A new NHTSA investigation targets potentially faulty circuit boards that could cause engine stalling with the 2005 - 07 Corolla and Matrix.
Toyota is facing yet another major investigation, involving what has been one of the company’s best-selling vehicles.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has launched a new investigation into possible defects with the maker’s Corolla and Matrix models, sold between 2005 and 2007, which reportedly face problems with unexpected engine stalling.
If the NHTSA investigation validates claims of a safety defect, Toyota could be pushed to order a recall of 1.2 million vehicles. The situation compounds the Japanese automaker’s already severe safety-related problems, more than 8 million of its vehicles being recalled since last October due to two separate sudden acceleration-related defects. Over a million more products, from the Toyota Tundra pickup to the Lexus HS250h hybrid, have been called back for reports covering everything from severe corrosion to leak fuel tanks.
(Jeep under investigation for fuel tank leaks involving up to 3 million vehicles. Click Here for more.)
Problems involving Corolla come at a particularly bad time considering both the increased competition in the compact car segment – and investigations into other problems with the popular Japanese product.
The disclosure of the engineering analysis underscored that Toyota’s recall woes aren’t finished, and raises anew questions about the quality of the components supplied by the Japanese auto giant’s supplier network. Last January’s recall for sticky accelerator pedals was blamed on a U.S. component maker. This summer’s callback of 138,000 Lexus vehicles due to stalling was attributed to defective engine valves.
NHTSA began a preliminary investigation of stalling with Corolla and Matrix in November 2009 when the Office of Defects Investigation started to look at reports involving vehicles built in 2006.
“In its response to ODI’s information request submitted on March 2, 2010, Toyota indicated that it had identified two possible causes of production defects of the engine control units used in (model year) 2005 through 2007 Toyota Corollas and Matrixs,” NHTSA said in its report, outlining reasons for the expansion of its investigation.
Improperly cured circuit boards also could create problems, NHTSA said, noting that could “cause cracks to form in the soldered joints of some components.”
Meanwhile, in the case of an insufficient coating of circuit boards, a crack can occur in the surface of the glass coating,” NHTSA said.
Toyota has been fighting a tidal wave of negative publicity since last Labor Day when a fatal accident in San Diego involving a California police officer and his family was blamed on a runaway Lexus. Things have only gotten worse as the recall tally has mounted – and as regulators raise questions about potential cover-ups by the maker. Toyota earlier this year paid a record $16.4 million fine after NHTSA charged it with failing to properly disclose the problem with sticky accelerators.
The controversy around Toyota vehicles led to a sharp plunge in sales during the first quarter, prompting Toyota with respond with record incentives. Company officials faced a sharp grilling by Congress, last February and a federal grand jury continues to explore the maker’s handling of steering defects with the Corolla and other safety-related issues.