Toyota Recalls: More Than 13 Million Cars In 5 Years!

Toyota recalls its vehicles with alarming frequency.

The recent announcement that it needs to checkout another 185,000 cars is not great news for Toyota owners. It’s also not so good for a company that built its reputation on making high quality products.

Since September 2007, Toyota has recalled over 13 million vehicles globally. Problems have been as minor as faulty floor mats and as major as defective brakes and steering.

The latest recall targets the compact Yaris, but virtually all cars in the range have had problems at one time or another.

From the basic Camry and Corolla to the top-of-the-range Lexus and Prius models, few models have been exempt.

Of course, Toyota is not the only car-maker with problems. Neil King, automotive analyst at Euromonitor, once said “Recalls seem to be so commonplace these days, I don’t see it having any major impact.” He also pointed out that, as vehicles become more technologically advanced, recalls become more frequent.

In contrast to Toyota’s policy of ‘biting the bullet’ and moving on, Chrysler once refused to recall 2.7 million older-model Jeeps, claiming that there was no basis for fears about the fuel tanks being dangerous.

Ford took a similar stance with its Pinto model, which lead to the worst scandal ever to hit the US motor industry. It was alleged that Ford management had decided that it was cheaper to pay out on death claims than to redesign the car.

In the end, as the old saying goes: ‘today’s newspapers wrap tomorrow’s fish.’ In the world of new media the attention and interest time – for good or bad news – is even less.

So Toyota needn’t worry about its recalls., by tomorrow the story will be OLD news.And, by next week, forgotten.

Has YOUR car ever been recalled? Was it a Toyota? How do you feel about the recall policy of different car makers? We’d like to know what you think in the comments below!

[Image Via: tunemytoyota.com]