With the economy in a recession, nationwide unemployment and car companies closing, the last thing a buyer wants to hear is a major recall from one of the leading manufacturers. Toyota’s recall has put a major impact on its reputation.
According to Toyota’s pressroom it has had problems with many of its popular models, everything from the more recent Prius having software issues that involve the anti-lock brake system (ABS) to their Sequoia, which is having problems with the accelerator pedal sticking. There have also been recalls for floor mats for models that have been shown to entrap the gas pedal.
Worldwide there have been more than 400,000 recalls for Toyota hybrids alone. A closure of an automotive plant also hangs in the near future for thousands of California workers.
Several complaints had been issued about the different failures in the past but the recall has just recently been put into effect. In 2007 there were 400 complaints about Toyota problems.
The entire problem is no small feat for Toyota to solve, but Toyota claims to have identified all of the models involved with the issues.
Some of these problems should have been found and addressed while they were in the “rigorous,” testing stage. “Toyota’s engineers have developed and rigorously tested a solution that is both effective and simple,” according to Toyota’s customer FAQs page. They designed a reinforcement bar to be added to the accelerator assembly that will eliminate the problem.
They blame the problem on things like wear, and environmental conditions. One would assu,e those would have been thought of before releasing the products to customers.
Blaming problems on environmental conditions and wear seem like a way to get the spotlight off of their testing methods. Vehicles are made to be out and driven -- Toyota using it as an excuse seems to be a problem in itself. With such a prominent name in reliability, it raises questions about how well they test their vehicles.
When it comes to the brake software issue, their recall has involved approximately 133,000 2010 Priuses.
The problems don’t stop with Toyota, they also stem off into 14,000 Lexuses as well. Problems with the software have lower numbers of recalls but the total number of cars is outrageous. Business Week reported back in September of 2009 that 3.8 million vehicles were being recalled. In November Consumer Reports had a post about the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) saying, “The NHTSA denied a petition to conduct an additional investigation into sudden acceleration.” They said a new investigation was unlikely to show new conclusions as before.
Now, several months later, a large quantity recall is in effect. It’s almost like Toyota is trying to soil its own good name and the NHTSA is following along with them.
How much ia apologizing going to help people that are affected by the extensive recall. It isn’t a bad start but it can’t end here. Toyota should be giving large rebates to customers to get business back.
The fact that people died while driving Toyota’s products is going to run some people off no matter what – others are going to stay loyal as they were in the past. Toyota should adopt new testing standards, their main focus should be safety of drivers, not rolling out the most vehicles -- quality over quantity in this case.
Hopefully this is the last problem with Toyota for a while because they are going to need the time to recuperate from this mess. This recall has hurt Toyota’s reputation as well as its wallet. I think it will be interesting to see it recover from this situation.
Further problems for Toyota involve the closure of its Fremont Calif. plant. It had a partnership at the plant with General Motors (GM) that was started back in 1984. GM had pulled out of the plant in June 2009 and the fate of the plant has been questioned since.
The closure will lead to approximately 4,700 jobs being lost. The reasoning is said to be from the cost of shipping parts according to Toyota. Engines are shipped from West Virginia to California where they are installed and then sent out all over the U.S. I can understand where this is not efficient from a monetary aspect but it’s definitely helping with the job market.
At the same token this would be a better choice for pollution; there isn’t as much shipping going on, which is saving fuel. Toyota seems to be a large competitor when it comes to fuel saving.
Its hybrids, although most currently off the market, support great numbers in fuel economy.
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