Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) is likely to announce another round of safety recalls in the wake of an engine problem with 270,000 of its cars sold worldwide. The automaker has found that the vehicles with defective engines are getting stalled while moving, while some are making strange noises.
Toyota sold about 90,000 units of these vehicles with defective engines in Japan, and the rest are overseas. They include luxury sedans such as Crown and seven models of Lexus. So far, it has received 200 complaints from its home country related to the problem.
If announced, this would be Toyota’s second recall in less than a week. Last week, the automaker announced recalling 17,000 units of its 2010 model year of Lexus HS 250h gasoline-electric hybrid sedans due to a problem with the fuel tanks. The company has also suspended sales of the model temporarily.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) first noticed the defect with the Lexus HS 250h vehicles during a crash test in the U.S. It has found that the fuel tanks in the vehicles leak when struck from behind at 50 miles per hour.
Since April this year, Toyota has been recalling its Lexus GX and Lexus LS lines. In April, the automaker recalled about 10,000 vehicles of its SUV — the 2010 Lexus GX 460 model — after Consumer Reports magazine revealed that the car bore risks of overturning. The magazine rated the GX 460 a “Don’t Buy,” which was lifted after the recall.
In May, Toyota again recalled 8,300 of its Lexus LS sedans (4,500 units of the sedan in Japan and 3,800 units in the U.S.) in order to fix a problem with their computerized steering systems. The recall included the 2010 LS 460 and LS 600h sedans. The automaker also needed to suspend sales of the sedans for three weeks due to a scarcity of parts needed to fix the steering system problem.
Toyota’s recall crisis started when it suspended sales of 8 models for recalling 2.3 million vehicles to correct sticking accelerator pedals on many of its models in late January this year. The automaker has since been blamed by both the government and the media for its slow response to the safety crisis of its vehicles.
Consequently, the U.S. government imposed the highest-ever fine of $16.4 million on Toyota, accusing it of a deliberate delay in recalling the vehicles by hiding its defects even though manufacturers are legally obligated to notify the U.S. safety regulators within five business days once they come to know of a safety defect.
Toyota now seems more cautious about its pace of response to problems with its vehicles. Last week, the company’s president Akio Toyoda apologized to the shareholders for the troubles caused by its massive global recalls. Toyoda also assured that his company is doing its utmost to improve quality control.
So far, the automaker has recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles from around the world related to problems such as faulty accelerator gas pedals, slipping floor mats and defective braking systems. The recalls have included popular models such as the 2010 Prius hybrid and the Toyota Camry.
Its past recalls have already tarnished the reputation of the automaker. Recently, based on a telephone survey of 1,704 U.S. adult vehicle owners in April, Consumer Reports has suggested that 57% of Toyota owners would “most likely” agree to buy another new vehicle from Toyota. This fell from 70% in a December survey, indicating a slump in the automaker’s reputation.
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