And the hits just keep on coming for Toyota. The company announced today that it will recall 437,000 hybrid models worldwide for faulty brakes.
In the U.S., Toyota is voluntarily recalling about 133,000 units of the 2010 Toyota Prius and 14,500 units of the 2010 Lexus HS 250h vehicles to update software in the vehicle's anti-lock brake system. 
Oh wait...what's this? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is now saying that it's considering opening a formal investigation of alleged defects in the electric power steering of 2009 and 2010 Corollas. Oh boy! Trade journal Automotive News found that the model has been the subject of 83 power-steering complaints since April 2008, most of which report the car veering left or right at up to 40 mph.
Anyone care to guess which model is implicated next in this Toyota Recall-athon? Which are left?
AutoObserver
Automotive News (sub. required)
Categories: Auto Industry,Hybrids,Sedans,Toyota
NHTSA is turning the screws on Toyota just a little bit more today with the announcement that it will begin investigating complaints of brake problems with the latest Prius.
Complaints were reported in both the U.S. and Japan and most of them focus on momentary loss of brake power while driving over a bump or through a pothole. Toyota has acknowledged the problem and says it's an issue related to the switchover from the electric to the hydraulic brake systems.
AutoObserver: Despite Quality Woes, Toyota Turns a Profit, Admits Prius Brake Problems
Categories: Hatchbacks,Hybrids,Toyota,Toyota Recalls
Quite an interesting January as the domestics gained while there were mixed results for imports. You might have heard about that Toyota recall thing? Yeah, that news dinged Toyota's sales a good 16%, could be even worse in February if the situation doesn't improve.
On the flip side, both Ford and GM improved their year-over-year sales in January. Credit some of those gains to incentives designed to get the attention of wary Toyota consumers. Nissan and Hyundai also picked up some nice gains in January. For a full run down on all the stats, check out the full report on AutoObserver.
AutoObserver: January Whacks Toyota, But Sales Firm for Other Makers
Categories: Auto Industry,Chevrolet,Ford,General Motors,Honda,Toyota,Toyota Recalls
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood says owners of Toyotas affected by the recent recalls shouold stop driving their cars until they are repaired by Toyota dealers.
According to a report by the AP, LaHood made the remarks during testimony to a House Appropriations subcommittee on transportation. LaHood says his advice to owners is to "stop driving it. Take it to a Toyota dealer because they believe they have a fix for it."
UPDATE: LaHood now says he didn't mean to say stop driving Toyotas.
AP
Categories: Toyota,Toyota Recalls
Early this morning Toyota announced its fix for the problem of sticking gas pedals. It's pretty simple really.
The company has instructed dealers to install a small, steel shim in the gas pedal assembly that will reduce the amount of friction in the mechanism. Toyota says its confident that the reduction in friction will eliminate the possibility that the pedal might stick in a partially open position.
Although this may sound like a temporary quick fix, Toyota says that it's so confident in the procedure that it's considering this a permanent fix and it integrate the design change into future pedal assemblies.
The parts are already being shipped to dealers and a Toyota official told Inside Line that fixes could begin later this week. He estimated that the job would take a technician about 30 minutes to complete.
Categories: Toyota,Toyota Recalls
Toyota made big news when it displayed several eye-catching cars in its booth at the Tokyo Auto Salon a couple weeks ago. These cars were like nothing Toyota has shown before, slick interpretations of future and existing models, which not only looked sporty but supposedly featured significant performance enhancements. These cars wore the G's logo with the words "Toyota G Sports" written underneath.
G's is a new brand from Toyota that will gradually roll out cars in mid-2010, specializing in complete conversions of Toyota's existing products. In a word, G's will be the company's in-house tuning division, providing Toyota fans sporty cars customized to their own tastes. What will separate G's from other OEM tuner divisions like AMG, BMW's M and even the Lexus F cars is the customization angle as customers will be able to choose their level of tweaks. The changes to the cars will be applied to the exterior, interior and to the mechanical components, most notably the suspension.
Continue reading Toyota Planning to Create "Gs" Performance Division.
Categories: Concept Vehicles,Coupes,Future Vehicles,Motorsports,Toyota,Tuners and Modifications
It turns out it's quite easy to tell which of the two possible throttle pedals your late-model Toyota was built with. Pedals made by CTS are subject to the recall, those made by Denso are not. We walked downstairs to our own parking garage yesterday to have a look at Toyotas owned by Edmunds employees.
For many of the Toyota vehicles on the list, you don't even have to look: 100% of them were built in North America and therefore have the pedal in question. The status of the other cars on the list comes down to whether the car was built in Japan or North America. This is easily determined by looking at a single digit in the VIN.
It's all cut and dry by VIN until you come to the Camry. U.S.-built examples of those vehicles have been built with both pedals, so a simple visual inspection of the pedal itself as shown above is necessary to see whether owners should expect to see a recall notice in the mail in the coming weeks.
More details about VINs and larger photos of the two pedals can be found after the jump.
Continue reading Toyota Recall Update #3: How To Tell Which Pedal You Have.
Categories: Auto Industry,Car Tech,Toyota
And Toyota thought it had it bad today. Come tomorrow morning it's going to get even worse as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is planning to protest at the Japanese Embassy in Washington D.C. over Toyota's plans to close New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI).
"After receiving millions in the taxpayer-funded Cash for Clunkers bailout, Toyota plans to close its New United Motors Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) assembly plant in Fremont, CA, which will mean a loss of 5,400 direct jobs and up to 50,000 jobs at suppliers and other supporting businesses. This would be the biggest factory layoff in California since the beginning of the recession. Toyota is also endangering 5,000 middle class jobs in the carhaul industry."
Hmmm...think the Teamsters are attempting to pile on a bit here?
Detroit Free Press: Unions to rally against Toyota
Categories: Auto Industry,Toyota
GM isn't wasting any time taking advantage of Toyota's weakened position after its massive recall and sales stoppage. The General has just announced new incentives for current Toyota customers.
In a phone call to Inside Line, a GM official said the new offer consists of zero percent financing for 60 months on most Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac models. Cash buyers get $1,000 toward a down payment and lease customers can get a waiver of three payments up to $1,000.
To qualify for the incentives, customers must show proof that they own or lease a Toyota.
This is starting to get interesting.
Categories: Auto Industry,General Motors,Toyota
You may have heard of this little Toyota recall and the subsequent stoppage of sales it has caused. If you somehow avoided the massive media onslaught last night, don't worry it will continue for the next several weeks, or until Toyota gets it act together and fixes the problem.
So far one of the most difficult questions to answer is why Lexus and Scion vehicles aren't affected given how much they have in common with their Toyota counterparts. It's quite simple really, but for a far more complex discussion of the issue, we turned to our very own Director of Vehicle Testing, Dan Edmunds, for a complete rundown on what's going on.
Dan explains after the jump.
Continue reading Toyota Recall Update #1: Why Lexus and Scion Vehicles Aren't Affected.
Categories: Toyota
You know all those Toyota models that were recalled last week? Well, now Toyota is taking a slightly more drastic step and suspending sales of new models that are on the recall list until a permanent fix is found.
Seems like a logical move. Even if the new cars aren't affected by what is causing the sticking accelerators, new car buyers probably aren't going to be comfortable with the idea anyway until Toyota can assure them that the problem has been addressed. Expect to see a quick resolution now as the affected models represent 65% of Toyota's sales.
"Helping ensure the safety of our customers and restoring confidence in Toyota are very important to our company," said Group Vice President and Toyota Division General Manager Bob Carter. "This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized. We're making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible."
Toyota
Categories: Toyota
Maybe you thought Toyota exited Formula 1 hastily, a rash decision in the face of falling worldwide sales and trouble in its biggest market (that would be the U.S.). We can assure you that wasn't the case, but if you're still not convinced check out the website Toyota put together to say goodbye to its fans. Yes, a farewell website and a quite nice one at that.
Toyota Farewell to Formula 1
Categories: Motorsports,Toyota
Uh oh, trouble in Toyota land.
After repeatedly dismissing complaints about runaway vehicles, Toyota just issued a recall for 2.3 million vehicles citing the "possibility that certain accelerator pedal mechanisms may, in rare instances, mechanically stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position."
An admission of guilt? Sort of.
The company does call it "rare" and says the recall was "voluntary". Sure it was.
The recall covers the following vehicles:
2009-2010 RAV4
2009-2010 Corolla
2009-2010 Matrix
2005-2010 Avalon
2007-2010 Camry
2010 Highlander
2007-2010 Tundra
2008-2010 Sequoia
Toyota says it's still working on a remedy, but if you own one of these vehicles you can call this number for more info: 1-800-331-4331
Categories: Auto Industry,Toyota
Apart from the FT-86 G Sports, the other interesting Toyota at the Tokyo Auto Salon is this Sports Hybrid Concept. This odd looking roadster is based on the rear-drive MR2 Spyder last sold in the U.S. in 2005.
The Sports Hybrid concept looks pretty worked over, though, because Toyota and Gazoo Racing have stuffed the company's 3.3-liter V6 up front (the production MR2 had 1.8-liter I4, you'll remember) along with an electric motor. The latter drives the front wheels, while the V6 motivates the rears through a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Of course, the CVT has some kind of "manual" mode so that there can be paddle shifters -- we wonder if they're the same pieces from the MR2 SMT.
It sounds deliciously strange with one source claiming to have heard the hybrid MR2 develops about 392 horsepower and will go to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds. That could be true, but we doubt the Sports Hybrid handles very well. It weighs well over 2,800 pounds. The production MR2 Spyder weighed all of 2,200.
Inside Line News
Gazoo
Autocar via Automobile
Categories: Concept Vehicles,Convertibles,Hybrids,Toyota,Tuners and Modifications
