The list of models being recalled by Toyota is growing like an overfed baby. Every time the market thinks that it may be over and that the stock might stabilize a new problem arises and a new recall is announced. Once again it has hit their truck division with the top selling Toyota Tacoma. This for a division that has remained fairly unscathed with the exception of the Tundra.
Toyota Putting PR Before The Well Being of Their Customers
Toyota is getting really practiced at this recall business. They decided to pull a classic political PR move for this one. The recall came out at the end of the day on Friday so that the news cycle and the Olymipics would squash it. This really helps the hemorrhaging, but what it doesn’t do is help the customers that drive the Toyota Tacoma. They also may have been caught up on the Olympic hype and anticipation of starting the weekend. When they got into their Toyota Tacoma on Friday night or this weekend, they may not have known the risk.
Tacoma, a Nice Place to Visit But You Wouldn’t Want to Drive One
The problem with the Toyota Tacoma, as announced by the Toyota Corporation they,
“…told dealers Friday that a crack could develop that could lead to the front driveshaft separating and falling from the truck, causing the vehicle to lose control.”
Falling from the truck? Aren’t trucks supposed to be rugged work vehicles? Here’s a commercial for Toyota Tacoma showing it working in the mud, jumping over mounds of dirt, speeding through snow drifts, and attacking washed out roads.
What ever you do, don’t do any of that.
An Updated List of Recalled Toyota Vehicles
- 2009-2010 RAV4
- 2009-2010 Corolla
- 2009-2010 Matrix
- 2005-2010 Avalon
- Certain 2007-2010 Camry
- 2010 Highlander
- 2007-2010 Tundra
- 2008-2010 Sequoia
- 2009-2010 Prius
- 2009-2010 Tacoma
Toyota Hires outside Engineering Firm; Deny, Deny, Deny
They announced that they hired Exponent:
“a well-respected engineering and scientific consulting firm, to conduct a comprehensive, independent analysis of Toyota and Lexus vehicles using the ETCS-i system (Electronic Throttle Control System with intelligence) for concerns related to unintended acceleration.”
They went on to say that since February 4th, none of the tests on the Camry and Lexus models have yielded any acceleration issues. So, if they tested 100 cars per day over the last 10 days they have gone through testing 1000 random samples. That means they have hit .0000001 percentile of cars recalled.
A reasonable sample group is 10% and that is an impossible scope. This testing really proves nothing other than Toyota being able to say, “Look, we’re doing something and nothing is happening.” This brand of testing science is fruitless and somewhat unethical. This line of testing is specifically geared to allow Toyota to deny, deny, deny.
8.5 Million Vehicles, But More than Just the Customers are Affected
If you are one of the 8.5 million Toyota owners affected by the recalls, you aren’t alone. There are still three production plants stopped and under internal investigation leaving thousands of workers twiddling their thumbs. Often these problems stem from pressure from the top regarding production quotas and cheaper materials which can adversely affect the quality of the product. Yet, it is the workers who will probably end up suffering as plant layoffs follow on the tails of hard financial times.
Protect Yourself
If you find yourself a victim of surges of acceleration, brake problems, brake fluid leak, or any other recall related problems, call Phillips Webster for a consultation to review your legal rights.
