Oy Toyota! Where were the quality control people?

January 22nd, 2010

Recalling cars has to be one of industry’s toughest decisions

The bland notice reads: “Toyota Motor Corp. launched a major new recall Thursday, saying a mechanical problem could cause the gas pedals to stick and cause unwanted acceleration in 2.3 million of its vehicles, including recent models of its popular Camry and Corolla sedans.”

Which models?

Models covered by the latest recall include the 2009 and 2010 RAV4; the 2009 and 2010 Corolla; the 2009 and 2010 Matrix; the 2005 to 2010 Avalon; the 2007 to 2010 Camry; the 2010 Highlander; the 2007 to 2010 Tundra and the 2008 to 2010 Sequoia.

The calculation

The top brass at Toyota must have dripped blood when they saw the estimates of the costs involved. If the ‘fix’ takes a half-hour in the workshop, and the ‘fixers’ earn an average of $20 an hour, the entire operation will cost 23 million dollars, a sum that will make even Toyota shudder from top to bottom. And that doesn’t include all the spurious claims that will come from owners who don’t like their Toyotas.

The admission

The recall marks an acknowledgment that potential safety problems on Toyota vehicles run deeper than the automaker at first announced and broadens a recall that already ranks as its largest yet. The moves have threatened Toyota’s reputation for market-leading quality and safety at a time when the automaker’s US sales are under pressure. Toyota had previously maintained that there was no evidence of a mechanical fault linked to reports of bursts of unintended acceleration that prompted the recall of about 4.2-million vehicles last year. Toyota previously maintained there were no mechanical problems.

The ongoing search for better, smoother, faster

Car manufacturers, perhaps more than any others, are constantly on the search for improvements and upgrades to their vehicles. Competition between manufacturers is fierce and a thicker floor-mat or a wider mirror could be the deciding factor in a sale. The original recall was apparently the result of accelerator pedals which jammed as a result of improperly installed floor mats. Now there’s another problem.

The latest recall

Toyota said the new action was triggered by reports from motorists who complained that their accelerator pedals remained depressed after they took their foot off the gas.

“The condition is rare,” Toyota said in a statement, “but can occur when the pedal mechanism becomes worn and, in certain conditions, the accelerator pedal may become harder to depress, slower to return or, in the worst case, stuck in a partially depressed position. Toyota is working quickly to prepare a correction.”

A solution

Toyota has not yet determined how it will fix the sticking-pedal problem, and in the interim it is asking drivers who experience the issue to stop the car with “firm and steady application of the brakes” and to notify a Toyota dealer immediately.

And if it doesn’t work?

The Times has reported that at least 19 people had been killed in U.S. accidents involving runaway Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 9:53 am and is filed under Personal / Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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