TOYOTA ANNOUNCES RECALL DUE TO DEFECTIVE PARTS

Toyota owners in British Columbia will want to know about a recall announced by the automaker April 9 to correct a variety of problems, including a defective engine starter, a spiral cable attached to an air-bag module, seat rails, a windshield-wiper motor and a steering column bracket. Although no crashes or injuries have been associated with the defective parts, the engine starter has been known to keep the engine running, which can result in a fire.

The recall will affect about 6.39 million vehicles on a global basis, including 513,401 vehicles in Canada. A total of 2.3 million vehicles in North America, 810,000 vehicles in Europe and 1.09 million vehicles in Japan are affected. Models being recalled include the Corolla, Matrix, Highlander, RAV4, Yaris and Tacoma. Certain Pontiac and Subaru models were also included in the recall. The problems with the Pontiac Vibe, made by General Motors, are unrelated to problems GM is having with defective ignition switches believed to have caused at least 13 deaths.

Toyota has agreed to a $1.2 billion penalty in a settlement reached with the U.S. Justice Department related to allegations that it previously covered up defects in its cars. In 2009 – 2010 in the U.S., the automaker undertook a massive recall to fix problems with defective brakes, sticky gas pedals and faulty floor mats.

Automobile manufacturers have a duty to build cars that are safe to drive and free from manufacturing defects that can cause car accidents. Anyone who believes they have been injured in a car accident that was the result of a defective part may want to consider discussing their situation with a lawyer to see if they could file a claim.

Source: CBC, “Toyota recalls 6.4 million vehicles globally“, April 09, 2014