d*2
发帖数: 2053 | 1 http://www.detnews.com/article/20110224/AUTO01/102240436/1361/T
Last Updated: February 24. 2011 12:52PM
Toyota recalling 2 million vehicles in U.S.
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Washington— Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling nearly 2.2 million vehicles in
the United States to address trapped accelerator pedals as the government
ended an investigation into the automaker.
The massive recalls announced today resolve a yearlong government
investigation into whether it recalled enough vehicles and came at the
request of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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Toyota said it was adding about 1.4 million vehicles to its November 2009
recall for pedal entrapment in floormats. All told, Toyota has now recalled
nearly 7 million vehicles in the United States over the issue.
NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said after a government review of more
than 400,000 pages of Toyota documents, it was concluding its final
investigation into the automaker "to determine whether the scope of its
recalls for pedal entrapment was sufficient."
"As a result of the agency's review, NHTSA asked Toyota to recall these
additional vehicles, and now that the company has done so, our investigation
is closed," Strickland said.
Toyota spokesman John Hanson said "this latest round" of recalls hopefully
puts an end to its accelerator pedal recalls.
The recalls are the latest blow to the company that has now recalled 14.2
million vehicles in the United States since January 2009, according to a
Detroit News analysis. The company has recalled millions more vehicles
worldwide.
Toyota — which got good news last week when two government studies found no
evidence that electronics were to blame for sudden acceleration — has been
struggling to put its recall problems behind it.
The company said there were no accidents or injuries linked to the new
vehicles recalled today.
Rebecca Lindland, an automotive analyst at IHS Global, said Toyota's long-
term growth prospects were still at risk.
She noted that some consumers - long-time Toyota buyers or people who were
adamantly opposed to buying a Toyota - aren't going to change their minds
because of the new recall.
"But Toyota is vulnerable with first-time Toyota or Lexus owners. This is
not the experience that they expected," Lindland said. Owners of other
brands may also be harder to convert to Toyota.
But the company is rightly focused on its reputation - and recalling
vehicles - even with little evidence, Lindland said.
"They can't wait for something to happen. They have to be proactive," she
said. "That's a consequence of what happened over the last year."
Toyota said today it is also recalling 761,000 2006-10 RAV4; 603,000 2003-09
4Runner models and 17,000 2008-11 Lexus LX 570 models to avoid drivers
getting pedals trapped in carpet - but the remedy is different than the
November 2009 recall.
Toyota also said it will recall Toyota will recall 372,000 2006-07 RX 330,
RX 350 and RX 400h vehicles, and 397,000 2004-06 Highlander and Highlander
hybrid vehicles to replace the driver's side floor carpet cover and its two
retention clips.
The new recalls also cover about 20,000 2006 and early 2007 Lexus GS 300 and
GS 350 all-wheel-drive vehicles "to modify the shape of the plastic pad
embedded in the driver's side floor carpet."
The massive recalls end the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's
investigation into whether the Japanese automaker recalled enough vehicles,
which was opened in early 2010.
The government already has imposed fines of nearly $49 million on Toyota for
failing to conduct three separate recall campaigns in a timely manner.
NHTSA doesn't plan to impose any more fines in the wake of these recalls.
Despite a half-dozen NHTSA investigations into sudden acceleration claims in
Toyota vehicles since 2000, the automaker did little until the high-profile
deaths of four motorists — including an off-duty California Highway Patrol
officer behind the wheel — near San Diego in August 2009. They were killed
when the vehicle sped out of control. Investigators said the cause was a
trapped floormat in a loaner Lexus from a dealer.
Over a 10-year period, NHTSA received nearly 3,100 complaints, alleging at
least 93 deaths from Toyota sudden acceleration incidents, but has confirmed
a link in just five deaths. In that same period, the rest of the industry
accounted for about 6,400 complaints combined.
In January 2010, Toyota was forced to temporarily stop selling more than 60
percent of vehicles in the United States, as it searched for a fix for its
sticky pedal problem. Its top executive, Akio Toyoda, was called to testify
before Congress, and the issue got worldwide attention.
Toyota still faces hundreds of lawsuits in connection with its recalls.
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(202) 662-8735 | s*******e
发帖数: 4188 | 2 2006-10 RAV4
2003-09 4Runner
2008-11 Lexus LX 570
2006-07 RX 330, RX 350 and RX 400h
2004-06 Highlander and Highlander hybrid
2006 and early 2007 Lexus GS 300 and GS 350 | Q**Q
发帖数: 1450 | 3 想当初这个公司是打死也不承认刹车有任何问题，还blame driver。有谁还敢买他造的
车？ | b*******r
发帖数: 6655 | 4 要是没人买，价格还会这么坚挺？何况外形内饰都是垃圾
丰田的recall，根本没有什么实质性解决，无非是安抚一下广大车盲而已，话说回来，
本来就没有什么实质性问题。
【在 Q**Q 的大作中提到】
: 想当初这个公司是打死也不承认刹车有任何问题，还blame driver。有谁还敢买他造的
: 车？
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