NEWS:   Toyota recalls 550,000 vehicles on steering

YAHOO NEWS -- November 9,  2011 – (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Co is recalling 550,000 vehicles worldwide, including more than 420,000 in the United States, to replace an engine component that could hamper steering, the Japanese automaker said on Wednesday.

Models involved include the Toyota-branded Camry sedan, Solara coupe, Highlander SUV, and Sienna minivan for the 2004 and 2005 model years.

The recall also covers the 2004 Toyota Avalon sedan and 2006 Highlander HV. Toyota luxury brand Lexus models recalled were the 2006 Lexus RX 400H SUV as well as the 2004 and 2005 ES330 sedan and RX330 crossover.

The recall is the latest in a reputation-damaging series that began in the fall of 2009, mainly involving complaints of unintended acceleration linked to defective floor mats and gas pedals.

This recall affects 283,200 Toyota and 137,000 Lexus vehicles in the United States, bringing the total in the country so far this year to a little more than 3.3 million vehicles.

Toyota will replace the crankshaft pulley on the six-cylinder engines of the models.

The company said the outer ring of the pulley may not be aligned with the inner ring. If the condition were not fixed, a component of the power steering pump could be detached from the pulley and force the driver to put in more effort to steer.

About 27,000 vehicles were recalled in Canada and 38,000 recalled in Japan, a Toyota spokesman said

MORE RECALL INFO:

• Toyota Avalon
• Toyota Camry
• Toyota Highlander
• Toyota Sienna
• Toyota Solara
• Lexus ES330
• Lexus RX 400H
• Lexus RX330

NOVEMBER 2011 -- Toyota is recalling certain model year 2004 Avalon vehicles; 2004 and 2005 Camry, Camry Solara, Highlander, and Sienna vehicles, 2006 Highlander Hybrid; 2004 and 2005 Lexus ES330 and RX330; and 2006 Lexus RX400h vehicles manufactured from June 1, 2004 through March 31, 2005, equipped with the 1MZ-FE or 3MZ-FE engine. The amount of adhesive agent applied between the outer ring and the torsiona l rubber damper (inner ring) in the crankshaft pulley may be inadequate. If the adhesive is insufficient, there is a possibility that the outer ring may become misaligned and it may not properly rotate with the inner ring, causing noise and/or illumination of the battery discharge indicator light. In some cases, the belt for the power steering pump may become detached from the pulley which could result in a loss of power steering and a sudden increase in steering effort, increasing the risk of a crash. Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will check the crankshaft pulley to identify whether it was produced by the U.S. supplier. If so, the dealer will replace the pulley with a new one at no charge. The safety recall is expected to begin during early January 2012.  . 11V-539

OCTOBER 2009 -- Toyota is recalling certain model year 2004-2010 passenger vehicles. The accelerator pedal can get stuck in the wide open position due to its being trapped by an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat. A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death. Toyota will notify owners of affected vehicles to remove any driver's floor mat and not replace it with any other floor mat pending the development of model-specific remedies. Toyota will mail a second notification to owners of affected vehicles notifying them of the free remedy when it is available. The first notice was mailed on October 30, 2009 and Toyota will advise NHTSA an estimate of the date when the remedy parts will be available.    09V-388

NEWS:   Toyota to recall 3.8M vehicles over floor mats

September 29, 2009 -- Yahoo News – Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it will recall 3.8 million vehicles in the United States, the company's largest-ever U.S. recall, to address problems with a removable floor mat that could cause accelerators to get stuck and lead to a crash.

The recall will involve popular models such as the Toyota Camry, the top-selling passenger car in America, and the Toyota Prius, the best-selling gas-electric hybrid.

Toyota said it was still working with officials with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to find a remedy to fix the problem and said owners could be notified about the recall as early as next week. Toyota spokesman Irv Miller said until the company finds a fix, owners should take out the removable floor mat on the driver's side and not replace it.

"A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop a vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death," Miller said.

NHTSA said it had received reports of 102 incidents in which the accelerator may have become stuck on the Toyota vehicles involved. It was unclear how many led to crashes but the inquiry was prompted by a highspeed crash in August in California of a Lexus barreling out of control. As the vehicle hit speeds exceeding 120 mph, family members made a frantic 911 call and said the accelerator was stuck and they couldn't stop the vehicle.

"This is an urgent matter," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. "For everyone's sake, we strongly urge owners of these vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration."

The recall will affect

• 2007-2010 Toyota Camry
• 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon
• 2004-2009 Toyota Prius
• 2005-2010 Tacoma
• 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra
• 2007-2010 Lexus ES350
• 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350.

Toyota's previously largest U.S. recall was about 900,000 vehicles in 2005 to fix a steering issue. The company declined to say how many complaints it had received about the accelerator issue.

The Japanese automaker warned owners that if they think their vehicle is accelerating out of control, they should check to see whether their floor mat is under the pedal. If a driver can't remove the floor mat, Toyota advises drivers to step on the brake pedal with both feet until the vehicle slows and then try to put it into neutral and switch the ignition to accessory power.

For vehicles with engine start/stop buttons, Toyota said the engine can be shut off by holding the button down for three seconds.

In the August incident near San Diego, the fiery crash of a 2009 Lexus ES 350 killed California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, 45, and three members of his family on State Route 125 in Santee. The runaway car was traveling at more than 120 mph when it hit a sport utility vehicle, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames. One of the family members called police about a minute before the crash to report the vehicle had no brakes and the accelerator was stuck. The call ended with someone telling people in the car to hold on and pray, followed by a woman's scream.

NHTSA investigators determined that a rubber all-weather floor mat found in the wreckage was slightly longer than the mat that belonged in the vehicle, something that could have snared or covered the accelerator pedal.

Toyota spokesman John Hanson said the final report had not yet been submitted in the California case.

"We don't know what the actual cause was of that accident other than preliminary reports that have been published so it's impossible for us to comment on that particular incident," Hanson said.

In mid-September, Toyota ordered 1,400 Toyota and Lexus dealers nationwide to ensure that each new, used and loaner vehicles had the proper floor mats and that the mats were properly secured.

In September 2007, Toyota recalled an accessory all-weather floor mat sold for use in some 2007 and 2008 model year Lexus ES 350 and Toyota Camry vehicles because of similar problems.

NEWS:   Toyota recalls floor mats that jam gas pedals 

Detroit Free Press -- September 27, 2007 -- Toyota Motor Co. will recall floor mats from 55,000 Camry and Lexus ES 350 models due to complaints of unintended acceleration caused by the mats sticking underneath the accelerator pedal, federal safety officials and the automaker said Wednesday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration took the unusual step of highlighting Toyota's recall announcement, advising owners of other Toyota models -- including the Prius hybrid and Avalon sedans -- to ensure their floor mats are properly installed.

"We have also received complaints about the RAV 4" crossover "and Tacoma" pickup, said Rae Tyson, a spokesman for NHTSA. "We will continue to monitor all of the other Toyota vehicles not involved in the recall."

As the Free Press first reported last month, NHTSA had opened an investigation into the floor mats after amassing 40 reports of unintended acceleration in 2007 Lexus ES 350 sedans, including eight crashes and 12 injuries.

Since then, NHTSA has received complaints from owners of other Toyota models about the problem.

In several of the original complaints, drivers said the vehicles only stopped after an accident. One driver told the agency the vehicle had hit speeds of 100 m.p.h. over a 6-mile stretch of freeway due to the problem.

A Michigan woman said the problem caused her to lose control of her Lexus, triggering a rollover crash on I-75 that totaled her car. Because some ES 350s are sold with stop/start buttons rather than traditional ignitions, some drivers said they were unable to shut off the engine by pressing the button as the car accelerated.

At the time, Toyota told safety officials it had identified an optional all-weather floor mat that if not properly secured by clips to the floor could stick under the accelerator pedal; in some cases, Toyota said owners had simply put the rubber mat over the standard floor mats.

The company contended it had dealt with the problem through a mailing to customers earlier this year.

Toyota said Wednesday the recall involves 30,500 mats for the ES 350 and 24,500 mats for the 2007 and 2008 Toyota Camry.

Owners will be told of the recall in October and offered replacement mats in November. The company also warned drivers to check their floor mats and make sure that only one was installed.

Sudden and unintended acceleration cases carry a stigma in the U.S. auto industry, due to the collapse of the Audi brand in the late 1980s following a "60 Minutes" report alleging runaway cars. Federal safety officials later cleared Audi, but it took years for the company to rebuild its reputation.

In a separate move, Nissan Motor Co. said it was recalling nearly 420,000 sport utility vehicles because of possible corrosion in the tube where motorists pump gas.

The recall involves Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4 SUVs from the 1997-2001 model years. More than 370,000 of the vehicles under recall were originally sold or are currently registered in 22 cold weather states and the District of Columbia. Another 45,000 vehicles are in Canada.