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Toyota Safety Crisis Deepens
KOMPAS.com - The reputation of Toyota took another hammering yesterday with the recall of 8,500 of its flagship Prius cars in the UK because of brake problems.
The move comes after a series of safety alerts that have battered the standing of the world's biggest car maker and affected millions of motorists.
Toyota's worldwide problems have caused consternation in Japan where transport minister Seiji Maehara yesterday criticised the company for reacting too slowly to the unfolding crisis.
'We hope this never happens again,' he said. 'The consideration for customers was lacking in Toyota.'
His comments came as Toyota bosses face a grilling on the company's safety record when they appear before a United States Congressional hearing on February 24.
Federal safety officials have received 80 complaints from drivers of 2009 and 2010 Corollas in America, with many saying their cars wandered when driving straight on highways - making it hard to stay in lanes.
In total, nearly 400,000 Prius cars, 52,900 of them in Europe, are to be recalled because of complaints about a time lag when braking on bumpy or icy roads.
Toyota have insisted it was not a safety issue. Instead, it said the braking problem was a 'phenomenon' which it described as 'inconsistent brake feel'.
The UK Prius recall involves the third generation of the hybrid petrolelectric car which has proved immensely popular with green-conscious celebrities.
The recall affects models manufactured from last summer up to January 27 this year.
Toyota is already reeling in the furore over a 'sticky' accelerator pedal affecting more than eight million vehicles, which lawyers in America blame for 19 deaths. A 77-year-old grandmother in Michigan, America, was killed in 2008 after her Toyota Camry suddenly sped up to 80mph, her family revealed yesterday.
Guadalupe Alberto died instantly when the vehicle hit and tree before careering into another car. Alberto's daughter Lilia admitted: 'Toyotas aren't perfect.'
More than 180,000 British cars are affected. It has also had a knock-on effect on thousands of Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107 models, which have had to be recalled. Both cars are built on the same Czech production line as the Toyota Aygo and use the same accelerator pedal.
Toyota said last night that the 30-minute repairs to 180,865 faulty accelerator pedals on its models would begin today at 206 Toyota service centres, with the capacity to repair up to 6,000 vehicles a day.
Some 100,000 accelerator pedal repair parts will arrive in the UK by Friday. Dealers have also been supplied with software upgrades for Prius brakes.
Last week the boss of Toyota in Britain Miguel Fonseca, 49, insisted the Prius was safe to drive.
But lawyer Nick Freeman - dubbed 'Mr Loophole' for his defence of celebrities accused of driving offences - yesterday urged owners affected by the recalls not to drive their cars.
'If I had a Toyota I would not even drive it to the dealership for the repair work to be done,' he added. 'What if you had an accident on the way? You could be criminally liable.'
State Farm insurance, the largest U.S. car insurer, revealed it had warned federal safety regulators more than two years ago about an increase in reports of unexpected acceleration in Toyota vehicles.
The company said it noticed an increase in reports of unwanted acceleration in Toyotas from its large customer database and warned the NHTSA in late 2007. NHTSA officials said the report was reviewed and the agency issued a recall later that month.
Toyota officials have apologized for the recalls and vowed to fix customer vehicles. Akio Toyoda, the company's president and grandson of its founder, wrote in an opinion article in The Washington Post today that Toyota 'has not lived up to the high standards you have come to expect of us' and called the recent spate of problems 'the most serious' the company has ever faced.
'We fully understand that we need to more aggressively investigate complaints we hear directly from consumers and move more quickly to address any safety issues we identify,' Toyoda wrote.
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source: kompas.com
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