Toyota recall spreads to 2.4 mil vehicles worldwide

Now it seems Toyota was World Top No.1 in terms of Quantity not Quality production.

"Toyota Motor Corp said Thursday it is closing in on solutions to a gas pedal system problem, but it still had no details on when drivers would see repairs as an embarrassing recall spread to more than 2.4 million vehicles on three continents."

"Embarrassing" ? Try deadly ! These cars have no reason to be on the road right now. I for one am pulling over to the side anytime I see a Toyota in my rear view mirror. This has now spred to "3 continents" ? The USA- where most of the deaths occured, China, and now Europe. I actually predicted that in another post on another site here.

"No decision has been made yet on whether to repair the pedals or replace them altogether"

What utter nonsense. Research has already indicated that these pedals wear down after just 35,000 miles- they need to be replaced ! And like an oil or spark plug change will have to be done again and again and again. If it wasn't for the detahs of innocent Americans I'd say this is an absolute joke, but I have more respect for those that have lost their lives to say what this really is- A Crime !

Toyota will be swimming in lawsuits, and losses, for years to come. The Japanese government had better start putting money away, for the future bankruptcy of Toyota, and related bailout. People are refusing to drive Toyota's now, and compensation for alt transportation lawsuits are in the pipeline.

"House lawmakers, meanwhile, said they intend to hold a Feb 25 hearing to review the complaints of sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles. “Like many consumers, I am concerned by the seriousness and scope of Toyota’s recent recall announcements,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, a California Democrat."

For the record- I suggested this a few days ago, when it was obvious that Toyota was focusing it's strategy on both delayment and denial. We have seen this with other Japanese companys before. So it appears that the best way for the US to handle it is to start government hearings as soon as possible. I for one can't wait to see and hear Toyotas executives try to babble their way out of this one- too many lives have been lost, and all for the sake of "image and profits".

If I understand the article correctly, reports first started way back in March, 2007 -- three years ago. And they quietly fixed the problem on the Tundra without going public. This is beginning to smell more and more like a cover-up and reminds me of the similar problem at Mitsubishi Trucks a few years ago with their wheel assemblies. Toyota's crediblity is on the line here, and I fear the top management in Japan is clueless on how to deal with such a problem. Denial and obfiscating works in Japan, but is deadly in the U.S. or Eurpoe.

Oh, and I failed to mention that the vaunted Toyota principal of "continuous improvement" apparently missed the gas pedal.

Japan Inc. could be in serious trouble, as Toyota is pretty much THE main product (beside anime and bukakke) when world citizens think of Japan.

This may be the beginning of the end for the "made in Japan = quality" meme.

Didn't one of Clancy's Jack Ryan novels start out with a big, deadly problem with Japanese made cars?

We have seen this with other Japanese companys before.

I worked for one such manufacturer, one that makes bigger vehicles than cars. Though that manufacturer did kill "only" a Japanese mother and a driver, so the world did not look closely and the company was sold to a naive German car maker to deal with the problem.

The customers shall remember the Japanese saying "If it is for the companies best interest, then a lie is not a lie".

Oh, and I failed to mention that the vaunted Toyota principal of "continuous improvement" apparently missed the gas pedal.

The famed system of KAIZEN has exactly here its major flaw. It focuses on improving the manufacturing quality, but it can not overcome product design flaws. So it dangerously lulls the responsible into a feeling of producing best quality, as seemingly every loose screw is caught in the production process, but it can not catch a potentially deadly design flaw.

Am I the only one who noticed that the manufacturer of the faulty assembly was not Toyota but an American supplier?

Western news reported yesterday night that Toyota has extended the recall -due to the floor mat problem- to other models including the top seller corolla, thus adding another 1.1 Million vehicles to the recall.

That extended recall also hits GM as their compact model Pontiac Vibe is based on Toyota technology.

... I seriously wonder why Japanese media are so slow to pick up that news ...

So after the initial 4.2 Million recall, there are now two major recalls going on in parallel. That should make big headlines in safety conscious Japan. Or shouldn't it as the affected company is Japanese

The Japanese government had better start putting money away, for the future bankruptcy of Toyota, and related bailout.

They could pay them in shares of JAL.

Toyota brass "Those American's won't know the difference they also buy cars from GM and Ford."

Am I the only one who noticed that the manufacturer of the faulty assembly was not Toyota but an American supplier?

CTS manufactures the pedals to the design specifications provided to it by Toyota. That is why the focus properly remains on Toyota. But at this point it is generally accepted that the problem goes beyond the accelerator pedal and into the electronic system of the affected Toyotas.

This Toyota mess, is smelling like the Bridgestone/Firestone tires, attempted, cover up in the 1990`s. Hatoyama may remember that one...

Am I the only one who noticed that the manufacturer of the faulty assembly was not Toyota but an American supplier?

If it were a "quality in production" issue they would just shift the product from CTS to another supplier. Instead Toyota has redesigned the pedal, indicating it is a "quality in design" issue.

Some posters (I checked their posts from the previous days) seem to react like a red rag to a bull on Japanese recalls. The only difference is that they don't show furiousness like the bull.....no.....they are smirking. Really sad.

This may be the beginning of the end for the "made in Japan = quality" meme.

As far as I gathered, the re-called vehicles are all made in USA or Canada.

Thanks Nigelboy - I had the same impression. Everyone seemed to jump on it here as an opporunity to bag Japanese products but as far as I can see, it's not an issue in Japan. There's no mention of Japanese made cars being faulty.