For decades everything kept going right for Toyota. But recently things started going wrong, especially in America where lawyers are always looking for a chance to sue multinational corporations.
That’s where reports first appeared about accelerator pedals jamming, causing unintended acceleration. Toyota’s image of reliability was dented and took a further knock with complaints about the brakes on the latest Prius. Now they’ve recalled millions of cars, mostly in America but also in South Africa.
The bad publicity led to Toyota boss Akio Toyoda, grandson of the company’s founder, to apologise publicly to customers. Then came another blow: Toyota subsequently announced it was investigating complaints abroad about the power steering on certain Corolla models.
Many Toyota drivers in SA now share the concerns and uncertainty of those in America and elsewhere. They want to know how many cars will be recalled, what models are affected, what exactly might be wrong with them, how complex are the modifications or repairs that might be necessary, and who will pay.
These questions, and others, are answered in the latest issue of YOU.
Toyota uses vehicle identification numbers (VIN) to identify cars that need adjustments. Toyota owners can meanwhile go to Toyota SA’s website (toyota.co.za), click on the “Recall” link and type their VIN in the “Is My Vehicle Affected?” box; or go to http://recall.toyota.co.za/main to check if their car is earmarked for “corrective action”; or call the Toyota helpline on 0800-13-9111.