Topic: RECALL

[dino1967]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16697719/ 

[*FFC*]

WASHINGTON - Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it was recalling 533,000 Tundra pickup trucks and Sequoia sport utility vehicles because of potential steering problems.

Toyota said the recall involved 2004-2006 Tundra trucks and 2004-2007 Sequoia full-size SUVs. The automaker has received reports of 11 accidents and six injuries connected to the recall, said Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong.

The automaker said there was a possibility of excessive wear to a front suspension lower ball joint that could make it difficult to steer the vehicle and stay in the center of the lane. Drivers may also notice more noise coming from the front suspension, Kwong said.


Toyota recalled about 775,000 pickups and SUVs in May 2005 — one of its largest recalls ever — because of similar problems with the front suspension. The recall included 2002-2004 model years of the Tundra and Sequoia.

Kwong said the company received additional complaints involving newer models of the Tundra and Sequoia, prompting them to issue the recall.

Toyota, which is challenging General Motors Corp. to become the world’s largest automaker, has aggressively touted its redesigned Tundra pickup as a strong competitor in the lucrative truck segment dominated by GM and Ford Motor Co.

The first Tundras built at Toyota’s San Antonio plant are expected in showrooms next month. The automaker recently unveiled its Tundra CrewMax full-size pickup truck at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The large pickup will arrive in showrooms in March.

With its expansion, the Japanese automaker has struggled with some quality issues. Toyota had 2.2 million vehicle recalls in 2005, but showed improvements last year when its recalls fell to 766,000 vehicles. Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe has repeatedly vowed to enhance quality controls.

Owners will be notified in mid-February of the Sequoia and Tundra recall and dealers will replace the left and right front suspension lower ball joint at no charge to the vehicle’s owners.

[kneedownnate]

That's one great thing about toyota, they don't wait till they've had thousands of accidents and still claim it's not their fault, they issued the recall after only 11 accidents!  Cough:ford:cough  It is sad to see their quality slipping though, and sadly my dad has had some minor issues that he totally didn't expect on his 05 taco, things that you just didn't see on the older trucks. 

[DTB]

It is sad to see their quality slipping though, and sadly my dad has had some minor issues that he totally didn't expect on his 05 taco, things that you just didn't see on the older trucks. 

its because they're not assembled in japan anymore lazy american workers

[kneedownnate]

Possibly partially true, but I think it's more a side effect of trying too hard to push out big numbers.  The problems I've seen are from cutting corners or using cheaper, less durable parts than have been used in the past. 

[te51levin]

I don't imagine it's anything to do with being assembled here.  Except perhaps that Toyota's using more North American suppliers than they used to, and those suppliers may not have fully adjusted to Toyota's quality standards.  And Toyota may be having trouble maintaining their own standards while turning the manufacturing volume up...hard to say.

However, I gotta add that vehicles are a lot more complicated now than they used to was, which means there are more things that can go wrong, and Toyota buyers are extremely picky and incredibly hard to please.  They seem to really epitomize today's spoiled consumer attitude.  If a bee meets its death on their windshield, they want new glass installed NOW, and they want a latte and a loaner car while theirs is in the shop.  They expect ZERO problems and ZERO failures and ZERO inconveniences.  Some of them understand that all machines wear and have problems, but many of them seem to feel that buying a Toyota entitles them to a lifetime of trouble-free use...

 

[blackdiamond]

The nice thing is that Toyota actually has billion's in cash reserves so this type of think doesn't impact the company in day-to-day business.  If you do some research, Toyota is a very smart company.  I would agree that their image is getting messed up thanks to us fat dumb Americans not being willing to maintain their standards.  I would be willing to bet that the plants that are having problems are run by American managers.

On another note, I just got the recall notice on my Tundra for the child restraint system.  The truck has a manual airbag on/off switch but is also required to have anchors in the front passenger seat.  There was speculation that Toyota would simply disable the switch as the cost of the anchors would be too high.  The recall provides a warning sticker to install explaining that children are the safest in the back.  If someone still wants to have the system installed they have a letter to sent Toyota to be put on a list for install when the parts become available in about 6 months.  They got caught on a technicality and are handling it with class.

[Bazzi]

automaker said there was a possibility of excessive wear to a front suspension lower ball joint that could make it difficult to steer the vehicle and stay


that´s the weak link in the 38" modified tacomas over here. I know there has been a lot of experiments with the ifs system, and I believe the lower ball joint is the main problem

[te51levin]

You get Tacomas?  Toyota.is just shows Hiluxes.  I guess people just import them privately or buy them off the NATO base...?

[Bazzi]

peoble importet a lot of them last year... personally...

the nato air base was closed down last year also.... the u.s. navy is gone. we are without an army


peace