Panel OKs NHTSA's Handling of Toyota Recalls

A government panel has determined that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration acted correctly in closing its investigation into Toyota's unintended-acceleration issues, but it has suggested that NHTSA needs to improve its knowledge of vehicle electronic systems.

The 16-member National Research Council panel was convened by the National Academy of Sciences after the 2010 congressional hearings about Toyota’s recalls and NHTSA’s actions investigating vehicle defects.

Toyota Rebounds Past its Recall Woes

A year ago, amidst the backdrop of recalls, stop sales and sensational headlines, the Toyota brand reported a sales decline of 10.3%. That’s worse than the company’s overall performance, which also includes Scion and Lexus sales.

This year, the opposite is true. Toyota has bounced back with a 48.5% sales gain while Lexus dragged down the company’s performance to a 41.8% gain. We detailed some of Lexus’ problems earlier today.

But what fueled Toyota’s sales?

Toyota Recalls 2 Million More Cars for Pedal Issues

Toyota announced today that it would begin a new round of voluntary recalls covering nearly 2 million more vehicles for various issues surrounding pedal entrapment. The recall includes popular models like the Toyota Highlander and RAV4. This brings Toyota's total number of recalls since 2009 to nearly 15 million vehicles.

The move comes after a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and NASA concluded there was no electronic malfunction leading to unintended acceleration. These recalls address either the same floormat interference issue of past recalls or two new modifications of floormats, carpet and connectors.
 
Three models — totaling 1.4 million vehicles — are being added to the November 2009 recall for pedal entrapment.

NHTSA, NASA Find No Fault in Toyota Electronics

After a 10-month study, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and NASA found nothing wrong with Toyota’s electronic throttle in connection with the cases of unintended acceleration. They did find issues with the previously discovered — and repaired — mechanical problems: the accelerator and the floormats, the New York Times reported this afternoon.
 
Those problems led to the recall of 12 million Toyotas, and those recalls led to a slump in new-car sales for the automaker, which continues to lag the industry as it rebounds from two of its worst years ever.

Toyota Pays $10 Million Settlement in Fatal Crash

The fatal accident involving a Lexus and a California Highway Patrolman that launched an investigation into claims of unintended acceleration has been settled for $10 million, The Associated Press reported today.

The agreement was actually reached in September, but the amount was released recently by a lawyer for the Lexus dealership from which the loaner vehicle originated. The documents in the settlement, including the cash amount, had been sealed from the public. The family of the four people killed in the 2009 crash has not reached a similar agreement with the dealership in question. Toyota does not admit or deny any liability in the settlement.
 
Ten-million dollars is a large sum of money, but the damage done to Toyota since the accident is in the billions in terms of the cost of the recalls themselves and the damage to the brand.
 
Lawyer: Toyota to Pay $10 Million in Lexus Lawsuit (The Associated Press)

Some Toyota Camrys Need Extra Repair After Recall

Toyota has informed its dealers that more repairs may be needed to correct work done in relation to the recalls involving stuck accelerator pedals, according to Reuters.

The affected models include the 2007-10 Toyota Camry and the 2005-10 Toyota Avalon, the same models involved in the original recall of 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S.

In some vehicles, a bracket holding the accelerator pedal in place may have been damaged. In the affected vehicles, dealers may have mistakenly stripped bolts from the structure during repairs. Dealers weren’t originally made aware as to how to separate the bracket, which may have caused the stripping, Reuters reports.

Toyota says the secondary damage is very rare, and the bracket will be repaired free of charge. Dealers were notified Tuesday, but there is no information about when owners will be notified. This latest notice comes one day after a large service bulletin was issued for the Toyota Prius over a coolant issue.

Toyota Says Camry Recall Can Prompt Secondary Fix (Reuters)

Toyota Recalls iQ Small Car Overseas

Toyota is recalling 135,000 iQ subcompact cars in Japan and Europe because of a fault in its steering software. The iQ will go on sale in the U.S. under the Scion brand next year.

The company says there have been incidents reported of the power-steering warning light illuminating when drivers crossed roadside rumble strips.

While the recall doesn’t sound significant in scope or severity — no accidents have been reported — we’re pointing it out because some of the issues involving recalled Toyotas in the U.S. were diagnosed in other countries before being recalled here.

Toyota recalls 135,000 cars over steering fault (Financial Times)

Toyota Announces October Incentives

Throughout the summer Toyota offered fairly generous incentives on its vehicles to compensate for its flagging sales, which were caused by a deluge of safety recalls.

For October Toyota’s incentives are fine-tuned to get rid of its remaining 2010-model-year inventory and other slow-moving vehicles. These incentives are good through Nov. 1, but it’s important to note that some regions and dealer groups have opted out of the incentive programs, changed the terms or shifted incentive money from one model to another that’s weak in their specific region.

For instance, the Los Angeles region has an incentive on some models of no down payment, no security deposit, no money due at signing and no first month’s payment deal. The Chicago area has a $1,000 cash-back offer for recent college grads when they buy or lease select Toyotas as well as special lease rates.

To find detailed incentives, go to buyatoyota.com for the current offers in your area.

Below you’ll find a list of incentives on current Toyota vehicles.

Toyota Settles Lawsuit in Infamous Crash

In what is largely considered the starting point of Toyota’s recall nightmare of the past year, the automaker has settled a lawsuit with relatives of an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer who was killed, along with his wife, his 13-year-old daughter and his brother, when his loaner Lexus ES 350 raced at speeds up to 120 mph on a California freeway. The crash occurred in August 2009.

The 911 call from that incident focused an intense spotlight on the issue of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles. However, recent reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have suggested that many other reported cases of unintended acceleration were the result of driver error.

Toyota declined to say how much the settlement was for. The automaker recalled nearly 8 million vehicles for accelerator issues, covering both loose floormats and stuck pedals.

Toyota Settles Over California Deaths (New York Times)

Recall Alert: 2005-2008 Toyota Corolla, Matrix

Toyota is recalling nearly 1.3 million 2005-2008 Corolla and Matrix models for a faulty engine control module. Last week, we heard the government was intensifying its investigation into the defect. Toyota will begin notifying owners of the recall in mid-September, but it doesn’t have a timetable for when replacement parts will be available.

In a statement released today, Toyota said there had been "three unconfirmed accidents alleged to be related to this condition, one of which reported a minor injury."

The ECM in some of these vehicles is defective and can lead to harsh shifting, stalling, or the vehicle could fail to start. Dealers will inspect the part to see if it is one of the defective units and replace it if necessary free of charge to owners.

Owners can contact Toyota at 800-331-4331 or the National Highway Safety Administration at 888-327-4236.