While Toyota has faced numerous recalls in recent years, it remains one of the biggest auto companies in the U.S.
This year has been a bad year for vehicle recalls. To date, there have been roughly 46 million vehicles recalled, which stands as a record for the automotive industry. Included in these vehicle recall woes is Toyota—one of the biggest (and most popular) automakers in the United States.
In recent years, the company has been riddled with manufacturing problems including everything from using flammable fabrics to software issues and steering problems.
In January, all Toyota dealerships in the U.S and Canada had to cease selling six of their best-selling models due to a problem with a flammable fabric used to make heated seats. These models included 2013 and 2014:
- Avalon and Avalon Hybrid
- Camry and Camry Hybrid
- Corolla
- Sienna
- Tacoma
- Tundra
This caused a strain on Toyota’s bottom line because in 2013 the Camry was ranked the best-selling car in the U.S (with roughly 408,000 sold last year alone). The suspension order affected roughly 36,000 Toyota cars, trucks and minivans in the U.S.
Flammable fabric was not the end of Toyota’s car difficulties this year.
February brought another round of Toyota recalls. Over 700,000 Prius hybrid vehicles in North America were recalled because of a software glitch that could cause them to stall. Luckily, Toyota caught the problem early and there were no accidents or injuries. These are just two of the numerous recalls that have plagued Toyota since 2009.
In addition, about 20,000 2014 Avalon, Camry, Highlander and Sienna vehicles were recalled due to insufficient welding that could cause a fuel leak; thus, increasing the risk of a vehicle fire. Luckily, to date, there have been no instances of any fires, crashes, injuries or fatalities caused by this faulty weld.
While these instances were caught early without incident, Toyota has also faced tougher allegations of covering up defects—especially related to acceleration problems. The indicators for this issue started back in 2009. In fact, between 2010 and 2012, Toyota was fined more than $66 million for failing to fix these problems.
Toyota then agreed to pay $1.2 billion in a settlement.
During the time span of the alleged cover up, Toyota also faced problems involving steering problems in 2011. Throughout the course of this recall, some 420,000 Toyota and Lexus vehicles—including Avalon, Camry, Highlander, Sienna and Solara models—were recalled.
Victims and their loved ones who have been gravely hurt as the result of a negligent manufacturer are strongly encouraged to schedule a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
