NEWS:
Toyota recalls 2.17
million vehicles in US
YAHOO NEWS -- February 23, 2011 –
Toyota Motor Corp. recalled 2.17 million
vehicles in the United States on Thursday to
address accelerator pedals that could become
entrapped in floor mats or jammed in
driver's side carpeting, prompting federal
regulators to close its investigation into
the embattled automaker.
The
Transportation Department said it had
reviewed more than 400,000 pages of Toyota
documents to determine whether the scope of
the company's recalls for pedal entrapment
was sufficient.
"As a result
of the agency's review, (the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration) asked
Toyota to recall these additional vehicles,
and now that the company has done so, our
investigation is closed," said NHTSA
administrator David Strickland.
Toyota has
now recalled more than 14 million vehicles
globally to fix gas pedals and other safety
problems since 2009. The company has
received intense scrutiny from the
government since August 2009, when four
people were killed in a high-speed crash
involving a Lexus near San Diego.
U.S.
regulators largely cleared the company
earlier this month, saying that electronic
flaws were not to blame for reports of
sudden, unintended acceleration that led to
hundreds of complaints. Transportation
officials tied the problems to mechanical
defects dealt with in recalls and "pedal
misapplication," in which the driver stepped
on the accelerator instead of the brakes.
The company has, however, paid the U.S.
government a record $48.8 million in fines
for its handling of three recalls.
The world's
No. 1 automaker has tried to move beyond the
recalls, vowing to heed customer complaints
and upgrade its safety technology. The
company has installed on new vehicles brake
override systems, which automatically cut
the throttle when the brake and gas pedals
are applied simultaneously, and created
engineering teams to examine vehicles that
are the subject of consumer complaints.
In its latest
safety action, Toyota said more than half of
the vehicles under recall were being added
to a massive 2009 recall that fixed gas
pedals getting trapped in the floor mat.
The Japanese
automaker said it would add three models to
the 2009 pedal entrapment recall: about
600,000 4Runner SUVs from the 2003-2009
model years; 761,000 RAV4 compact SUVs from
the 2006-2010 model years; and 17,000 Lexus
LX 570s from the 2008-2011 model years.
Toyota
spokesman...said the additional pedal
entrapment recalls were "based on our
continued constructive dialogue with NHTSA.
While our actions up to now have led to a
substantial reduction in reports of
acceleration concerns, we mutually agreed
that Toyota would take these additional
steps to help ensure that acceleration
concerns are further reduced."
The recall
also includes 372,000 RX 330, RX 350 and RX
400H vehicles from the 2004 through early
2007 model years and 397,000 2004-2006
Toyota Highlander SUVs and hybrid versions
to replace floor carpet covering and
retention clips on the driver's side that
could interfere with the accelerator pedal
arm.
Toyota also
recalled 20,000 2006 through early 2007 GS
300 and GS 350 all-wheel drive vehicles to
change the shape of a plastic pad embedded
in the driver's side floor carpet that could
cause pedal interference.
Lyons said
the company was unaware of any accidents or
injuries related to the new recalls. He said
Toyota was pleased NHTSA had closed its
investigation.
Toyota still
faces dozens of lawsuits from owners. NHTSA
has received about 3,000 reports of sudden
acceleration incidents involving Toyota
vehicles during the past decade, including
allegations of 93 deaths. NHTSA, however,
has confirmed five of them.
The company
said owners of the recalled GS 300 and GS
350 vehicles will be notified of the recall
in early March. Owners of the RX and
Highlander vehicles will be notified in the
"near future" and receive a second
notification once replacement covers are
available.
Owners of the
recalled 4Runner, LX 570 and RAV4s will also
receive an initial notification in the near
future, followed by a second notification
once the recall preparations are complete.
MORE RECALL INFO:
