Toyota has a solution to the sticking accelerator problem that prompted the automaker to recall 2.3 million vehicles, but there’s no word on how long it will be before consumers are able to have their car fixed. According to a report by Automotive News, CTS Corporation, which built the faulty part now has a replacement part, some of which have already been shipped to Toyota plants for use on new models.
Yesterday Toyota took the unprecedented step of halting sales and production of the affected models. It has now become apparent that Toyota was legally forced to stop selling the cars, as it did not have a replacement part available – something required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The decision to stop production was made in order to avoid a glut of cars on dealer lots while they are unable to sell their current inventory.
There’s no word on when Toyota will begin to replace the faulty mechanism on customers’ cars and according to Automotive News it may take quite a while as CTS Corporation only has the ability to produce 2 million units a year. If you’ll recall, the recall was for 2.3 million vehicles, including top sellers like the Camry, Corolla, RAV4 and Highlander. On top of this, Toyota will need new parts when it resumes production.
[Source: Automotive News via Autoblog]
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I’m surprised to see that Toyota has released any type of recall at all. I own a 2005 Matrix and my airbag light at first started coming on and off now the light is just on. The dealer told me they would need to install a new airbag assembly which would run me $300+ after coming home and doing some research of my own I found that replacing the airbag assembly would not solve my problem. I refused the clock assembly part installation and opted to continue researching the problem. It turns out that my clock which fades in and out every so often is causing my airbag light to malfunction. The dealer did not figure this out it took me researching on the internet to figure this out. A new clock would would cost me $350+. The dealer told me that they could not guarantee that my airbag would deploy in an accident. This being my only vehicle I am often reluctant to put anyone in my passenger seat fearing the airbag will not deploy when it is needed. I’ve seen at least 10 cases with the same issue and I wonder why would Toyota do this? Why if my clock starts malfunctioning will my airbags malfunction? Is there an electrical problem that Toyota should fix? Keep in mind my clock comes in an out but always has the right time, my air bag light is always on, one of the ac dial lights comes in and out, and from time to time the station on my radio will just change on it’s own. I think it’s time for Toyota to admit all the problems and not just a few ooopsie’s
January 27th, 2010 at 5:58 pm