Added to Toyota's long recall list.
Toyota will recall another 2.2 million vehicles in the U.S. to fix a problem that could lead those products to suddenly surge out of control, it announced today.
The move was an unexpected and seemingly self-inflicted setback for a company that seemed poised to put the ongoing issue of so-called “unintended acceleration” behind it. The announcement comes a year and a day after Toyota’s top U.S. executive, Jim Lentz, apologized to Congress for delaying action on the runaway car problem. But it also follows by less than two weeks news that a federal investigation had ruled out mysterious electronic gremlins that might cause Toyota products to surge out of control.
This is the third major recall by the Japanese maker to deal with unintended acceleration since October 2009 – and could raise questions about why it has taken Toyota so long to act. Last year, the maker paid a record total of $48.8 million in federal fines for failing to act promptly on safety issues, including problems with sticky accelerator pedals.
But Toyota’s problems have extended far beyond unintended acceleration, with problems ranging from faulty brakes to excessive corrosion – severe enough to have parts fall off Toyota pickups and minivans while driving. In all, more than 14 million vehicles have now been recalled since late 2009, with Toyota behind an unexpected increase in the overall U.S. recall tally last year.
The latest problem is an extension of the recall announced in October 2009, when the maker determined that loose carpets and floor mats could inadvertently jam the accelerator pedal on Toyota vehicles leaving them to race out of control. The maker had initially resisted calls for a recall but reversed course after a fiery crash, near San Diego, that killed a California Highway Patrol officer and three members of his family.
With the new recall, Toyota adds a variety of models to the list of those that might experience similar problems:
- 600,000 Toyota 4Runner SUVs from the 2003 through 2009 model-years,
- 761,000 Toyota RAV4 crossovers from 2006 through 2010,
- 397,000 Toyota Highlander SUVs from 2004 through 2006;
- 372,000 Lexus RX crossovers from 2004 through early 2007;
- 17,00 Lexus LX 570s from 2008 through 2011.
Another 20,000 Lexus GS models will be recalled because a plastic pad in the driver’s carpet could cause pedal interference.
A Toyota representative said the company was not aware of any accidents or injuries caused by the problems cited in the latest recall.
During an interview, earlier this month, the Toyota division’s general manager, Bob Carter, insisted that the automaker has chosen to take a cautious approach to safety, in the light of its recent problems.
“If we’re ever even slightly on the edge” when it comes to deciding how to respond to a possible problem, “we’ll announce a recall,” the executive asserted during an interview at the Chicago Auto Show, on February 10.
Nonetheless, Carter and other Toyota officials appeared buoyant in light of an announcement by Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, earlier that week, that a joint investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the space agency NASA had ruled out the possibility that unexplained electronic glitches in Toyota engine controllers might be a contributing factor to the numerous unintended acceleration complaints against the maker. If anything, researchers pointed to driver error – notably including motorists pressing on the gas, rather than brake, pedal.
Asked about those who questioned the report, Carter asserted, “The detractors are being funded by the litigation attorneys we are facing in court.”
Toyota is facing a significant legal challenge, including the 100s of suits now consolidated into a class action case before a federal judge in Southern California.
The maker has been aggressively fighting the legal claims, though it recently agreed to pay $10 million to the survivors of the police officer killed in the October 2009 Lexus crash in California.