The crisis facing Toyota Motor Corp. deepened Thursday as the world's top automaker announced its recall due to faulty accelerators and floor mats was expanding to include Europe and China.
Toyota says it is still unsure how many vehicles in Europe are affected, but it says it has already brought in new parts so that production in Europe will continue as normal.
That’s in contrast to Canada and the U.S., where both production and sales of new vehicles has been halted for at least a week, as the embattled carmaker works on a fix.
In China, Toyota will start a recall in February for 75,500 RAV4 SUVs manufactured there between March 2009 and January 2010. The vehicles there use the same problem accelerator parts that have caused the recent recalls in Canada and the U.S.
Also in China, Ford said it has halted production of some of its full-sized commercial vehicles, because they contain the same gas pedals that are part of the Toyota recall. Ford said the diesel version of its Transit Classic, built by a Chinese joint venture, is the only Ford vehicle involved in the production halt. The Transit Classics are not being recalled.
The announcements Thursday come one day after the company announced an additional recall of 1.09 million vehicles in the United States covering five models:
* 2008-2010 Highlander
* 2009-2010 Corolla,
* 2009-2010 Venza,
* 2009-2010 Matrix
* 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe (both the Matrix and the Vibe were joint ventures between Toyota and General Motors)
That’s on top of the recall issued last week affecting eight models, including 270,000 vehicles in Canada and 2.3 million in the U.S. That recall included Toyota's:
* 2009-2010 RAV4, Corolla and Matrix
* 2005-2010 Avalon
* 2010 Highlander
* 2007-2010 Tundra
* 2008-2010 Sequoia
* some 2007-2010 Camrys
And all of this week’s recalls come on top of a recall in late 2009 involving 4.2 million vehicles over concerns that floor mats could bend across gas pedals, causing sudden acceleration.
Some of the vehicles in this month’s recall were already included in the original 4.2 million vehicle recall. Altogether, Toyota has recalled nearly 7 million vehicles across its lineup, a huge blow to the reputation of the long-respected carmaker, says auto industry analyst Tony Faria.
“It’s an absolute disaster for Toyota which once had this image of being good quality and no problems,” Faria told CTV’s Canada AM from Windsor.
“Now, people are seeing in the media day after day, ongoing problems. And that’s raising a lot of doubts in people’s minds, in particular in those 7 million Toyota owners whom this recall affects. That’s 7 million people who might not be buying more Toyota vehicles in the future.”
Toyota initially thought the problems it had been hearing about since 2007 were caused by floor mats jamming up against the vehicles’ accelerator pedals. But Toyota then began receiving reports of sticking accelerator pedal mechanisms in vehicles that didn't have the floor mats installed. There are now concerns that the accelerator pedal itself may be the cause of some problems.
Possibly faulty part made in Ontario
The possibly faulty gas pedal, which has a tendency to stick over time, was manufactured in a plant in Mississauga, Ont. owned by Toyota supplier CTS Corp., according to a report Toyota submitted to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last week.
CTS Corp., based in Elkhart, Ind., says it knows of only a few cases of drivers having problems with accelerators. CTS, which has more than 5,000 employees, says it is working with Toyota to figure out the problem and design a new pedal.
Even as Toyota continues to pinpoint the precise source of this disaster, the effects of the recall continue to snowball.
A number of U.S. car rental companies announced this week they are pulling thousands of Toyotas from their fleets because of the recalls. And GM in the U.S. is offering $1,000 incentives and low financing rates specifically for Toyota customers worried about their recalled vehicles.
Meanwhile, shares of Toyota -- whose earnings only recently returned to the black – have been hit hard for the PR disaster.
Toyota insists that the problem being reported with accelerator pedals and floor mats are rare.
“They are absolutely safe to drive,” Toyota spokeswoman Sandy de Felice told CTV Toronto. “It’s a very gradual condition that occurs over long usage of your driving in the vehicle.”
“We remain absolutely confident in our product and in our brand.”
What drivers should know
The company is promising to fix or replace the accelerator pedals for the recalled vehicles to avoid the risk of floor mat entrapment. It will also replace floor mats as well for the latest recalled vehicles.
CTV Toronto consumer reporter Pat Foran says the problem with the accelerator appears slowly over time. Some owners have found the pedal becomes gradually harder to push down and then slower to come back up after they release their foot.
“Toyota says these cars are safe. But if you feel any friction with your accelerator, where it’s not popping back as soon as it should, you could have a problem,” he said.
In that case, drivers should stop using the vehicle immediately and take it to a dealer to have it inspected.
If the worst-case scenario happens – the accelerator gets so stuck, the car keeps accelerating even after you take the foot off the gas -- hit the brakes as hard as you can, put the car in neutral and pull over to the side of the road, Foran advises.
“What you should not do is shut your car off while you’re driving, because you could lose your power steering and brakes,” he said.
The company says that customers who are concerned that their vehicle may be affected should contact customer service now, before recall instructions are issued.
The Toyota Customer Care Hotline is: 1-800-331-4331. Toyota also has a "Customer Interaction Centre" at 1-888-TOYOTA-8 (1-888-869-6828)
