Toyota to recall 681,500 vehicles over safety concerns

Toyota has recalled 681,500 vehicles in the US dealing a blow to its efforts to rebuild its image after a number of safety issues in recent years. 

Toyota USA recalls nearly 700,000 Camry, Venza and Tacoma models due to various reasons. Toyota Motor Sales, USA announced a voluntary recall of nearly 700,000 of some of their Camry, Venza and Tacoma models.

As noted by Toyota USA, this recent recall involves approximately 70,500 Camry, 116,000 Venza vehicles, and around 495,000 Tacoma vehicles, making a total of around 681, 500 vehicles. According to the press release of Toyota, the stop lamp switch of the affected 2009 Camry and 2009 to certain 2011 Venza vehicles will be replaced due to the silicon grease that may have reached inside while it was installed.

If this happens, Toyota noted that warning lamps on the instrument panel may be illuminated, the vehicle may not start, or the shift lever may not shift from the “Park” position and in some cases, the vehicle stop lamps may malfunction. On the other hand, Toyota said that certain 2005 to early 2009 Tacoma vehicles were recalled to replace the steering wheel spiral cable assembly which may malfunction and 

deactivate the driver's air bag.

Nevertheless, the Japanese car company stressed out that they are now obtaining the necessary replacement parts and will be sending a notification by first class mail advising owners once they become available, noting that Tacoma owners may receive their letters by April this year. During that time, affected vehicles owners will be advised to make an appointment with an authorized Toyota dealer to replace both parts free of charge, which may take only about approximately 30 minutes depending upon the dealer’s work schedule.

Meanwhile, Toyota noted that they are not aware of any accidents or injuries caused by these two conditions, noting that there are no other vehicles are involved nor these models were distributed outside the North America. For more information on this latest Toyota recall, the car manufacturer advised the public to visit www.toyota.com.

The recall comes at a time when Toyota is not just seeking to rebuild its brand image but also trying to win back its market share that it lost to competitors after last year's earthquake and tsunami. Its image took a beating after the carmaker, once known for its quality and safety controls, recalled almost 12 million vehicles over the past two-and-a-half years for various reasons.

Despite this, Toyota remains the world's most valuable car company, when measured by market capitalisation. But even this lead could be at risk, as the gap between Toyota and the second-biggest player, Europe's largest carmaker Volkswagen, has narrowed dramatically in recent months.