Toyota design flaws cause nationwide scare

Still reeling from the largest vehicle recall in American history last fall, Toyota announced last month that they would be recalling an additional 2 million of their vehicles because of faulty accelerator pedals that would stick and cause unexpected acceleration. This month, the recall was further widened to include over 300,000 of the 2010 Prius models after complaints that the brakes in the vehicles would occasionally lose stopping power when the car was taken on an uneven surface such as gravel.

The new recalls were spurred by a recent flurry of accidents, over 60 cases according to ABC News, caused by the same acceleration problems that had supposedly been fixed during the recall last fall. All of these accidents were either caused by the accelerator pedals sticking underneath the vehicle’s floor mats, or by a fault in the design of the pedal that caused them to stick in the down position because of wear on the mechanism.
The flaw that added the 2010 Prius to the recall was the result of the model’s switch from traditional braking to a “regenerative” brake system, in which some of the energy created by the wheels is transferred into the car’s battery. However, the new system still uses conventional brake pads with an anti-lock brake system. When the vehicle’s anti-lock brake system activates, it switches from the regenerative system to the conventional system. This is when the brakes could lose the power to slow the car for a few moments.

These large-scale safety recalls have turned into a publicity nightmare for the Japanese company in the United States. Many, like Assistant Professor of Media Studies Jerry Johnson, feel that Toyota could be handling the publicity surrounding the recall in a different way.

“The first thing a company needs to do, when there’s a crisis, is to make sure everyone is safe. And I think they [Toyota] need to convey that. Through what I’m reading and what I’m hearing, I’m not sure that it’s being conveyed that they’re taking that into account. So they have to work heavily on letting people know that they’re working on people’s safety,” Johnson said. “I think what’s really going to be key for Toyota is the follow through—to earn back the loyalties of their Toyota owners.”

Junior Euvonne Sheridan, the owner of a 2005 Corolla, was not affected by the latest recall and does not feel that it changed her loyalty to Toyota. While her vehicle was not affected, Sheridan may have a family member whose Toyota needs to be repaired.

“My mom has a Toyota too, and hers is newer. She’s been trying to figure out if hers has been recalled because no one has contacted her yet,” Sheridan said.

Like Sheridan, most BVU students do not need to worry about their vehicles being affected by the recall. It is only the newest Toyota models (the 2004 Prius being the oldest) that have been deemed unsafe, which most college students cannot afford. For more information about the recalls and affected vehicles, visit www.recalltoyota.com or contact your Toyota dealer.