says that's how the company normally distributes parts.

But some dealers say they should get the parts first because they now have no way to fix the pedals on any of the 4.2 million recalled vehicles affecting eight U.S. models.

Toyota has halted production and sales of the models, including the best-selling Camry sedan.

Lyons said Toyota did not send the parts to dealers because it has not decided whether to have the systems in the recalled vehicles repaired or replaced.

The company on Thursday presented a remedy to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and it is awaiting a decision before proceeding.

"We're not ready to launch this program yet," Lyons said, adding that letters must be sent to customers whose vehicles were recalled and service technicians must be trained on whatever solution the company ultimately decides.

He said he did not know if any parts had been shipped from factories to parts depots, which is the next step in the process, but dealerships don't have them.

With the gas pedal problem shaking his company to the core, Toyota's chairman Akiyo Toyoda said today he's deeply sorry but he offered no explanation -- even as millions of customers demanded one, reports CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds.

In fact during a week of harrowing accounts of accidents and deaths tied to Toyota's product, Reynolds reports the corporation all but walled itself off from the news media, preferring to e-mail customers and dealers with incremental bits of information that basically added up to "patience please."

"It seems like there was too much delay since people started hearing about this problem and when something was actually done," said Joe Wiesenfelder of Cars.com.

In addition to stopping sales and production of eight models, Consumer Reports is no longer recommending them, rental car companies no longer rent them, used car dealers are pulling them off their lots and competitors report an upswing in interest, Reynolds reports.

Engineers and other workers were up all night Thursday getting the process ready, he said.

The company has said its highest priority is fixing the pedals for existing customers.

"Nothing is more important to Toyota than doing the right thing for our customers - and restoring their confidence in the safety of our vehicles," Toyota said in a statement.

But dealers and customers were unhappy with the delays in getting parts.

Earl Stewart, owner of a Toyota dealership in North Palm Beach, Fla., said his service technicians might not know the details of how to fix the gas pedal systems, but they know to install new ones, and the parts should have gone to dealers rather than factories.

"That's absolutely stupid," he said. "It makes no sense at all."

He said Toyota may be trying to save money by using a less-expensive repair on the millions of vehicles that already have been sold, and using the new parts to restart factories that have been closed while it irons out the problem.

"That just doesn't wash well with the customers out there driving these vehicles," he said. "I think at this point you throw cost to the wind and do everything you can to rebuild your brand and your image."

Toyota owners were both confused about what to do with their cars and angry that they didn't have any answers on when a fix would be available.

"I've got a $30,000 vehicle and they don't know how to fix it," said Johnathan Jones, a 30-year-old salesman from Fort Mitchell, Ala., who said he won't put his 10-year-old twins in his 2009 Toyota Tundra. "To me, it's a big safety hazard with my children."

The U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is launching an investigation into the problems with Toyota's accelerator pedal systems. It has scheduled a Feb. 4 hearing entitled, "Toyota Gas Pedals: Is the Public at Risk?"

 

[sequoias]

That sounds pretty bad. Goodbye Toyota reputation into the drain.

 

[sara1981]

update from my hometown

Toyota says new gas pedals are en route to dealers
Toyota says new gas pedals are en route to dealers - todaysthv.com | KTHV | Little Rock, AR

Toyota says it has begun shipping gas pedal parts to its dealers for use in fixing the millions of cars and trucks recalled because of accelerators that could become stuck.

Company spokesman Brian Lyons says he doesn't know when the parts will arrive or how long it will take the automaker to complete repairs on the vehicles covered by the recall. He says Toyota has not yet decided whether to repair the accelerators or replace them altogether.

Lyons says Toyota will release details sometime next week about how it intends to solve the problem.

Until today, Toyota had been sending the components to its factories, angering some dealers who have not had parts to repair their customers' cars since the recall was announced on Jan. 21. But Lyons vehemently denied any suggestion that factories were being given priority over dealerships.

Also, Toyota has told its employees it's buying full-page ads Sunday in 20 major newspapers to reassure customers.

 

[sara1981]

update from CNN

Toyota: Fix coming 'soon' for recalled gas pedals
Fix coming soon for recalled Toyota gas pedals - Jan. 30, 2010

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Toyota is "finalizing a program" to replace the gas pedals recalled in the United States, said company spokesman John Hanson on Saturday.

Hanson did not offer a timeline, other than to say "soon," but indicated it could be as early as next week.

The automaker has been in discussions with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the fix.

The recall is to correct a problem that could cause the gas pedal, as it ages and becomes worn, to stick partway down under certain circumstances. Toyota recalled 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. for this problem, although no repair procedure had yet been put in place.

The recall affects Toyota's 2009-2010 RAV4, Corolla and Matrix; 2005-2010 Avalon; certain 2007-2010 Camrys; 2010 Highlander; 2007-2010 Tundra and the 2008-2010 Sequoia. The Camry Hybrid is not included in the recall.

"We're extremely sorry to have made customers uneasy," Toyota president Akio Toyoda told Japanese news agency NHK on Friday. "We plan to establish the facts and give an explanation that will take away the customers' concern as soon as possible."

The Japanese automaker also recalled cars in Europe. That recall involves eight different models, several of which are not sold here. The precise number of vehicles involved in that recall is still under investigation but it could be as many as 1.8 million, Toyota said in a statement.

The gas pedal recall is separate from an earlier one, begun in November to fix a problem in which the gas pedal can become caught on the edge of the removable floormat.

The floormat recall was recently expanded so that it now covers a total of 5.3 million vehicles.

In many cases, the same vehicles are involved in both recalls. It was not immediately clear how many different vehicles, in total, are part of the two actions.

Toyota owners with questions should call Toyota's customer service line at 800-331-4331.

 

[The Highlander]

Believe or not, I saw the bad throttle cable (worn out and almost cut) from Buick 97 but very rare.

 

[sara1981]

update from bbc news

Peugeot follows Toyota in car recall
BBC News - Peugeot follows Toyota in car recall

Peugeot Citroen, Europe's second-biggest carmaker, is recalling some cars made with Toyota in Europe.

"For Peugeot 107s and Citroen C1s, we are going to carry out an identical campaign as Toyota," a spokesman said.

The Japanese car giant has now recalled millions of cars worldwide with faulty pedals.

Both models are made in a Czech plant, a joint venture with Toyota that assembles around 200,000 Peugeot and Citroen cars every year.

Peugeot said "under 100,000" cars will be recalled. It did not say when the recall would begin.

Safety concerns

Toyota is recalling up to 1.8 million cars across Europe, including about 220,000 in the UK, following an accelerator problem.

Rival carmaker Honda has also announced the recall of 646,000 cars globally to fix a switch defect that could cause a fire.

The Japanese carmaker said on Friday that it was not aware of any accidents resulting from the issue and that only a limited number of incidents involving accelerator pedals had been reported in Europe.

Both Peugeot models are made in Kolin, east of Prague, and are made for the the European market mainly, the Peugeot spokesman said.

The plant also makes the Toyota Aygo.

The Peugeot 107, Citroen C1 and the Aygo are essentially the same car with different styling and fittings.

The French carmaker has no other joint ventures with Toyota.

"We understand that the current situation is creating concerns and we deeply regret it," said Tadashi Arashima, the chief executive of Toyota Motor Europe.