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Toyota has said it will recall 2.7
million cars worldwide because
of problems with the steering
wheel and water pump system.
The recall affects nine models,
including the Toyota Corolla and
the second-generation Prius.
It comes four weeks after the firm
recalled more than seven million
vehicles worldwide, including
some Corolla and Camry models,
over faulty window switches.
Toyota is Japan's biggest carmaker.
Joichi Tachikawa, a spokesman for
Toyota, told the BBC that the
problem with the steering wheel
was to do with "insufficient
hardness of the steering shaft".
He explained that due to this, the
splines which connect the
extension shaft to the gearbox
may deform if the steering wheel
is "frequently and forcefully
turned to the full lock position
while driving at a very slow
speed".
"This may create an increased
backlash and the splines may
eventually wear out over time,
which could result in loss of
steering ability," he added.
However, Mr Tachikawa said that
no accidents due to this fault had
been reported so far.
'Nobody is perfect'
The latest recall, which includes
nearly 75,000 vehicles in the UK,
is the latest in a spate of such
moves in recent years.
Toyota's reputation was damaged
in 2009 by a recall that ended up
involving 12 million vehicles and
fines from US regulators.
The Japanese carmaker is still
trying to rebuild its reputation and
regain customer trust after that
fiasco, which saw the firm's head
apologising to consumers.
Its efforts to do so have been
dealt a blow over the past few
weeks, as it has announced recalls
totalling nearly 10 million
vehicles.
However, some analysts said that
while the latest recalls, which are
voluntary, were a setback, they
might not cause as much damage
to its reputation as the ones in
2009.
"Nobody is perfect. Vehicles
nowadays are very complicated,"
said Koichi Sugimoto, an auto
analyst with BNP Paribas in Tokyo.
"The company is taking
appropriate measures to fix the
problems, so I don't think this will
cause significant damage to
Toyota's reputation."
BBC News - Toyota to recall 2.7 million cars worldwide
million cars worldwide because
of problems with the steering
wheel and water pump system.
The recall affects nine models,
including the Toyota Corolla and
the second-generation Prius.
It comes four weeks after the firm
recalled more than seven million
vehicles worldwide, including
some Corolla and Camry models,
over faulty window switches.
Toyota is Japan's biggest carmaker.
Joichi Tachikawa, a spokesman for
Toyota, told the BBC that the
problem with the steering wheel
was to do with "insufficient
hardness of the steering shaft".
He explained that due to this, the
splines which connect the
extension shaft to the gearbox
may deform if the steering wheel
is "frequently and forcefully
turned to the full lock position
while driving at a very slow
speed".
"This may create an increased
backlash and the splines may
eventually wear out over time,
which could result in loss of
steering ability," he added.
However, Mr Tachikawa said that
no accidents due to this fault had
been reported so far.
'Nobody is perfect'
The latest recall, which includes
nearly 75,000 vehicles in the UK,
is the latest in a spate of such
moves in recent years.
Toyota's reputation was damaged
in 2009 by a recall that ended up
involving 12 million vehicles and
fines from US regulators.
The Japanese carmaker is still
trying to rebuild its reputation and
regain customer trust after that
fiasco, which saw the firm's head
apologising to consumers.
Its efforts to do so have been
dealt a blow over the past few
weeks, as it has announced recalls
totalling nearly 10 million
vehicles.
However, some analysts said that
while the latest recalls, which are
voluntary, were a setback, they
might not cause as much damage
to its reputation as the ones in
2009.
"Nobody is perfect. Vehicles
nowadays are very complicated,"
said Koichi Sugimoto, an auto
analyst with BNP Paribas in Tokyo.
"The company is taking
appropriate measures to fix the
problems, so I don't think this will
cause significant damage to
Toyota's reputation."
BBC News - Toyota to recall 2.7 million cars worldwide
