TORRANCE, California — In an unprecedented move, Toyota announced Tuesday night it was suspending sales of eight Toyota-brand models — some of its bestsellers — due to safety concerns regarding sticking accelerator pedals on vehicles that only last week were covered in the company's voluntary recall.
"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."
Vehicles that will not be for sale temporarily are the: 2009-'10 RAV4; 2009-'10 Corolla; 2009-'10 Matrix; 2005-'10 Avalon; certain 2007-'10 Camrys; 2010 Highlander; 2007-'10 Tundra; and 2008-'10 Sequoia.
In addition, Toyota will halt production of vehicles the week of February 1.
The suspended vehicles make up 65 percent of Toyota's market share over the last 12 months.
Inside Line says: A drastic move by Toyota. But will it pay off in customer loyalty after a fix is in place? — Michelle Krebs, Edmunds' Senior Analyst and Editor at Large
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tempesting says:
03:19 AM, 02/19/2011
must sell my toyota... before too late
bigjimcrimebos says:
01:20 AM, 04/17/2010
I think it's rather crazy how the public thinks. Since 1935 Toyota has built the best cars and trucks for the money. The company hasn't had any complaints until now with this gas pedal thing. Since the 1900's GM and other American auto manufactorers have been building crap. Gas guzzling behemoths with limited safty features which have claimed more lives than any Toyota. Airbags and cruple-zones actually do a much better job protecting the driver than does 12 feet of hood. I used to drive American back when I worked fast-food and lived with my folks. But Im older and now know better. I had 8 American cars in my life and only one Toyota. My 96 Camry was purchased new and now has 214,000 miles on it and has never seen a mechanic except for brakes and tires. My 8 American cars are all in the junk yard with less than 200,000 miles on them and all with mostly new parts not to mention poor paint finish quality! My Camry's factory paint job still shines with NO rust, no oxydation and no peels or fade! My brother's 2002 Cadillac STS has rust, oxydation and burns a quart of oil every 1000 miles!! I WILL NEVER BUY AMERICAN AGAIN!!!! I PROMISE!!
chev3 says:
04:01 AM, 02/21/2010
As with all other problem with Toyota, the Australia Toyota branch are a law unto them self's and are saying all those problems do NOT apply to us.
Is there anyone out there that can tell me, if this is correct?
sugarlandtx says:
07:18 PM, 02/06/2010
What should really anger all car owners is that this deadly problem should have been detected by organizations that claim to test cars, such as Edmunds and Consumer Reports. It seems that if the car is not American, it gets a free pass. Consumer Reports admitted that it automatically gave recommendations just because Toyota made the vehicle. (I actually have a subscription to this fraudulent organization.) It would also be interesting to hear how Edmunds explains how it missed this, too. This is what a steady diet of Edmund reviews and Top Gear TV shows result in, biased non objective articles, in other words, lies.
As for the anti-American car bashing people, 646,000 Hondas are being recalled long with millions of Toyotas. Now, the only cars left for the anti-American car clowns to pimp as the best in the world will be German, except it you read the Fraudulent Consumer Reports, they put the German manufacturers quality below most Americans manufactures.
tbone85 says:
09:24 AM, 02/04/2010
They also were designed and approved by, suprise, a Japanese company.
fhwulala says:
08:24 PM, 01/29/2010
The other countries are carrying out the recall because they share the same supplier of gas pedals as the US model. Which, surprise! are from an American Company.
Need more reading training?
fire25 says:
10:06 AM, 01/28/2010
toyota was on 9th or 10th car i would consider buying if i needed too, but a car that kills people...mmm...would not even be on my top 50 of cars to consider...
blh1181 says:
07:28 AM, 01/28/2010
Hmmm. Another 1.1 million vehicles recalled, including Europe now. So all these comments saying it is because of American auto plants just became worthless, as moronic as the people typing them.
tbone85 says:
08:55 PM, 01/27/2010
Jumping to conclusions when all of the facts are not in is what amuses me. Some of the parts were made in Canada and other places around the world. Where were the parts designed? Was the failure due to the part itself, assembly errors, or in conjunction with systems integration? Of course some folks have all these answers before Toyota itself has completed it's official analysis. More internet genius.
A spade is a spade. If one's hatred of American workers is so deep that it blocks a reasonable thought process, then so be it. One recall proves your point, but if the issue proves to originate elsewhere (Like there have never been any Japanese faiures resulting in recalls) then all of the excuses come out. It doesn't take a genius to understand that one recall does not prove the superiority or inferiority of a company, point of origin, or really anything at all.
I'm sure this standard is not applied to whatever profession you earn your living from. After all, a mistake or mistakes from your company would not indicate that you, your company, or where your product or service is produced sucks. You might after all want a detailed analyis to gather facts and provided comparative statistics before you reached such a conclusion--if it were applied to you.
I own a Japanese car, an American car, and a Korean car. Some American made cars are dogs. Others are world class. Kinda like the situation in every country where cars are built. A special hatred of American-made cars is a bias. You can call it what you want, but it doesn't change what it is.
colorado1974 says:
08:39 PM, 01/27/2010
The problems are mainly here because we have a government that looks out for it's people. We have the highest crash standards and emissions standards in the world. Toyota designed the part and simply had the supplier build it. Let me repeat, it was Toyota's design, not some American company.
This from Automotive News!
There's only one level of telling the truth. If you almost tell the truth, it's not the truth.
Toyota Motor Sales USA sent a notice to its dealers, suggesting a script of answers if customers call with questions about the accelerator-pedal problem. Here's one of the Q&As from that script.
Q. Have there been any accidents reported?
A. The number of accidents are still under investigation.
That's the truth, but it's not the whole truth. The accurate answer would be, "Yes."
Or, if Toyota wants to spin the news -- and most automakers in Toyota's position would be desperate to put some spin on the situation -- the answer could be, "Yes, sadly there have been accidents. But we're determined to prevent any future ones, so please come in and let us check out your vehicle."
But that's not what Toyota suggests its dealers say.
I hope Toyota's dealers are more honest with customers than Toyota wants them to be.