Toyota Corolla Recall - Information & Updates

This will go down in automotive history as one of the weirdest automotive recalls of all time.

After a series of safety problems that has seen more than eight million cars recalled, including the current model Prius, Toyota may have to target the Corolla’s steering.The United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received 83 complaints about the power steering in 2009-2010 Corolla.  The reports say the cars veer left or right at speeds over 64km/h. Six crashes that resulted in 10 injuries are being investigated. The spate of recalls and safety scares may have an impact on the auto giant’s brand image, and credit agency Moody’s is tipped to be reviewing Toyota’s rating.

Toyota Australia has recalled more than 180,000 vehicles over fears that faulty airbags could spray shrapnel when deployed.

Every day there seems to be something new, from extra customer complaints to a damaging internal document which points to deliberate delaying tactics on the safety front.  The total cost of the fiasco is likely to be around $2 billion in lost sales, but no-one can yet say what the safety disaster - everything from faulty accelerator pedals to steering complaints on the Corolla and a brake drama on the Prius - will eventually cost the company in long-term respect.Even in Australia, where Toyota has been largely insulated from the safety problems, apart from the 1700 Prius owners who got a computer tweak to their car's brakes, there are people who are worried about buying a car from the company. And it's early days yet for the full impact on consumer confidence down under.Things are so bad internationally that Akio Toyoda, only recently installed in the top job, will head to Washington to represent Toyota in congressional hearings into the safety failings.  Toyoda is seen as the 'new broom' at the world's largest carmaker, with the potential to turn the company into more than just a brand that mass-produces cars for people who put transport ahead of personality or style. He is already pushing cars like the FT-86 concept, which is expected to be a born-again Sprinter for Gen-Y when it reaches production in 2011.But even he could be tainted, just as Australia's Jac Nasser - once the shooting star at the Ford Motor Company - was brought undone by the unsuccessful campaign to protect the Ford Explorer from a safety crisis in the USA.Toyota has reacted with things like a brake-against-throttle safety switch, but other brands have had that protection against a runaway for years.  It has also set up a new global committee for product quality, which will be chaired by Toyoda, but people are asking why it was not done before.The reason is simple: the Toyota production system is designed to stop faults and flaws before the factory gates. It's so good that it has been copied around the world, and by many companies outside the auto business, for decades.But the safety shortcomings highlighted by the multi-million-vehicle safety recalls show the system is only as good as the people who run it. And Toyota has been caught short.  The Toyota safety story has a long way to run and I am not expecting much good news for a long while yet.

A discovery of bogus car safety parts in Sydney and Melbourne has led to an unprecedented raid on a factory in China.

Toyota issues its seventh recall in six months, doubles up on one from last year.

Shine Lawyers have been contacted by five people who have reported airbags exploding with "excessive force" in a crash, leaving them with facial scars and bruising.Some spent weeks in hospital and others have been unable to return to work. Along with these claims, serious concerns have emerged about the effectiveness of Australia's recall process.The number of suspect cars rose to 168,000 last year, then 400,000 last month and now 850,000Toyota has only managed to examine and, where needed fix, just 29 per cent of 1700 Corollas and Avensis Versos red-flagged in April, 2013, when the number of cars considered at risk was 12,000 and there was no parts shortage.The number of suspect cars rose to 168,000 last year, then 400,000 last month and now 850,000 across major brands.Around the world, 54 million vehicles are affected and the airbag maker, Takata, can no longer produce replacements quickly enough.By Christmas, Toyota hopes to have one-third of the stock needed for recently recalled Yaris models.And the Takata airbag recall is not alone in failing to gain traction. Samsung triggered an official alert on 145,000 potentially deadly washing machines in 2013 but is yet to see more than 80,000 of them.Manufacturers should be treating this as a consumer safety emergencyA Toyota spokeswoman blamed customers for the response to the 2013 recall. It and other manufacturers sent letters to addresses believed to link to at-risk vehicles. "We are relying on customers to book in their cars (for checks)," she said.Car makers needed to do more to get customers into safer vehicles, either by forcing Takata to work faster or by providing loan cars, said Shine partner Rebecca Jancauskas and Senator Nick Xenophon, who has a record of campaigning for greater product safety and owns a recalled 2006 Toyota Yaris."Manufacturers should be treating this as a consumer safety emergency," Senator Xenophon said."Would car company executives want their family members to be driving in cars when there is a real chance of injury or death? That's the pub test."Shine's Ms Jancauskas said questions need to be asked about the testing of products before they hit the Australian market. Relying on information from car makers, the Department of Infrastructure, which includes transport, said there has been no report of injury due to defective airbags.A class action would likely target Takata and car makers.