Consolidated Toyota Recall/Safety thread

[CynAgain]

U.S. to investigate Toyota Corolla steering problems

Toyota Corolla steering problems

[JJ#48Racing]

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/21/auto...dex.htm?hpt=C1

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A Toyota executive boasted of the compny saving $100 million by negotiating a limited recall for Toyota Camry and Lexus ES cars over a problem that could cause unintended acceleration.

In an internal Toyota (TM) document used as part of a company presentation on its government relations, dated July 6, 2009, the phrase "Negotiated 'equipment' recall on Camry/ES re: [sudden acceleration], saved $100 million+ with no defect found" is among a bullet-pointed list of "wins."

An "equipment" recall is a more limited type of recall, often to repair an accessory or non-essential part of the vehicle.

The presentation was given by Yoshi Inaba, Toyota's top North American executive.

The reference was apparently to a Sept., 2007, recall to secure floor mats that could trap the cars' gas pedals.

In August, 2009, the month following the presentation in which the executive boasted of saving $100 million over a full recall, a family of four was killed in a Lexus with its gas pedal stuck under a floor mat.

In November, 2009, Toyota had full recall to reconfigure the gas pedals of numerous Toyota models to prevent such incidents.

Toyota's troubles: A timeline
Among other "wins" listed were "Avoided investigation on Tacoma rust" and helping win delays in various new federal safety regulations.

Toyota documents, presented in the form of a corporate slide show, also presented an unfavorable view of the Obama administration. The documents said that the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were "not industry friendly" under Obama.

The Toyota documents also said that NHTSA's "new, more aggressive management includes more attorneys," but "less understanding of engineering issues." Also, the documents said that equipment manufacturers face "a more challenging regulatory and enforcement environment."

"Safety is everybody's responsibility. It's not just the federal government's job to catch safety defects," said Olivia Alair, a spokeswoman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "It's the responsibility of automakers to come forward when there is a problem. Unfortunately, this document is very telling. And that's why Secretary LaHood has been saying we're going to hold Toyota's feet to the fire and make sure they do what's necessary to make their cars safe for the driving public."

A copy of the presentation was provided to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee which is set to grill Toyota president Akio Toyoda on Wednesday. It is unclear who provided the document to the Committee.

"If anything but the safety of America's drivers influenced the decision-making process, the entire purpose of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will be undermined," said Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Neither a Toyota nor a NHTSA spokesperson was immediately available to comment for this report.

[a_Username]

Oh happy day! Oh happy day!
"And thus God said, May Toyota lie consistently. And so it was."

[FenwickHockey65]

[lil_chef]

all this news and i still have a friend that swears by toyota............................................ .......................

[Dr Jkel]

It is their time now

[Kyle2k]

Lol!

[Rogue Leader]

And yet the sheep still buy cars from these clowns.

[THE EVIL TW1N]

every company avoids recalls if they can.

[JJ#48Racing]

UPDATE: Toyota hit with grand jury subpoena

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/22/auto...dex.htm?hpt=T2

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by Rogue Leader

And yet the sheep still buy cars from these clowns.

I can't remember what it was exactly, but there are reports saying that consideration of Toyota products is down massively.

[FenwickHockey65]

Not watching the hearing, but I hear they're getting ripped to shreds.

[DGthe3]

I just merged about a dozen threads from over the last few months.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Not watching the hearing, but I hear they're getting ripped to shreds.

Tomorrow, Toyoda himself will be questioned....THAT'll be interesting...