Toyota to recall 1.4 million cars
January 29, 2009 by Matt Brogan
Toyota Motor plans to recall 1.4 million cars throughout the world for minor defects.
About 830,000 cars in Europe, North America, and other regions are being recalled, and another 536,000 in Japan. The defective models include the Yaris (called the Vitz in Japan), Belta, and Ractis models built between January 2005 and April 2008.
The recall concerns the pre-tensioning device on seat belts that may melt or catch fire in some collision situations. On some models, there’s also concern that the exhaust pipe will crack under extreme heat.
Earlier this month, Toyota recalled over 200,000 Lexus 2006-2008 models to replace fuel pipes that were corroding when used with certain types of ethanol fuels. In April 2008, the company recalled 540,000 Corolla and Matrix 2003-2004 models in the US over concerns that power windows were separating from their door’s control frames due to loosening bolts.
On Wednesday, Toyota also reported the company’s first overseas production decrease in 17 years, which the company attributed to decreased production mainly in North America and Europe.
Toyota announced decreased sales and production for all its markets and sectors on Wednesday except for one. The company’s Daihatsu Motor subsidiary (no longer sold in Australia) saw its second year of production increase, which Toyota attributed to interest from the Indonesian market.
If you are concerned your vehicle may be affected by the recall rest assured you will be contacted via your Toyota service department. Used owners who own a vehicle within the category stated can contact their closest Toyota service devision.
Print it: 
“Voiceover with footage of geeky nerd in front of computer
“Dan rekons 3 days in front of his computer writing about Toyota’s is enjoying himself. That’s not living Dan, this is living…” Cut to action shots of blokes boating, camping, fishing..
GET THE HINT? GET A LIFE DAN!”
I had a slow day at work for the last two days, so killed time. ANd today I went jet skiing for a few hours. Mate, I got a life, thanks for asking :)
“Toyota makes tuff as nails (like me)”
ROFL. Terry Tryhard…
Close, 16 actually. Look at u having an argument with me. And guess wat, u got owned.
BTW seems like ur having a cry about ur Lexus and not the other way around so L8er
Bwahahahahah – Got ya hahahhaha w@nker!
Hooray for Dan
Hooray at last
Hooray for Dan
he’s a horses @rse
“Close, 16 actually. Look at u having an argument with me. And guess wat, u got owned.”
Yeah, you owned yourself, with dumb comments. I figured I must have been talking to someone who knows fark all. I mean you haven’t even driven cars yet, and you make wild statements. L8r alligator, sweet dreams, your mummy should have made up your bed by now. Tomorrow morning ask her if you can apply for a license. Opinions without experience mean nothing. Now goodnight!
Dan: most “plebs” aren’t dumb enough or game enough to buy an $80K Toyota when they only receive $20K-$30K. They’re not out to try and impress anyone as much as those who love to brag about how much they ear what they do for a living where they’ve gone for a holiday etc.
Plebs buy what car is the most suitable to their needs etc not one that has a flashy badge or something.
Sure they may need some kind of finance package but Plebs are prepared to make sacrifices unlike those who have to have the latest of everything That’s the difference
A Pleb on 20-30K usually spends the money they have where as an image conscious wanker spends the money he expects to have and that’s when you get into trouble – living beyond your means
Tough guy Dan picking on a 16 year old kid. As you said yourself it’s a public forum and anyone can post their opinions.
Why don’t you fly over to Qld for a holiday tough guy and I’ll pick you up from the airport…?
For those of you who have forgotten here is what we are suposed to be talking about:
Toyota Motor plans to recall 1.4 million cars throughout the world for minor defects.
About 830,000 cars in Europe, North America, and other regions are being recalled, and another 536,000 in Japan. The defective models include the Yaris (called the Vitz in Japan), Belta, and Ractis models built between January 2005 and April 2008.
The recall concerns the pre-tensioning device on seat belts that may melt or catch fire in some collision situations. On some models, there’s also concern that the exhaust pipe will crack under extreme heat.
Earlier this month, Toyota recalled over 200,000 Lexus 2006-2008 models to replace fuel pipes that were corroding when used with certain types of ethanol fuels. In April 2008, the company recalled 540,000 Corolla and Matrix 2003-2004 models in the US over concerns that power windows were separating from their door’s control frames due to loosening bolts.
On Wednesday, Toyota also reported the company’s first overseas production decrease in 17 years, which the company attributed to decreased production mainly in North America and Europe.
Toyota announced decreased sales and production for all its markets and sectors on Wednesday except for one. The company’s Daihatsu Motor subsidiary (no longer sold in Australia) saw its second year of production increase, which Toyota attributed to interest from the Indonesian market.
If you are concerned your vehicle may be affected by the recall rest assured you will be contacted via your Toyota service department. Used owners who own a vehicle within the category stated can contact their closest Toyota service division.
So enough about Lexus Mazda Holden GM not to mention Plebs.. andlets talk about how Toyotas focus on Quantity rather than Quantity is affecting their supposed reputation for build quality safety and reliability.
Ok, in all honesty, that’s crap. I am friends with a lot of professional people, whether through private friendships, or through work contacts. Whatever. The fact that they are well educated professionals, helps them in understanding how money works, and have been taught how to budget etc if they haven’t known that previously. What you’ll find, especially in the current climate, is that the ones who have overcommitted themselves, are not the white collar workers, but the for instance the miners who went out to earn a quick buck, hoping the boom will last for 20 years. They are the ones who HAVE to have everything all at once. Mass up heaps of debt, hoping they will be paid well for years to come to service the loan. Well, times have changed obviously. There will be a lot of SS utes going for cheap shortly, and that’s a given.
Also, as you may or may not know, who is ultimately responsible for the financial crisis? The poor plebs in America who got the low doc sub prime mortgages when they couldn’t afford to, and overcommitted themselves. They weren’t well off professionals. And that’s a fact :)
that just shows how dumb u are. I already hav a licence. Just shows how much u know about anything
“Tough guy Dan picking on a 16 year old kid. As you said yourself it’s a public forum and anyone can post their opinions.”
Last time I checked, age is not provided on the forums. Of course eventually you can figure it out when reading his dumb posts lol! I won’t ‘pick’ on him anymore, just ignore his crap from now
“Why don’t you fly over to Qld for a holiday tough guy and I’ll pick you up from the airport…? ”
What chauffeur business do you run? I knew Toyotas were versatile but I would never pick a landcruiser as a limo lol!
By ur comments i doubt u hav any friends
“that just shows how dumb u are. I already hav a licence. Just shows how much u know about anything”
Yes, because everyone is equipped with Extra Sensory Perception, and I can use my telepathy skills to find out your name, where you live, how old you are, and how many demerit points you have on your license. All just by looking at my laptop screen. Good night.
“So enough about Lexus Mazda Holden GM not to mention Plebs.. andlets talk about how Toyotas focus on Quantity rather than Quantity is affecting their supposed reputation for build quality safety and reliability.”
Yes, I think this has run its course. 9pm, time to go ou me thinks.
“By ur comments i doubt u hav any friends”
I only got smart friends, hence why we don’t get along :)
You take the mickey after he reveals his age, real tough guy. Yeah I’ll be a chauffeur and a limo, just let me know where to pick you up.
Four words of advice for you;
GET A LIFE FOOL.
“Also, as you may or may not know, who is ultimately responsible for the financial crisis? The poor plebs in America who got the low doc sub prime mortgages when they couldn’t afford to, and overcommitted themselves. They weren’t well off professionals. And that’s a fact :) ” No entirely, its the responsibility of the corporate suits who gave the loan in the first place, without understanding (or gave a damn) about the possible long term consequences of mass defaults, they knew their customers…
Joober – well said and just what I was thinking.
Still I suppose pretentious w@nkers have to pay for their jet ski, 20K holidays and Lexus somehow.
Has anybody actually been injured/killed because of these defects? For me, that would be the measure of how irresponsible Toyota may be.
Fond this.
Quote
“TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp said on Wednesday it would recall more than 1.35 million Vitz and two other models globally to fix a defect in the seatbelt, a component in the exhaust system or both.
Subject to the recall in Japan are 525,898 Vitz, Belta and Ractis cars built from January 2005 to April 2008, Toyota said in a filing with the transport ministry.
It will also recall a combined 830,000 units of the Vitz subcompact, called Yaris in many markets, and Belta exported to Europe, North America and other markets, a spokeswoman said.
One case of fire was reported in Japan due to the faulty seatbelt design, which could cause a noise-absorber device to melt when the seatbelt tensioner is activated in a collision, Toyota said.
No accident was reported in Japan from the defective exhaust-gas recirculation (EGR) pipe, which could crack in the worst-case scenario and cause exhaust gases that fail to clear emissions standards to leak.
Toyota declined to disclose the estimated cost of the recalls.”
Personal injury lawsuits in the states would have been interesting if they hadnt recalled the cars…………and whats the go with the exhaust leak……first I heard of it. More safety issue Toyota !!
I’m not sure if anyone has been killed or injured [in Australia] because of the defects.
However; as soon as a company becomes aware of a proven or potential safety problem with their products they issue a recall to fix them because they believe that its best to call back the cars that were made over a period of time to inspect them and fix them – even though its most likely that the problem only affects less than 10% of all the cars involved rather than to have someone killed or injured in an accident which an investigation found the cause was a faulty seatbelt.. as would the owners/drivers of the car in question.
Which is why I don’t understand why the handful of Toyota fans on here regularly criticised Holden and Ford for issuing recalls.. But are now getting offended/offensive because we are finally getting payback… its called karma
Quiet ironic really considering the up till now the Yaris was considered one of the safest cars in its category,having a five star rating from NCAP.
Wheelnut,
the exhaust leak was noted in this very report aswell.
every other report i read also mentioned it.
this article didnt go right into what it meant, but it still mentioned it
toyota,whitegoods on wheels.clever advertising huge sponsership deals like the afl also take note when the comercial tv channels do a positive story on the motor industry they always use toyota products for a backdrop,if its a negative story holden or ford get the guernsy,guess who spends the most on advertising?same with all the yank clone tv programs we persist in producing you only see toyota placement.of course they are number 1 for 20 years they have brainwashed the public or in my view conned the public to think that these boring souless cars are actually a good thing.
“Which is why I don’t understand why the handful of Toyota fans on here regularly criticised Holden and Ford for issuing recalls.. But are now getting offended/offensive because we are finally getting payback… its called karma” – agree, it will happen to any manufacturer one time or another no matter if they had a good run for 5,10,20 years, unless they are real lucky to continually employ good decision makers and managers. Because companies are driven by profits, its only tempting for a department to save on costs by one way or another e.g. , process improvements, deploying effiecient systems and even cutting down time and effort in certain processes (quality control included) etc. Just on a personal opinion note, To me, the “Kaizen” is a good motive for Toyota to make their processes as cost cost efficient as possible, but sometimes improperly understanding the total consequences, can result in problems like whats happening now…
Dadd, the probs with my mates lolux is the seatbelts and the motor.
The seatbelts dont fasten properly all the time and when unfastened they dont retract and are therefore always getting caught in the door. Still, i suppose thats better than the seatbelt catching fire and burning me alive!
As for the motor, he had an overheating problem 6 months after he bought it and now the problem has resurfaced. He now has to top up the radiator every time he drives it, goes through about 20 litres of water a day.
and youre probably right about the clutch as he has to rev the engine and ride the clutch just to get the thing moving. Is getting it fixed next week.
Unbreakable my @rse!!!
Falcodore, sounds like a lemon, is it under warranty? I would advise the dealer where your friend bought it to take no crap and get everything fixed and make sure your friend takes no crap from them either.
Wheelnut Say’s >>>>>> Going by the latest Corolla ad… only Pussies drive Toyotas!
VERY VERY TRUE INDEED, SAME PUSSIES WHO ARE HYPNOTIZED BY THAT SWINGING FLURO LIGHT IN THE AD, GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW TOYBOTA SALESMEN FORCE A QUICK SALE FROM THEIR BRAINWASHED CUSTOMERS.
OH WHAT A WHITEGOOD !!!!! TOY-APPLIANCE.
First of all I have no time for this dan person as he or she is full of it. Secondly Mazda is not far behind the bland toyota for being average in any respect, If you purchase a Mazda don’t keep it for much longer after the warranry expires your car will be a head ache. Infact a Hyundai is more reliable than a Mazda. Here we have would be that could be yuppies driving a Lexus, cheap second hand as no one wants them, its a boring toyota wanting to be something it can’t and is not, they are nothing short of crap boxes costing an arm and a leg new and not many want them as second hand vehicles. Toyota and mazda are both the same as each other blabbing on about reliability, power, etc, etc. Mitsubishi and Nissan always have been and always will be the elite of the Japanese brands, they have the technology, power and sheer pleasure to drive unlike these two previously mentioned tractors. And to all those boring dreamers that disagree with me, no toyota or mazda will ever beat a mitsubishi or nissan if speed is what you are on about, as for reliability those two boring cars don’t come near the mitsubishi and nissan. So there if you want to debate this for eternity go for it but the facts will never change. Infact I would go as far as to say that the toyota is ahead of the mazda as the toyota at least takes a lot longer for the engine to blow smoke which mazda is very famous for. Oh and before I go the Mazda 2 and yaris are both an oversized shoebox that look like they were designed in the days of the model T Ford. A big YUK!!
“Mitsubishi and Nissan always have been and always will be the elite of the Japanese brands” – Mitsubishi?, I would more say Honda and Lexus target the upper echelon. Nissan although, provide solid cars, generally elite on the other hand probably not, but elite in the performance stakes coming out from Japan.
toyota made the right decision to announce the MASSIVE recall-I hope no one got hurt but,I also hope that toyota’s reputation has been heavily dented! and their sales plummet :)
Fpr-typhoon: Are ur claims that Mazda is worse than Hyundai from personal experience or just dislike.
Let me tell you a little something about Mitsubishi. I know someone who owned a 98 Lancer coupe. It was slow and had a problem with the fuel tank that the mechanic told them could start a fire. 2000 came and they still liked the llook the lancer and so bought another one. Warranty ran out at 3 years and thats when all the problems started. It suffered from the same fuel tank problem. Replaced the car battery but the car kept dying. The car needed to be started every day in order to prevent it to from breaking down. As for the infamous Magna, thats another story.
“no toyota or mazda will ever beat a mitsubishi or nissan if speed is what you are on about, as for reliability those two boring cars don’t come near the mitsubishi and nissan. So there if you want to debate this for eternity go for it but the facts will never change”
So according to you a Tiida and Lancer are faster and more dynamic than a Mazda 3.
Same as its seems you claim that the Colt and Micra(maybe you prefer the look of this better X[) are faster or have less body roll than a Mazda2 or even a Yaris for that matter.
I don’t doubt your claim of Nisssan’s quality but seriously Mitsubishi is even behind Toyota.
If Mazda was so unreliable how could a 1994 model 121 reach 360,000km on not have one single breakdown.
I view Honda, Nissan and Mazda as top three in reliability followed by Subaru, Toyota, Mitsubishi etc.
Fpr, you have no idea what you are talking about.Mazdas are extremely reliable, currently have an 11yr old 323 in the family, replaced the original battery 2 and a half years ago and a tail light about 8 months ago, the only things that have ever gone wrong with the car. And every other Mazda thats been in the family has been bulletproof, even the sisters 626 that went for a trip through the pilliga scrub and didnt get serviced regularly!
As for nissan design, i think they are the new ssangyong without a doubt.