BAFFLED, bothered and bewildered?if not shocked, confused and concerned. These words could describe the reaction of consumers and Toyota vehicle owners all over the world to Toyota Motor Corporation?s seemingly never-ending story of safety problems.
Since November 2009, Toyota has recalled over eight million vehicles globally due to problems with accelerator pedals. As I write this, Reuters reports that Toyota is preparing to recall up to 300,000 of its 2010 Prius hybrid cars sold between May and December 2009 to repair a flaw in the anti-lock braking system. Indeed, Toyota is mired in the biggest recall-related crisis in the auto industry since exploding Firestone tires caused Ford Explorers to roll over 10 years ago. Result: Toyota?s sterling reputation for quality, reliability and safety has been seriously dented worldwide.
Concern is growing that before the massive recalls, Toyota failed to heed government warnings. and underestimated the problem. Reports about unintended and sudden acceleration in some Toyota vehicles first surfaced in 2002, but the company, after years of reviewing such complaints, concluded in June 2008 that it was caused by either driver error or unsecured floor mats jamming the accelerator pedal, a recent New York Times front page article says. (See also ?It?s not just the floor mats or the gas pedal, folks? my Dec. 9, 2009 column.)
First recall
But late last year, after four people in a runaway Lexus ES 350 were killed in a crash near San Diego, California, Toyota issued the first of several recalls that culminated last month in the company temporarily halting the production and sale of eight Toyota models including the Camry, Corolla and RAV4 in North America.
Toyota initially said the decision to stop producing the recalled models was made voluntarily, but US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told The Associated Press last week that pressure from his department was the reason. LaHood emphasized that the world?s biggest carmaker announced the recalls only after Transportation Department officials flew to Japan ?to remind Toyota about its legal obligations.? Over-all, the unintended acceleration issue has been linked to up to 19 crash deaths in the US, Reuters says. Now a US Congressional panel is probing why several years elapsed before Toyota acted on complaints that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had received about runaway Toyotas.
Notably, after nearly a week of silence, it was only on Monday, Feb. 1, that Toyota began to publicly discuss consumer concerns over sudden acceleration of its vehicles via newspaper ads explaining the situation and a round of television interviews with James E. Lentz III, president of Toyota?s US sales division. Industry analysts estimate the recalls and sales stoppages would cost Toyota around US$1 billion, but the longer-term damage to the Toyota brand could be much larger unless it acts fast to contain the fallout.
Lentz announced on Feb. 1 two solutions to the accelerator pedal problem: installing a steel reinforcement bar in the pedal assemblies of 2.3 million vehicles in the US and providing replacement pedals for more than five million cars that were recalled due to floor mats that could jam the accelerator. These fixes follow Toyota?s claim last fall that floor mats were the sole cause of the accelerator problem and its statement in January that pedal assemblies could cause accelerators to stick.
Electronics
While Lentz expressed confidence that the two fixes would finally settle the issue, some consumers and safety experts suggest that the computerized electronic throttle system controlling the speed in Toyotas could be at fault. But Toyota says exhaustive testing has not found any evidence that their electronic systems have a safety defect. Two Congressional committees in Washington holding hearings later this month on the recalls will include an electronic systems review.
Despite its woes, Toyota expects to report a profit for the fiscal year ending in March compared with earlier expectations of a loss. Toyota has rebounded from crises in the US before such as the 1980s-era trade friction over autos and ?Toyota bashing? or hostility toward Japanese companies. Resurgent protectionism and politicians? grandstanding during an election year are seen by some as the motives behind the forthcoming Congressional hearings. But as Paul Ingrassia, a former Wall Street Journal Detroit bureau chief wrote recently, ?The company has enormous financial and technical resources and it remains the leader in gas-electric hybrid technology.?
Over here, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) announced early last week that the Toyota and Lexus models it sells are not included in the US accelerator pedal recall since the Corolla Altis and Camry sold here are manufactured in Thailand while RAV4s are imported from Japan. TMP, which tops the industry in sales, is targeting an 8.2 percent sales growth this year to 50,000 vehicles.
