Car maker apologizes for recalls
By Yuri Kageyama |
February 6, 2010, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TOYOTA'S president apologized yesterday for the massive global recalls over sticking gas pedals as the auto maker scrambles to repair a damaged reputation and sliding sales.
But Akio Toyoda, appointed to the top job at Toyota Motor Corp in June, said the company is still deciding what steps to take to fix brake problems in the popular Prius gas-electric hybrid.
Speaking at a hastily announced news conference that lasted an hour, a stern-looking Toyoda promised to beef up quality control.
"We are facing a crisis," he said, publicly confronting the auto maker's safety problems for the first time since the global recalls were announced on January 21.
He said the company is setting up a special committee he would head himself.
It would review internal checks, go over consumer complaints and listen to outside experts to come up with a solution to the widening quality problems.
"I offer my apologies for the worries," he said. "Many customers are wondering whether their cars are OK."
Toyoda, grandson of the auto maker's founder, said the company was moving quickly on the global recalls covering 4.5 million vehicles for sticking gas pedals, about half of them in the United States.
Dealers are scrambling to make repairs on the gas pedals, which need a new steel part to solve the sticking problem.
Toyota would fully cooperate with the investigation by US federal authorities into Prius problems, Toyoda said.
There have been nearly 200 complaints in Japan and the US of drivers experiencing a short delay before the brakes kick in -- a problem that can be fixed with a software programming change.
The auto maker has fixed the programming glitch in Prius models that went on sale since last month, but has done nothing yet on 270,000 Prius cars sold last year in Japan and the US. The remodeled third-generation Prius went on sale in May.
A less-than-perfect Prius, the vehicle of choice for Hollywood movie stars such as Leonardo Dicaprio, threatens to be an even more serious blow for Toyota's image than the gas pedal recalls. The hybrid is a symbol of Toyota's technological prowess and ambitions to lead the auto industry in green, low-pollution cars.
Toyota is also investigating possible brake problems with its luxury Lexus hybrid and the Sai compact sedan, both of which use the same brake system as the Prius. Toyota has not received any complaints about the Lexus HS250h and the probe is to ensure safety, it has said. The Sai is not sold outside Japan.
Toyoda, 53, has been criticized for not coming out sooner to answer questions about the flood of quality problems.
Masaaki Sato, an auto industry expert who has written books on Toyota and its Japanese rival Honda, said yesterday's public appearance was the company's last chance to keep the situation from worsening.
"He should have come out a week ago," Sato said of Toyoda during an appearance on a popular late night news program following the press conference. "After all the foot dragging, he was pushed into a corner."
Sato also criticized Toyoda for having to be prodded into action in the US by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who called the Toyota president for talks.
But Akio Toyoda, appointed to the top job at Toyota Motor Corp in June, said the company is still deciding what steps to take to fix brake problems in the popular Prius gas-electric hybrid.
Speaking at a hastily announced news conference that lasted an hour, a stern-looking Toyoda promised to beef up quality control.
"We are facing a crisis," he said, publicly confronting the auto maker's safety problems for the first time since the global recalls were announced on January 21.
He said the company is setting up a special committee he would head himself.
It would review internal checks, go over consumer complaints and listen to outside experts to come up with a solution to the widening quality problems.
"I offer my apologies for the worries," he said. "Many customers are wondering whether their cars are OK."
Toyoda, grandson of the auto maker's founder, said the company was moving quickly on the global recalls covering 4.5 million vehicles for sticking gas pedals, about half of them in the United States.
Dealers are scrambling to make repairs on the gas pedals, which need a new steel part to solve the sticking problem.
Toyota would fully cooperate with the investigation by US federal authorities into Prius problems, Toyoda said.
There have been nearly 200 complaints in Japan and the US of drivers experiencing a short delay before the brakes kick in -- a problem that can be fixed with a software programming change.
The auto maker has fixed the programming glitch in Prius models that went on sale since last month, but has done nothing yet on 270,000 Prius cars sold last year in Japan and the US. The remodeled third-generation Prius went on sale in May.
A less-than-perfect Prius, the vehicle of choice for Hollywood movie stars such as Leonardo Dicaprio, threatens to be an even more serious blow for Toyota's image than the gas pedal recalls. The hybrid is a symbol of Toyota's technological prowess and ambitions to lead the auto industry in green, low-pollution cars.
Toyota is also investigating possible brake problems with its luxury Lexus hybrid and the Sai compact sedan, both of which use the same brake system as the Prius. Toyota has not received any complaints about the Lexus HS250h and the probe is to ensure safety, it has said. The Sai is not sold outside Japan.
Toyoda, 53, has been criticized for not coming out sooner to answer questions about the flood of quality problems.
Masaaki Sato, an auto industry expert who has written books on Toyota and its Japanese rival Honda, said yesterday's public appearance was the company's last chance to keep the situation from worsening.
"He should have come out a week ago," Sato said of Toyoda during an appearance on a popular late night news program following the press conference. "After all the foot dragging, he was pushed into a corner."
Sato also criticized Toyoda for having to be prodded into action in the US by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who called the Toyota president for talks.
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