What are the details of the September 2009 recall that Toyota has now widened to other models?
Toyota Will Fix Gas Pedals on 4 Million U.S. Vehicles (Update4) By Angela Greiling Keane Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) — Toyota Motor Corp. plans to repair accelerator pedals on about 4 million U.S. vehicles in the biggest recall ever for the world’s largest automaker. The Japanese company also will install a brake override system on some of the vehicles after drivers reported cases of sudden acceleration, the U.S. Transportation Department said today. The recall covers Toyota’s top-selling Camry as well as its Lexus and Prius cars and Tacoma and Tundra trucks. Toyota’s recall, at least the third covering more than 100,000 U.S. autos in the past two years, dents a reputation for vehicle quality established in surveys such as those by researcher J.D. Power & Associates. Toyota wrested the global sales crown from General Motors Co. in 2008. ” They’ve wanted to be the world’s biggest automaker, and that kind of expansion over the past 20 years has really come back to bite them,” said Aaron Bragman
The Lexus ES series is a family of mid-size luxury sedans sold by Lexus since 1989. Now in its fifth generation, the series has been consistently built on the Toyota Camry platform with a V6 engine, automatic transmission, and front-wheel drive. For much of its existence, the Lexus ES has anchored the entry-level luxury car segment of the Lexus lineup in North America, a position it maintained until the introduction of the Lexus IS sport luxury sedans in 2001. It was Lexus’ only front-wheel drive vehicle until 1999, when the related Lexus RX 300 arrived. For over fifteen years, the Lexus ES has been the best-selling Lexus sedan in the United States.[1][2][3] The first through fourth generation Lexus ES sedans shared body styling elements with Japan-market Toyota sedans, and a domestic market equivalent, the Toyota Windom (トヨタ・ウィンダム), was sold until the launch of the fifth generation ES in 2006. The fifth generation ES 350, featuring Lexus’ own L-finesse body styling, was unveiled in th
Toyota Motor Corp. said today it would reconfigure or replace the gas pedals in 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles to prevent the episodes of runaway acceleration that prompted the largest vehicle recall in the company’s history. The announcement dramatically expands the scope and likely expense of the recall, which was announced on Sept. 29. Toyota had initially focused on the possibility that improperly installed floor mats might be causing the unintended acceleration problems, and urged owners of affected vehicles to remove the mats until they could be replaced. Now, beginning in January, Toyota dealers will start reconfiguring the gas pedal “to address the risk of floor mat entrapment.” Sources: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toyota-recall26-2009nov26,0,3295310.
