Another Big Recall for Toyota; NHTSA Complaints for All Makers Rise
By Bill Visnic October 21, 2010It's "between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place" time for Toyota Motor Corp. as the company that struggled through a safety and recall media storm earlier this year once again is announcing an extensive recall of popular vehicles in the U.S, Japan and other regions.
Toyota's latest recall comes just as it seemed consumers might be getting over the unintended-acceleration furor that began in late 2009, led to a massive recall of millions of vehicles to replace floor mates and sticking accelerator pedals and culminated with Congressional hearings last spring calling the company - and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -on the carpet for a system that appeared to be ill-responsive to consumer reports of potential safety problems.
The company said today it is voluntarily recalling more than 1.5 million vehicles globally to correct a problem with the brake master cylinder that could cause fluid to leak around its seal and onto the brake booster. Toyota said in a press release the situation could cause brake feel to become spongy and "braking performance may gradually decline."
The recall covers 740,000 2004-2006 Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the U.S., as well as almost 600,000 in Japan. The affected models:
2005-2006 Avalon
2004-2006 Highlander (excluding hybrid models)
2004-2006 Lexus RX330
2006 Lexus GS300, IS250 and IS350
Complaints, Recalls On The Rise
Meanwhile, extensive ongoing analysis of NHTSA's database of consumer automotive complaints shows that the number of complaints and recalls has increased since the media coverage of unintended acceleration hit its peak, seemingly raising consumer awareness about reporting problems with their vehicles - safety-related or otherwise.
Complaints to the NHTSA regarding Toyota have in fact receded in recent months. According to Edmunds.com's analysis of the NHTSA complaint database, complaints per 100,000 vehicles in September, for example, were lower for Toyota than for many of the seven largest-selling automakers.
Edmunds.com analyst Panee Segal, who studies the NHTSA complaint database, said, "At the height of the Toyota recall frenzy, the NHTSA complaint database received nearly 7,900 submissions in a month - more than five times its usual volume. All the media activity raised drivers' consciousness of problems and of their ability to report problems when they occur. Although Toyota makes up a majority of the complaints composition today, most of this was due to the extensive media coverage early on.
"All automakers have received an increased number of complaints for all types of problems with their cars," Segal added.
And while complaints about braking comprise a significant amount of all complaints to NHTSA, in September the proportion was about eight percent - far less than for several other categories, including powertrain and interior electronics.
Toyota surely was hoping the furor over unintended acceleration and recalls was fading from the memory of consumers, but the latest recall is likely to again dredge up concerns about the company's once-unassailable quality. Although Toyota sales increased 17 percent in September, the company's total sales this year have improved just 1.6 percent over a dismal 2009.
Photo of 2006 Lexus RX 330 by Toyota
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