Toyota suspend US sales

Henry Ford III

Toyota’s decision to suspend US sales of eight of its most popular models - including the Camry, America’s best-selling car – to fix faulty accelerator pedals could spread to Europe.

The sales suspension to fix pedals that could stick and cause acceleration without warning was announced in the US late yesterday.

Last week, Toyota recalled the same eight models, involving 2.3 million vehicles.

Toyota is also halting production at six North American car-assembly plants and gave no date on when production could restart.

Although Toyota’s Japan plants are not affected, the problem could spread to Europe, where a similar accelerator part is used, and could affect millions more vehicles.

The problem part comes from one US supplier and does not affect models that use parts from different suppliers, said a Toyota official.

Toyota shares fell 4.3% in Tokyo today.

Analysts said the production stoppage signalled a more serious crisis for Toyota than recalls, which are fairly routine for car-makers.

Yasuaki Iwamoto, auto analyst with Okasan Securities in Tokyo, said: “It’s an abnormal situation, and there is no way to compare it with anything else.”

He said the problem should serve as a wake-up call for Toyota to be more careful with maintaining quality. There is no quick fix to a tarnished brand image.

Despite the recent recalls, Toyota has still done well on quality surveys, and leads the world in hybrids, which show off top-grade green technology.

But the latest US problems mirror the spate of quality problems that plagued Toyota several years ago in Japan, its home market.

In 2006, former Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe acknowledged lapses in quality control in Japan.

One sparked a criminal investigation by the Japanese government into accidents suspected of being linked to vehicle problems. No one was charged.

At that time, Mr Watanabe appeared at a news conference in Tokyo, bowing deeply to express remorse to consumers and dealers. Later, he acknowledged overzealous growth was behind the quality problems.

Mr Iwamoto said: “Under Watanabe’s growth strategy, it was difficult to maintain a balance between speed and quality. The problems came about because of the strains that came from his expansion efforts.”

Mr Watanabe, who took office in 2005, was replaced last year by Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota’s founder.

Mr Toyoda has repeatedly said his company is in a crisis that could peril its survival.

Toyota quietly gave global sales targets yesterday that showed it was optimistic about getting on track to recovery since the financial crisis in late 2008 sent demand crashing, especially in the key North American market.

Toyota said it expected to sell 2.19 million vehicles in North America in 2010, up 11% from 2009.

Globally, Toyota said it was planning sales of 8.27 million vehicles this year, up 6% from 2009.

The US sales suspension includes the following models: the 2009/10 RAV4, the 2009/10 Corolla, the 2007/10 Camry, the 2009/10 Matrix, the 2005/10 Avalon, the 2010 Highlander, the 2007/10 Tundra and the 2008/10 Sequoia.

The company said the sales suspension would not affect Lexus vehicles and the Prius would remain on sale.

The announcement follows a larger US recall months earlier of 4.2 million vehicles because of problems with accelerator pedals becoming trapped under floor mats, causing sudden acceleration. That problem was the cause of several crashes, including some deaths.


http://news.eircom.net/business/17204703/

Joey the lips

Betcha that puts a big dint in there Kanban and JIT principles. I think this is the 2nd time this type of problem has happened.

Stevie Dakota

Wow.

unkel

Joey the lips wrote: »

I think this is the 2nd time this type of problem has happened.

I think it is still the same problem that was made public about a year ago. They don't seem to be getting on with the recall promptly???

Massive exposure to claims, they are leaving themselves with :eek:

galwaytt

....nah , ye're missing the point..........

Toyota.....the best built cars in the world......

ah, yes, come on, have ye no homes to go to, anyone for the last few Skoda's now....!

Leonard Hofstadter

The car in front could quite literally be a Toyota if the accelerator got stuck, then again it already is the car in front, the car in front holding us up driving at a snail's pace:D!

I bet you that this latest scandal(and the diesel Avensis having swirl flap problems as well as the Urban Cruiser only getting 3 stars in NCAP) will just be "buried under the carpet" by the Irish public, the Irish public are very selective in what they want to hear about the world's best manufacturer at making the most unintersting cars on sale and buy the damm things in droves(not that I would want that kind of excitement when driving, then again I don't know because driving one is one of the most depressing things there is), it's like a cult owning a Toyota(along with the Church and voting for FF), I really can't understand why so many people in this country buy them, I'd love to think that this will knock a few sales out of them here but I know it won't:rolleyes:.

unkel

captainspeed wrote: »

Toyota(along with the Church and voting for FF)

Sure, they're all on the way out

bazz26

captainspeed wrote: »

The car in front could quite literally be a Toyota if the accelerator got stuck, then again it already is the car in front, the car in front holding us up driving at a snail's pace:D!

I bet you that this latest scandal(and the diesel Avensis having swirl flap problems as well as the Urban Cruiser only getting 3 stars in NCAP) will just be "buried under the carpet" by the Irish public, the Irish public are very selective in what they want to hear about the world's best manufacturer at making the most unintersting cars on sale and buy the damm things in droves(not that I would want that kind of excitement when driving, then again I don't know because driving one is one of the most depressing things there is), it's like a cult owning a Toyota(along with the Church and voting for FF), I really can't understand why so many people in this country buy them, I'd love to think that this will knock a few sales out of them here but I know it won't:rolleyes:.

That old chestnut makes me laugh. For the most part average Joe is happy with getting to and from their destination rather how they get there. A car is just a method of transport to them and choose one accordingly. The likes of Toyota know this and have given them what these people want for years, surely selling something that people want is the basis for any business venture?

Same with buying a TV, there are nerds out there who want the best HD picture, sound, etc they can get for their money and then there are those who don't care about all that lark and just buy a TV from Harvey Normans. I wonder do the members of the gadgets forums ridicule Samsung, etc for producing basic TVs?

Leonard Hofstadter

The world's best manufacturer of making absolutely no effort to produce cars that may even be slightly interesting has announced a European wide recall for the same thing.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/247149/

Toyota are really slipping backwards between this, swirl flaps(yes diesel Toyotas have them too) and only getting a 3 star safety rating in the Urban Cruiser, doubtless this latest scandal will do absolutely nothing to sales of the marque here, at the moment 3 in every 20 new cars sold this year here is one of the damm things:rolleyes:.

Meanwhile with Ford, a company that believes in making good cars they are back making a massive profit, if Ford dealers here could get their act together and understand the concept of customer service they could slowly disband the cult that is Toyota ownership here.

galwaytt

captainspeed wrote: »

The car in front could quite literally be a Toyota if the accelerator got stuck.....

LOL ! ROFLMAO !!

alo1587

http://www.momlogic.com/2009/09/911_call_released_in_stuck_accelerator_crash.php

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/four-dead-due-to-toyota-stuck-accelerator-pedal-11598.html

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/walmart-24413-lot-accelerator.html

suitseir

Jeez on two occasions my accelerator on Toyota 07 Corolla has proved troublesome. I had to stop as I thought and was sure it was the car mat that travelled underneath the pedal. Maybe not!

Must get it checked out.

I did notice that when I start the car the engine sounds as if it is racing a bit and then when I change the gear, and press the accelerator, it sounds as if it is still racing. Maybe a problem? I have had it about a year.....would make you think though!!!!

Zonda999

bazz26 wrote: »

Same with buying a TV, there are nerds out there who want the best HD picture, sound, etc they can get for their money and then there are those who don't care about all that lark and just buy a TV from Harvey Normans. I wonder do the members of the gadgets forums ridicule Samsung, etc for producing basic TVs?

LOL, true enough but the difference there is that you pay a premium for extra picture quality when buying a tv, in a car you may not have to

Many would agree that when setting a budget for a new car, one could get a toyota or get a technically(and visually in nearly all cases) superior car for the same money

I'm the first to agree that toyota now make some of the most boring cars known to man(Especially for the European market). However, their business model for the "average joe soap a to b car" relies on them being reliable which is something they are slipping on IMO, and they are not compensating on this by making more stylish cars either, if anything they are slipping in this regard too, cars by their competing brands are getting more and more stylish while toyota are still sticking to the same design idea's, again IMO of course

And another thing, looking here , a few trends strike me as odd and can probably be only be accounted for by some stupid choices by joe soap. For example, note that up to the 27th of January, 783 Ford Foci have been registered, of which 707 have been diesel. All that while 722 Toyota Corolla's have been registered where 506 of them are PETROL! Now, to be fair toyota are pushing the petrol corolla by giving away 10 grand worth of prize bonds for a year, and a years road tax but surely joe soap would be able to see that while a D4D corolla is 2500€ dearer at list price, the extra annual road tax of 300€ and greater fuel use of the petrol, as well as the obviously better resale values of a diesel model in years to come is reason enough to go for the diesel! Come on, wtf like!

And talking about technical superiority not coming at a price,

Skoda Octavia Petrol

---

Toyota Corolla Petrol
1.2TSi - 105bhp

---

1.4VVTi - 97bhp
6 speed

---

5 speed
Road tax €156

---

Road tax €447
Air Con

---

No Air Con
€18,265

---

€19,445
Built in Czech Republic

---

Built in Turkey

Atlantic Dawn

Zonda999 wrote: »

toyota are pushing the petrol corolla by giving away 10 grand worth of prize bonds for a year, and a years road tax

Great marketing on their behalf and great simplicity by the purchasers :rolleyes:. Toyota can trade all the bonds in next year for full cash back, think they only give one purchaser the €10,000 to keep so little cost at all to them. The saloon Corolla was dying a death and the petrol models were finished once the emissions based taxation came in but they have now flogged their stock and can concentrate on the diesel models. The saloon model is not even sold in the UK anymore.

Zonda999

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Great marketing on their behalf and great simplicity by the purchasers :rolleyes:. Toyota can trade all the bonds in next year for full cash back, think they only give one purchaser the €10,000 to keep so little cost at all to them. The saloon Corolla was dying a death and the petrol models were finished once the emissions based taxation came in but they have now flogged their stock and can concentrate on the diesel models. The saloon model is not even sold in the UK anymore.

Yep but surely they wouldnt have had that many of them in stock just sitting there? If so, they've done a fine job flogging them off!

And another thing, just to to show just how out of touch some prospective buyers are, see that only 145 Auris's(Less than a BMW 5 series thats about to be replaced in a couple of months i might add) have been registered compared to 722 Corolla's. Now i'm pretty sure back in 05 or 06, say, the saloon corolla wouldnt have outsold the hatch to that extent, if anything i would have thought the hatch corolla sold better. Anyway, just goes to show what a simple name change can do to the sales of a car thats business model relies on peoples familiarity with a brand. I believe they changed the name to the Auris to try and reach out to new customers so FAIL on that one tbh. Toyota Ireland should have continued to call it the Corolla and i can guarantee those sales figures for the Auris wouldnt be so. I would have assumed even Joe Soap could see past a simple name change to see that technically a corolla and auris are technically the same, but obviously not...

bazz26

Zonda999 wrote: »

LOL, true enough but the difference there is that you pay a premium for extra picture quality when buying a tv, in a car you may not have to

Many would agree that when setting a budget for a new car, one could get a toyota or get a technically(and visually in nearly all cases) superior car for the same money

I'm the first to agree that toyota now make some of the most boring cars known to man(Especially for the European market). However, their business model for the "average joe soap a to b car" relies on them being reliable which is something they are slipping on IMO, and they are not compensating on this by making more stylish cars either, if anything they are slipping in this regard too, cars by their competing brands are getting more and more stylish while toyota are still sticking to the same design idea's, again IMO of course

And another thing, looking here , a few trends strike me as odd and can probably be only be accounted for by some stupid choices by joe soap. For example, note that up to the 27th of January, 783 Ford Foci have been registered, of which 707 have been diesel. All that while 722 Toyota Corolla's have been registered where 506 of them are PETROL! Now, to be fair toyota are pushing the petrol corolla by giving away 10 grand worth of prize bonds for a year, and a years road tax but surely joe soap would be able to see that while a D4D corolla is 2500€ dearer at list price, the extra annual road tax of 3000€ and greater fuel use of the petrol, as well as the obviously better resale values of a diesel model in years to come is reason enough to go for the diesel! Come on, wtf like!

And talking about technical superiority not coming at a price,

Skoda Octavia Petrol

---

Toyota Corolla Petrol
1.2TSi - 105bhp

---

1.4VVTi - 97bhp
6 speed

---

5 speed
Road tax €156

---

Road tax €447
Air Con

---

No Air Con
€18,265

---

€19,445
Built in Czech Republic

---

Built in Turkey

You use an example of the newly launched 1.2 TSi VAG engine and compare it against the soon to be defunct 1.4 litre Corolla. Remember Toyota had that 97bhp 1.4 litre engine for almost 10 years now while VAG are only phasing out the ancient 80bhp 1.4 litre and 102bhp 1.6 litre engines even in their so called premium Audi A3. Even Ford were up to the end of 2009 flogging the Focus with a weedy 80bhp 1.4 litre engine that originates back to the original Focus of 1998.

So just to measure like with like, Toyota are now replacing the 1.4 litre petrol with a new 1.33 litre dual VVTi engine with start/stop technology as standard which has 100bhp and C02 rating of 139g.

However I do agree that the Corolla/Auris designs are instantly forgetable and not having air con as standard is stingy but an Octavia is hardly stylish either and it's trade mark budget car image has been pushing up market and price over the last couple of years, even comparing it to a Corolla which is a Golf/Focus rival is testiment to that imo.

Atlantic Dawn

Zonda999 wrote: »

I believe they changed the name to the Auris to try and reach out to new customers so FAIL on that one tbh. Toyota Ireland should have continued to call it the Corolla and i can guarantee those sales figures for the Auris wouldnt be so.

Interestingly they kept the Corolla name for the Auris in Australia, didn't want to risk an to upset the market there... http://www.toyota.com.au/corolla?DCSext.LPLink=Corolla|Model

crosstownk

The best built cars in the world.................???

JHMEG

Now that Toyota are officially not the best built cars in the world, what's a suitable replacement for the venerable Avensis in Ireland? Looking around BMW could well be the new Toyota, so maybe the 3-series, complete with tow-bar and diesel stain down the side?

Ironically, that most Celtic Tiger of cars, the Mini, is being outsold in Ireland by the Prius! Shock horror! So things aren't all bad for Toyota. Who know's maybe the Prius is the new Mini? Now, if only they did a salt & vinegar pack...

VolvoMan

JHMEG wrote: »

Now that Toyota are officially not the best built cars in the world, what's a suitable replacement for the venerable Avensis in Ireland? Looking around BMW could well be the new Toyota, so maybe the 3-series, complete with tow-bar and diesel stain down the side?

Ah, would you give the BM' bashing a break...

JHMEG

VolvoMan wrote: »

Ah, would you give the BM' bashing a break...

Suggesting the 3 is a suitable replacement for the venerable Avensis is a compliment of the highest order.

Zonda999

bazz26 wrote: »

You use an example of the newly launched 1.2 TSi VAG engine and compare it against the soon to be defunct 1.4 litre Corolla. Remember Toyota had that 97bhp 1.4 litre engine for almost 10 years now while VAG are only phasing out the ancient 80bhp 1.4 litre and 102bhp 1.6 litre engines even in their so called premium Audi A3. Even Ford were up to the end of 2009 flogging the Focus with a weedy 80bhp 1.4 litre engine that originates back to the original Focus of 1998.

So just to measure like with like, Toyota are now replacing the 1.4 litre petrol with a new 1.33 litre dual VVTi engine with start/stop technology as standard which has 100bhp and C02 rating of 139g.

However I do agree that the Corolla/Auris designs are instantly forgetable and not having air con as standard is stingy but an Octavia is hardly stylish either and it's trade mark budget car image has been pushing up market and price over the last couple of years, even comparing it to a Corolla which is a Golf/Focus rival is testiment to that imo.

True, the 1.33vvti has gone into the Auris but i had'nt heard of its imminent arrival in the Corolla yet so its probably fair to say that it the Corolla 1.33 wont make it here in 2010. Where did you hear it is going into the corolla?

However, the VAG 1.2 TSi has'nt replaced the ancient 1.4 80bhp as such, its still in production afaik, if anything the 1.2 TSi is a replacement for the 1.6 100bhp, but given its favourable Co2, it is now the base petrol in this country, BTW, is that figure of 139g CO2 for the Auris or the corolla? If its for the Auris, the heavier corolla may struggle to get below 141g, needed to get get into the B tax band

Matter of opinion calling the Octavia a budget car anymore IMO, given its golf underpinnings, i doubt many if any in this forum would claim it is inferior technically in any way to the Corolla, especially given its new 1.2 TSi and 1.6 CR TDi engines. Octavia is hardly stylish in standard form but none less so than a Golf or Focus.

Hers an odd one too btw..

Toyota Auris 1.33VVTi. 0-100kmh

---

13.2s
Skoda Octavia 1.2TSi. 0-100kmh

---

10.8s

Surprised by those figures tbh..

galwaytt

Zonda999 wrote: »

... but surely joe soap would be able to see that while a D4D corolla is 2500€ dearer at list price, the extra annual road tax of 300€ and greater fuel use of the petrol, as well as the obviously better resale values of a diesel model in years to come is reason enough to go for the diesel! Come on, wtf like!

...I'm not convinced. For a start, in recent times, diesels have got more and more expensive to service. As they get older, the potential for big bills on a depreciating asset isn't rosy. And they're needing more expertise, or dealer-only fixes, to understand.

Something like a Skoda Fabia 1.2 on the other hand, is cheap to buy, intrinsically simple, qualifies for low tax, is fuel efficient. And as it gets older, it won't have swirl flap, CR pump or DPF issues, either. All will make this an even better bet against depreciation in the future.

And don't forget that most new cars are bought on finance - so that €2500 you're talking about - add car finance at 6% p.a. to that for the real cost.......

When you do that, for 'normal' mileage p.a., I don't think diesel is a slam-dunk at all.

Besides, as we've had it out here before: fuel is the least of your issues when you buy a car: it's the depreciation that kills you.

Guy:Incognito

galwaytt wrote: »

Besides, as we've had it out here before: fuel is the least of your issues when you buy a car: it's the depreciation that kills you.

New car smell + knowledge that no one else has driven (abused) your car > Costs.:)

Leonard Hofstadter

bazz26 wrote: »

So just to measure like with like, Toyota are now replacing the 1.4 litre petrol with a new 1.33 litre dual VVTi engine with start/stop technology as standard which has 100bhp and C02 rating of 139g.

The 1.33 engine has been in the Arse/Auris since 2008 in the UK but is still not listed for sale here in either that thing or the Corolla, Toyota have a load of them to try and get rid of which is why they are giving such a "wonderful" deal on a car that will be worthless secondhand, it is going well for them though I must admit (which says more about the people who have bought them than it does about Toyota Ireland) since they have flogged 506 of them as of yesterday this year already, sure even the diesel Corollas are still the 5 speed model while the Arse has the 6 speed one with more torque, I've been told that the 6 speed diesel Corollas have only just arrived even though again the diesels in them were upgraded the same time as the 1.33 petrol came along back in 2008 so they obviously had a massive stockpile of them too to get rid of last year:rolleyes: Toyota Ireland are a joke really, they did the same thing with the Avensis last year only to bring out the brand new model a couple of weeks later and the new Land Cruiser is being delayed by a year for Ireland for the same reason:rolleyes:.

bazz26

captainspeed wrote: »

The 1.33 engine has been in the Arse/Auris since 2008 in the UK but is still not listed for sale here in either that thing or the Corolla, Toyota have a load of them to try and get rid of which is why they are giving such a "wonderful" deal on a car that will be worthless secondhand, it is going well for them though I must admit (which says more about the people who have bought them than it does about Toyota Ireland) since they have flogged 506 of them as of yesterday this year already, sure even the diesel Corollas are still the 5 speed model while the Arse has the 6 speed one with more torque, I've been told that the 6 speed diesel Corollas have only just arrived even though again the diesels in them were upgraded the same time as the 1.33 petrol came along back in 2008 so they obviously had a massive stockpile of them too to get rid of last year:rolleyes: Toyota Ireland are a joke really, they did the same thing with the Avensis last year only to bring out the brand new model a couple of weeks later and the new Land Cruiser is being delayed by a year for Ireland for the same reason:rolleyes:.

Yep, and Honda did the same with the new Accord, onsale in the UK since mid 2008 yet we didn't get it until early 2009 as their was still a quantity of the old models unsold.

Ford also did something similar here with the Focus, where Ford Ireland had an oversupply of Paddy special 1.4 petrol and antique 1.8 TDCi models so they dropped the superior 1.6 TDCi from the range for almost 12 months until the others were sold. The 1.6 TDCi has since been reduced and all petrol models bar the ST have been dropped for 2010.

unkel

bazz26 wrote: »

Ford also did something similar here with the Focus, where Ford Ireland had an oversupply of Paddy special 1.4 petrol and antique 1.8 TDCi models so they dropped the superior 1.6 TDCi from the range for almost 12 months until the others were sold. The 1.6 TDCi has since been reduced and all petrol models bar the ST have been dropped for 2010.

Wow, the only petrol Focus is now an ST? So they dropped the alcoholic(E85) as well?

bazz26

unkel wrote: »

Wow, the only petrol Focus is now an ST? So they dropped the alcoholic(E85) as well?

The coupe/convertible and RS are also available but the bog standard petrol models have been dropped. To be honest on the new tax system you would need your head examined to buy a petrol model unless they were giving it to you for nothing. Even the ST/RS are hardly bought here now as the new system has killed them off and hardly anyone bought the convertible even on the old tax system.

New Focus will have a new range of low C02 petrol engines later this year including apparently a 1.0 litre turbo unit afaik.

Raiser

Lean? I wouldn't lean - I'd jump out before my rushed & botched Motor accelerated to 140 MPH and splattered me to atoms.....

Corporate Buzzwords - Now demonstrably lethal to Human health.

Toyota invented "lean production" according to Jeffrey Liker, author of The Toyota Way. It's also known as the Toyota Production System or TPS for short. And it seems to work well: Toyota's profits in March 2003 were larger than GM, Ford, and Chrysler combined!

Six Sigma and Lean are clearly on a collision course. So are all of the quality disciplines whether it's ISO 9000 or software's CMMI. Each is a slightly different view through a different facet of the same diamond.

Lean

At it's heart, lean is about speed and the relationship between steps in a process. It's about eliminating non-value added elements from the process. It's about shrinking batch sizes down to create a "one-piece flow."

And where did Toyota get this silly idea called "lean?" From U.S. supermarkets, that's where. On an early visit to the U.S. they saw how supermarket shelves held minimal inventory and were replenished only as quickly as customers "pulled" the products off the shelf. In a pull system, the preceding process must always do what the subsequent process tells it. The visual ability to see low stock and replenish it became known as the kanban (a.k.a. "card") system.

Here's Toyota's critical discovery: When you make lead times short and focus on keeping production lines flexible, you actually get better quality, responsiveness, productivity, and utilization of equipment and space. Some core beliefs include:

1. The right process will produce the right results.
2. Developing your people and partners adds value.
3. Continuously solving root problems drives organizational learning.
4. One-piece flow increases productivity, profitability, and quality.
5. Products don't like to wait in line. Material, parts, and products are impatient.
6. The only thing that adds value is the physical or informational transformation of raw material into something the customer wants.
7. Errors are opportunities for learning.
8. Problem solving is 20% tools and 80% thinking.

stimpson

Toyota bashing aside, would you prefer to drive a car from a company that doesn't recall a dangerous product because it will hit their profits? It's like that line from Fight Club:

A new car built by my company leaves somewhere travelling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.

kyote00

Toyota UK have some more info on which models and production dates

Avensis is not too badly hit, Yaris and Rav4 problems go back to 2006 - odd its only coming out now ?

http://blog.toyota.co.uk/list-of-european-toyota-models-affected-by-recall

Deadwards.com

Hi Everyone,

I work in Toyota Ireland and saw this thread on boards.

Toyota are a responsible company and initiate a recall if there is any possibility of a safety issue arising.

If you have any concerns about this recall for a Toyota you own, please check out the website www.toyota.ie and look at the news headlines section for updates. Also, the Toyota office is open today until 5pm by calling 01-4190222 and 9-5pm Monday to Friday.

Toyota aim to have a complete list of all affected vehicles by the end of the week and will be writing to all customers involved following this. If however, people are experiencing any issues with their accelerator pedal at present, we would strongly recommend that they contact their nearest Toyota Dealer without delay.

Atlantic Dawn

Deadwards.com wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

I work in Toyota Ireland and saw this thread on boards.

Toyota are a responsible company and initiate a recall if there is any possibility of a safety issue arising.

If you have any concerns about this recall for a Toyota you own, please check out the website www.toyota.ie and look at the news headlines section for updates. Also, the Toyota office is open today until 5pm by calling 01-4190222 and 9-5pm Monday to Friday.

Toyota aim to have a complete list of all affected vehicles by the end of the week and will be writing to all customers involved following this. If however, people are experiencing any issues with their accelerator pedal at present, we would strongly recommend that they contact their nearest Toyota Dealer without delay.

The UK have posted production dates on their website of the models affected, can we assume that Irish vehicles are the same?

Leonard Hofstadter

It turns out that the 1.4 petrol Corolla and Auris models are not affected by the recall:

From Toyota.ie:

Update: Toyota Ireland statement on accelerator pedal concern on cars sold in Europe.

Date: Sunday 31st Jan - 3pm
Toyota Motor Europe has announced the recall of 8 Toyota models in Europe, to solve a potential accelerator pedal issue.
In rare instances the accelerator pedal may mechanically stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position. This issue is caused because the accelerator pedal mechanisms concerned may become worn.
Toyota has identified a remedy for this issue, and is currently pursuing a final evaluation and confirmation procedure.
For Ireland not all vehicles within the production range will be effected, for example the Toyota Corolla 1.4 Petrol and the Toyota Auris 1.4 Petrol will not be affected by this recall. We expect to have a detailed list of vehicles which are potentially affected by the middle of this week.
We will confirm owner contact details with the Department of the Environment’s Vehicle Registration Office in Shannon and following this we will contact owners of affected vehicles directly by post.
The involved models and production periods are as follows:

• AYGO (Feb 2005 – Aug 2009)
• iQ (Nov 2008 – Nov 2009)
• Yaris (Nov 2005 – Sep 2009)
• Auris (Oct 2006 – 5 Jan 2010)
• Corolla (Oct 2006 – Dec 2009)
• Verso (Feb 2009 – 5 Jan 2010)
• Avensis (Nov 2008 – Dec 2009)
• RAV4 (Nov 2005 – Nov 2009)

No Lexus models and no any other Toyota models are affected.
Whilst this condition is rare Toyota advises customers who have concerns, to contact their Toyota Dealer or Toyota Ireland Customer Relations on 01 - 4190222 from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
Toyota Ireland is making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible.
We will provide updated information for Toyota owners on www.toyota.ie as we receive it.

langdang

captainspeed wrote: »

It turns out that the 1.4 petrol Corolla and Auris models are not affected by the recall:

I'm not surprised, I think we would have realised well before now that there was an issue if we saw 1.4 corollas making normal progress on our roads. Could they fit some of the faulty accelerators from the recalled cars to these instead? Their drivers might reach 100kph on perfectly good roads then?

Leonard Hofstadter

langdang wrote: »

I'm not surprised, I think we would have realised well before now that there was an issue if we saw 1.4 corollas making normal progress on our roads. Could they fit some of the faulty accelerators from the recalled cars to these instead? Their drivers might reach 100kph on perfectly good roads then?

LOL:D

Guy:Incognito

captainspeed wrote: »

It turns out that the 1.4 petrol Corolla and Auris models are not affected by the recall:
.

Damn those pensioners. They always end up knowing best.