Toyota

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Ray LaHood, U.S. Transportation Secretary, amends 'stop driving Toyotas' statement

While speaking before a House Appropriation sub-committee on transportation, LaHood said, according to an Associated Press report, “Stop driving it. Take it to a Toyota dealer because they believe they have a fix for it.” LaHood was referring to the eight Toyota models, including the top-selling Camry and Corolla, that were recalled in late January because of the potential of a faulty accelerator pedals. But at the risk of causing further confusion among Toyota owners, LaHood has corrected his statement. He now advises owners of recalled Toyota cars to “Stop driving your car if it shows signs of having a sticky accelerator.” LaHood also said the U.S. Transportation Dept. is investigating to see if other automakers might have the same

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Toyota president Jim Lentz on Fox: 'Resolving pedal issue will be measured in months'

Here are  few excerpts and a video from the Fox Business Network interview: On a timeline to solve the safety issues: “I think it’s going to be measured in months not weeks. I can’t tell you exactly how much. At the end of this week, we’ll have a much better idea.” On recalling the pedal now after months of complaints: “Initially, we concentrated on the floor mat. In hindsight, it was more about the pedal. We didn’t really understand how customers use floor mats. We didn’t have enough clearance under our pedals.” “We actually acted quite quickly on that. From October of last year to today, we investigated it, we found a solution, and we implemented a solution….that’s 90 days;

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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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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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Toyota plans to increase Prius production to 1 million in 2011

Toyota hopes to sell one million models annually worldwide early into this year. The manufacturer’s second hybrid, the Sai sedan, was recently introduced in Japan. The Prius became Japan’s best-selling car in 2009. “For the foreseeable future, the focus of Toyota‘s (low-emission car) strategy will be on hybrids, not electric or fuel-cell cars,” said Yoshihiko Tabei, chief analyst at Kazaka Securities. “Except for Honda, Toyota is facing little competition in hybrids and is set to put distance between itself and other automakers.” The Honda Insight in the primary rival to the Prius, but its sales greatly trail Prius sales. According to a report in Japanese business newspapers, Toyota will add about 10 hybrid models to its existing lineup in the

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Honda, Toyota dominate Kelley Blue Book car searches in 2009

Honda has the top two searches with the Accord and Civic and also the fourth position with the Honda CR-V. Toyota has four spots in the top 10 and Nissan has one position. American manufacturers combined for only five spots among the top-20 most search cars on KBB.com. Ford and Chevrolet each had two vehicles represent, but Chrysler wasn’t represented. The Honda Civic, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry (in varying orders each year) have been the top three most-researched new vehicles on kbb.com each year since 2004. The top-20 cars researched in 2009 in KBB.com: 1. Honda Accord; 2. Honda Civic; 3. Toyota Camry; 4. Honda CR-V; 5. Toyota Corolla; 6. Toyota RAV4; 7. Toyota Highlander; 8. Toyota Prius; 9.

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Honda Fit to Lexus GS450h, The Weekly Driver's Cars of the Year, 2009

Lots of car buyers purchase $15,000 cars or prefer SUVs and midsize sedans. Hybrids and sports cars are fun drives, but they still comprise niche market choices compared to more popular choices — Honda Accord to Ford F-150 pick-ups to Toyota Camry. It’s these cars I’ve most often reviewed since 2003. In 2007, I began a Best-of-the-Year list. Like during the list’s previous two editions,  I waited until the end of the year — the opposite approach of the major car publications. The industry’s renowned magazines and web sites often select their lists to outdo each other. Sometimes, some of the cars chosen have just debuted or in some instances they’re not yet available to the public. How does that

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Yaris, Touareg, Probe among Cars.com worst named cars

The author writes: “Below are 10 vehicles from the past 30 years with names so awful and awkward that we’re sometimes surprised consumers gave them a shot.” No. 8 on the list, for example, is the Toyota Yaris. The author details: “There was a girl in my dorm freshman year who organized her shoes alphabetically by mood. She majored in dead languages and responded to every single question with ‘no worries.’ She once set the dorm microwave on fire by overcooking a ham-and-cheese Hot Pocket. Yes, that story is ridiculous and nonsensical … sort of like naming a car Yaris.” AUTOMOTIVE RESOURCES Auto Shipping Quote, Car Financing, Car Insurance Quotes, Car Loans, Online Car Insurance, Rental Cars, Used Cars Here’s

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Toyota planning new challenge to 'cheap car' Tata Nano

Since the announcement of the first production plans for the Tata Nano, the auto industry has remained abuzz about the minimalist vehicle known as the world’s cheapest car. After months of controversy and delivery delays, the Nano is now being sold in India and Tata has plans to export the $2,000 car to other countries. Several other manufacturers make cars that cost less than $10,000. And Toyota now says it will join the “cheap” car market. It plans to release a concept car  it will target to the world’s emerging markets. The concept model’s name is EFC. It stands for Entry Family Car. Toyota has not announced pricing for the car, nor many of its details. But the expected price

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