Toyota recalled a number of trucks in Japan for a defective steering column but chose to wait nearly a year before recalling them in North America, despite a series of complains in the United States regarding the issue. The revelation comes on the heels of a $16.4 million fine imposed by the U.S. government as punishment for Toyota delaying the recalls of millions of vehicles over accelerator pedals that stick open unintentionally.

The latest recall involves a defective steering column, and failure could lead to the driver being unable to steer the vehicle and turn its wheels. Toyota initially claimed that the recall was issued in Japan because driving conditions put more strain on the affected parts and denied that there was an issue in North America. However the Associated Press investigated the matter and found numerous complains to Toyota’s customer service, legal and warranty department. The National Highway Traffics Safety Association has linked the defect to 16 crashes, three deaths and seven injuries.

[Source: Automotive News]

Toyota‘s recall issues just keep coming, with news from the Japanese automaker that it will recall 50,000 Sequoia SUVs from 2003. The problem with the trucks stems from the Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system, but it is quite unlike the VSC problem recently identified in the Lexus GX460 – which was recalled for a stability control system that did not engage enough.

According to Toyota, the Sequoia’s VSC system could activate at low speeds (roughly 9 mph) causing a loss of acceleration for a few seconds. As a result the vehicle may not accelerate as quickly as the driver expects. Toyota says it changed the VSC system part-way though the 2003 year production, published a Technical Service Bulletin on the issue and that roughly half of the affected vehicles have already been fixed under standard warranty claims.

Toyota says no injuries or accidents have been reported due to this issue.

All 2003 model year Sequoia owners (including those who already had the vehicle serviced) will receive a letter from Toyota starting in late May to schedule a recall fix appointment. Those who already had the issue fixed at their own expense will be reimbursed by Toyota.

Toyota Sequoia owners seeking more information are asked to visit www.toyota.com/recall or call the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.

Official release after the jump:

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As reported earlier today, Toyota has now officially announced it will comply with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s civil fine of $16.4 million for not issuing a recall within an acceptable timeframe. The recall in question focused on 2.3 million vehicles for sticking accelerator pedals.

In a statement the Japanese automaker accepted the fine, but not the terms behind it, stating that it does not believe it violated the Safety Act. “We believe we made a good faith effort to investigate this condition and develop an appropriate counter-measure. We have acknowledged that we could have done a better job of sharing relevant information within our global operations and outside the company, but we did not try to hide a defect to avoid dealing with a safety problem.”

Toyota says it agreed to the fine to avoid further litigation but also to move beyond the issue and focus on improving quality. “This will allow us to focus on delivering safe, reliable, high quality vehicles for our customers and responding to consumer feedback with honesty and integrity. These have been core Toyota values for 70 years, and we pledge to make an even greater effort to adhere to this philosophy now and in the future. We also welcome a new, more transparent chapter in our relationship with NHTSA, consistent with our commitments to Congress and the American people.”

While the $16.4 million fine isn’t much for an automaker, the negative public perception generated by it can be much more significant. Toyota now seems to be quick to issue recalls and vehicles needing to be recalled don’t appear to be lacking with an announcement late last week of a recall for the Sienna minivan and just today for the Lexus GX460.

Official release after the jump:

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It’s the fifth major recall for Toyota in the past few months and Toyota’s stellar reputation for quality is taking a beating. Toyota Motor Corp has just announced a recall of 600,000 Toyota Sienna minivans dating from 1998-2010. The issue with the vans is with the spare tire cable which may rust so severely that the spare tire, located at the rear of the van on the underside, could come loose. Toyota says this is a, “road hazard for following vehicles that increases the likelihood of a crash.”

The recall is for Sienna vans in Northern States or states which use salt on the roads in winter months – which causes increased corrosion. The states listed by Toyota include: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin and West Virginia. Owners of Sienna minivans in other states are welcome to bring their vehicle in for an inspection of the spare tire cable, Toyota says.

Toyota says it is working on a “fix” for the problem and will notify customers as soon as a remedy is available. Toyota will also send out notices to all Sienna owners to in the mean time to book an appointment to have the spare tire cable inspected.

Official release after the jump:

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Toyota is expected to announce today that it will comply with a $16.4 million U.S. Transportation Department fine, imposed for a four month delay in notifying the government of faulty gas pedals on some of its vehicles. The fine is the largest civic penalty ever imposed on an automaker by the U.S. government.

According to AP’s sources Toyota does not want to accept liability for the delay but that by paying the fine it will essentially accept full responsibility. If Toyota were to dispute the fine it could result in a court case with the Federal Government – which is only likely to reflect even worse on Toyota.

According to reports earlier this month, the Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood claimed to have documents showing that Toyota knew of the sticking accelerator pedal problem in September but did not issue the recall until January.

The recall at issue is for 2.3 million vehicles, including models like the Corolla and Camry.

Until now the largest civil fine paid by an automaker to the U.S. government was $1 million, paid in 2004 by General Motors for taking too long to issue a recall for faulty windshield wipers.

[Source: The Associated Press]

Last week the Department of Transportation announced a $16.4 million fine for Toyota after it declared the automaker acted too slowly in informing the government about a problem with sticking accelerator pedals which later led to a recall. That might not be the end of it, however, as according to a report by Automotive News the DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) could levy yet another similar fine.

Of note is the fact that current legislation has saved Toyota from a far more costly payout. The DOT could have fined Toyota for each infraction on the 2.3 million cars, but the current law limits the amount to just one. Were it not for the current legislation, the total could have been as high as $13.8 billion.

The DOT is continuing to investigate Toyota and as it combs though mounts of subpoenaed documents new items of note continue to surface, allowing the DOT to put together a timeline of events. Most recently, investigators uncovered a document that Toyota has asked for accelerator pedal changes to be made in Europe last October, but not in the U.S. In addition, an email uncovered recently by former Toyota VP of environmental and public affairs Irv Miller, urged company execs to “come clean” on the accelerator pedal issue, stating that, “the time to hid on this one is over.”

No official word of the fine has been made by the NHTSA and Toyota has yet to announce if it will appeal the initial fine.

[Source: Automotive News va Autoblog]

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood seems to have found a “smoking gun,” in the Toyota recall controversy, alleging his department now has proof the automaker shirked its legal responsibilities. “We now have proof that Toyota failed to live up to its legal obligations,” he said yesterday. “Worse yet, they knowingly hid a dangerous defect for months from U.S. officials and did not take action to protect millions of drivers and their families.”

As a result, the Transportation department is looking to fine Toyota $16.38 million – the highest penalty possible and the largest ever handed out.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has the right to fine automakers that don’t inform the government body of a problem within five business days. According to the NHTSA, Toyota took four months to confirm the sticky accelerator pedal issue, long after it acknowledged such a problem existed by sending repair instructions to distributors in Europe and Canada. (Toyota Canada has since refuted this claim, saying no such repair info was sent to distributors in that country).

Toyota has two weeks to challenge any such fine by the NHTSA and has not yet said if it will, instead releasing a statement referring to its efforts to improve safety and communication at the company. Meanwhile the transportation department has said it is continuing to review internal Toyota documents and that more fines could be levied if additional violations are discovered.

[Source: FinancialTimes.com]

After Toyota recently debunked an ABC News report about sudden acceleration in its vehicles, the Japanese automaker has now decided to take on CNN, after the news outlet reported that Toyota knew about sudden acceleration issues as far back as 2002.

The story by CNN‘s special investigations unit reports that in a secret document Toyota admitted to electronic issues related to the throttle, even saying that in 2002, “Toyota had a sudden acceleration problem and that according to Toyota’s own technical service bulletin, the problem was electronic.”

Toyota has responded, essentially debunking the document and exposing CNN‘s faulty reporting; the “secret document” being a 2002 Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) published by Toyota and sent to all of its dealers as well as being publicly available online through several government and independent websites as well as through Toyota’s own site: https://techinfo.toyota.com. In fact, the 2002 TSB was discussed by Toyota Motor Sales USA President Jim Lentz during his appearance before the Congressional testimony looking into Toyota’s recall woes.

As for the content of the TSB, Toyota says that the issue was never sudden acceleration but rather, “a drivability issue at speeds of between 38 and 42 miles per hour at light throttle.” the TSB continues, “This condition was strictly related to a function internal to the transmission torque converter under certain throttle conditions.  It manifested as a slight rocking motion, or surge, while holding steady throttle at the specific speed window. This issue was in no way related to any kind of sustained acceleration.”

Toyota contests the misinterpretation of the word “surge” in the document, which is says has been taken out of context. Toyota’s statement says that, “The term surge has been used across the industry for many years to describe a condition where there is a very slight slow-down and speed-up perception (typically two miles per hour or less) while holding steady throttle at low to moderate speeds.” Toyota also says almost every other automaker has issued a similar TSB, with 80 such TSBs being published in the last 10 years.

It would appear as though CNN has now followed after ABC News, with horribly poor investigative journalism that puts ratings ahead of integrity, research and fact checking.

See the official Toyota release and CNNs original story after the jump:

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With all the news surrounding Toyota‘s recent recalls and the widely reported story of a runaway Prius in California (now believed to be a hoax), Toyota has decided to issue an instructional video of what to do in case of an, “unintended acceleration.”

Toyota continues to insist that the problem is rare and the 2008 Prius model that starred in the high-speed adventure in California was only a part of a recall for floor mats.

Still, this is must-watch for Toyota Hybrid drivers.

Se more Toyota Recall News at the AutoGuide Toyota Recall News Hub

Last week James Sikes made headlines when his 2008 Toyota Prius raced out of control of a California highway, with speeds approaching 100 mph. Sikes claimed this was a case of unintended acceleration, with repeated attempts to stop the car not working. A believable story considering Toyota’s long list of recent recalls, it now appears to be a hoax with Runaway Prius Guy quickly becoming the next Balloon Boy.

A story that was riddled with misinformation (several outlets erroneously reporting that a California Highway Patrol officer had to use his cruiser to slow the Prius), Jalopnik uncovered that Sikes is in debt to the tune of $700,000 – motivation to fake the incident in order to get a settlement or to take Toyota to court. Sikes has repeated that he has no interest in suing Toyota, but now his story has been completely called into question.

A federal investigation of the Prius, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, has shown that the condition of the car’s brakes does not support Sikes’ story, in particular his insistence that repeated and forceful use of the brake pedal did not slow the car. According to the Journal, the investigation, “didn’t find signs the brake had been applied at full force at high speeds over a sustained period of time.”

It’s not yet clear if the damage from this story can be repaired, but Toyota is on the march to repair its name, recently debunking the ABC News story and the work of professor David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University.

[Source: Reuters and Jalopnik]