Recalls

Toyota update: 436,000 Prius, Lexus, other models in global recall

The international news agency has obtained a document that details 223,068 cars in Japan across four hybrid models — the newest Prius model, the Prius PHV (plug-in hybrid), the SAI and the Lexus HS250h — will be recalled for the braking problems first reported last week. The Prius, the world’s largest selling hybrid, accounts for 199,666 vehicles recalled. Toyota will also recall about 213,000 other hybrid cars, including about 150,000 in North America, according to the document. Reuters is also reporting Japan’s transport ministry said Toyota President Akio Toyoda has a pending meeting with Minister Seiji Maehara when he’s expected to apologize for a series of recalls spanning the globe. Mr. Toyoda, grandson of the company founder, has also written

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Prius recall imminent for troubled Toyota, Lexus hybrid next?

Toyota is preparing to recall 270,000 Prius hybrid vehicles in the United States and Japan with brake problems, and the world’s largest automaker has also begun an investigation for similar problems with its luxury Lexus hybrid. Toyota spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said Toyota had not yet decided whether to recall the Prius. But several Japanese media outlets, including business newspaper Nihon Keizai and television network NHK reports the 2010 Prius recall is imminent. The new Prius hybrid went on sale in Japan and the United States in May 2009. More than 170,000 of the new Prius models have been sold in Japan, with around 103,000 sold in the U.S. since May. Toyota, reeling from massive global recalls of 4.5 million vehicles

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Toyota recall update: CEO offers apology, explains recall dealer fix plan (video)

Here’s a short Associated Press video during which Lentz, in sound-bite form, apologies and explains Toyota‘s plans to repair several million automobile with two potential issues — sticking accelerator pedals and shifting floor mats. James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004. In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida. An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to

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Toyota recall update: faulty brakes, floor mats fix plan announced.

Toyota recalled 2.3 million vehicles in the United States with the potential sticking accelerator issue. “We know what’s causing the sticking accelerator pedals, and we know what we have to do to fix it,” said Jim Lentz, Toyota‘s president and chief operating officer, in a statement. Toyota dealerships will work extended hours, some 24 hours a day, to repair the recalled vehicles. “It’s not clear how long it will take to fix all 2.3 million cars,” Lentz told CNNMoney.com. The fix involves installing a precision-cut steel reinforcement bar into the accelerator pedal assembly, which will reduce surface tension and prevent the friction that has caused the pedals to stick. The company said it has confirmed the effectiveness of the newly

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Honda recall: Melting window switches in Fit potential fire hazard in nearly 650,000 cars

Honda Motor Co., has announced a voluntary recall of 646,000 Fit models, its globally popular sub-compact, to examine window switches that can melt or catch fire when exposed to an extreme amount of liquid. The vehicles affected are Fit models from 2007-2008. Honda reported 141,140 units with the potential window switch issues were sold in the United States. The problem stems from a master power window switch on the driver’s side. It will need replacement or retrofitting with a waterproof skirt. Seven cases of the part melting have been reported n the U.S., two involving fire. No injuries have been linked to the defect. “Under some severe operating conditions, water, rain, or other liquid may enter the driver’s window and

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Toyota recall: Test your pedal mettle, read manufacturer's suggestions

The precautionary test the Q&A format of frequently asked concerns follow: Precautionary Test Drive to empty parking lot and practice how to put your car in “N” (neutral) position. Get the feeling of how the car responds to your actions, especially braking and turning, while the car’s gears are in “N” position. You must have learned this in your driver’s education class, but a refresher may be a good idea. If you are not sure what putting the car in “N” means, then you really should ask an experienced (and good) driver to teach you. The FAQs list: Which models are affected by the recall/stop sale? Toyota‘s accelerator pedal recall and suspension of sales is confined to the following:  2009-2010

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Toyota recall: Faulty gas pedals to rental car worries

Here in capsule form are facts and figures of Toyota‘s current predicament: * Toyota is temporarily suspending sales of eight models involved in last week’s recall: 2009-2010 RAV4, 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Matrix, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 Camry, 2010 Highlander, 2007-2010 Tundra, 2008-2010 Sequoia. The Camry and Corolla sedans are the top two best-selling cars in the U.S. market. Combined, those eight models sold 1,008,611 units last year, representing 57 percent of Toyota‘s 2009 U.S. sales. * Toyota has expanded the recall by at least two million cars, to include cars and trucks in Europe and China with the same gas pedals from CTS. * Toyota vehicles in Japan do not use a gas pedal manufactured by CTS. * Toyota will halt

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Toyota recall: CBS details Camry, Corolla and siblings production halt with dramatic video

The video features anchor desk and field correspondent reports and footage of two prominent accidents involving Toyota vehicles. James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004. In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida. An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.

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Toyota recall: Safety research firm reports 275 crashes, 18 deaths in 11 years from faulty acceleration in suspended models

USA Today reported in its January 28 edition, that Safety Research and Strategies, a Massachusetts-based safety research firm, said it has found 2,274 incidents of sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles causing 275 crashes and at least 18 fatalities since 1999. Toyota‘s most recent problems became public last September. In a statement, Toyota disclosed it had investigated isolated reports of sticking accelerator pedal mechanisms in some models without the presence of floor mats. “There is a possibility that certain accelerator pedal mechanisms may, in rare instances, mechanically stick in a partly depressed position or return slowly to the idle position,” the company added. Toyota‘s first problem with various models occurred last September. Designated as a “Safety Improvement Campaign,” Toyota posted

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Toyota recall: Tips for owners of Camry, Corolla, Matrix, other suspended cars

When the sale and production of the Toyota Corolla, the biggest selling car in history, and the Toyota Camry, the top-selling passenger in the United Sates the past seven years, comes to a sudden halt, something is obviously wrong Toyota Motor Co., confronted the problem with a sudden and unprecedented announcement. Sales of several years of the Corolla and Camry models as well as six other Toyota models have ceased. Likewise, a temporary production halt of the same eight models from numerous North American production plants has been announced. The models which will no longer be sold and which will stop production in early February include: 2009-10 RAV4, 2009-10 Corolla, 2009-10 Matrix, 2005-10 Avalon, 2007-10 Camry, 2010 Highlander, 2007-10 Tundra,

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Toyota recall: Camry, Corolla, Matrix among eight models suspended

Toyota Motor Corp., has announced it will suspend the sale and production of eight models, including the top-selling Camry, at production plants throughout the United States and Canada. The halt, which will begin in the first week of February, comes in the aftermath last week of the second recall of various Toyota models with potentially faulty accelerator pedals. The Camry has been Toyota‘s top-selling vehicle every year since 2007.  The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car in automotive history. The suspension and production halt also includes: RAV4, Corolla and Matrix (2009-2010); Sequoia (2008-2010); Tundra (2007-2010); Avalon (2005-2010); Highlander (2010). Production plants involved in the suspension are located in Indiana, where the manufacturers has two facilities, as well as one location

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Toyota announces another massive recall following runaway acceleration car deaths

Four people died Dec. 26 in Southlake, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, when a 2008 Toyota sped off the road, through a fence and landed upside down in a pond. The car’s floor mats were found in the trunk of the car, where owners had been advised to put them as part of the first recall. Although local and federal investigators are still trying to determine why the car went out of control, one possible cause has been definitively ruled out — floor mats. The floor mats were found in the car’s trunk, leading police to speculate that they were removed when the driver was notified by Toyota of the floor mat recall in November, 2009. In the ABC News

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Ford expands massive recall by 4.5 million, says National Highway Safety Administration

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has alerted owners of more than a half-dozen truck and van models sold in the U.S. of potential fire hazards linked to the flawed part manufactured by Texas Instruments. Safety officials investigating the switches said leaking hydraulic fluid can overheat and potentially cause vehicle fires even when the ignition is off. Toyota  recalled several brands last week because of numerous accidents involving unhinged floor mats causing stuck accelerator pedals. Previous recalls over the past several years related to the faulty cruise control problem covered nearly 12 million Ford vehicles. Models included in the newest action: * 1995-2003 Ford Windstars. * 2000-2003 Ford Excursion diesels. * 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 Ford F-Super Duty diesels. *

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Toyota recall: 3.8 millon Lexus, Toyota vehicles could have faulty floormats prompting stuck accelerators

The recall will cover recent versions of the Camry and Avalon sedans, the Prius hybrid, the Tacoma and Tundra pickup trucks and luxury Lexus models, the IS250 and the IS350 as well as the ES350. The U.S. safety recall would be the largest in Toyota‘s history. Toyota and U.S. safety regulators warned owners to remove all driver-side floor mats from eight Toyota and Lexus models sold in the United States, including its Prius hybrid, as an immediate safety precaution. The U.S. safety recall would be the largest in Toyota‘s history. A cost estimate for the company’s still-developing recall was not immediately available. In August, an off-duty California state trooper and three members of his family were killed in the San

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Volkswagen recall: Faulty transmission sensor possibly affects 13,500 recent models

Volkswagen of America has announced a voluntary recall on 13,500 VW models equipped with DSG transmissions which could have faulty temperatures sensors. If problematic, a phantom warning lamp could illuminate and possibly cause the transmission to shift into neutral. Models affected include the Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, GTI, and Eos manufactured between September 2008 and August 2009, which includes primarily 2009 MY and a small percentage of 2010 MY vehicles. Owners of the affected vehicles will be contacted by Volkswagen of America to schedule an appointment at a local dealer to have their vehicle inspected, and if necessary, conduct repairs. Contact the Volkswagen Loyalty Center, 1-800-444-8982. James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written

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BMW Recalls 200,000 Cars With Potential Air Bag Problems

The German automaker BMW AG, concerned front passenger seat airbags may not deploy, has recalled an estimated 200,000 X3 sport compacts in the United States made between 2004-2006. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported on its  web site that small cracks could develop in a seat detection mat and deactivate the front passenger air bags. NHTSA said the air bag warning lamp and the passenger air bag “on-off” light would remain on. The head protection system, however, would not be affected, the government said. According to BMW spokesman Tom Plucinsky no injuries or accidents from the reported issue have occurred. If the seat detection mat fails to sense a person is sitting in the passenger seat, it deactivates

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