ZT Toyota Recalls Sequoia SUVs to Fix Stability Control

By Angela Greiling Keane and Alan Ohnsman
April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp., which recalled
Lexus GX sport-utility vehicles this month because stability
controls failed to engage fast enough, is recalling Sequoia SUVs
to adjust a control system that drivers say is too aggressive.
Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, told the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration today 50,000 of the 2003
Sequoias are covered in the recall. The agency has been
investigating the defect since 2008. About half those vehicles
had the control unit adjusted after a technical service bulletin
was sent to dealers, said John Hanson, a Toyota spokesman.
“We have customer complaints dating back to 2003” that
vehicle stability control “kicked in at times it shouldn’t
have, maybe too early,” said Hanson, based at Toyota’s U.S.
sales unit in Torrance, California. Neither Toyota nor NHTSA has
received reports of accidents or injuries linked to the control
flaw, he said.
Toyota, based in Toyota City, Japan, has recalled more than
8 million vehicles worldwide in the past year for defects that
may cause unintended acceleration in its cars and trucks. The
company on April 19 said it would recall the Lexus GX 460 SUV
after Consumer Reports magazine rated it a “safety risk”
because the model can roll over in certain driving conditions.
“Toyota is cooperating with NHTSA’s request to issue a
safety recall of the 2003 Sequoia,” said Julia Piscitelli, an
agency spokeswoman. “NHTSA has been investigating electronic
stability control malfunctions which have turned up 163 safety-
related failure incidents” reported to the agency or Toyota.



Customers Reimbursed


The automaker is also reimbursing customers who were
charged for the adjustment when the work was performed after
their warranty had expired, Hanson said.
“Toyota has consistently advised NHTSA of its position
that the alleged inappropriate activation of the VSC system does
not present an unreasonable risk to safety because the
activations are rare,” the company told NHTSA in filing. The
reported incidents occurred at low speeds and last no longer
than “a few seconds,” the company said.
After initial complaints about the controls on Sequoia,
Toyota modified the software in 2003, Hanson said. The repair
involves replacing the Sequoia’s electronic control unit that’s
intended to prevent the vehicle from skidding.
“Toyota is committed to investigating customer complaints
more aggressively and to responding quickly to issues we
identify in our vehicles,” Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief
quality officer for North America, said in a statement today.
Toyota’s American depositary receipts, each equal to two
ordinary shares, fell 21 cents to $76.78 at 12:31 p.m. in New
York Stock Exchange composite trading.

所有跟帖： 

• 早就說過，460出了問題，其他陸巡係列也是遲早的事。 -殺雨- ♂ (0 bytes) () 04/28/2010 postreply 10:02:52

• GX雖然也稱陸巡係列，但和Sequoia不一樣，和4跑一樣。 -jin_yin_hua- ♂ (53 bytes) () 04/28/2010 postreply 10:20:11

• 但他們都是用同樣的係統，高度對其影響不大。 -殺雨- ♂ (52 bytes) () 04/28/2010 postreply 10:29:59

• 看你下麵的爭論。那家夥真好玩。要是能見底的話，跟輪胎有嗎關係。 -jin_yin_hua- ♂ (37 bytes) () 04/28/2010 postreply 10:29:03

• 講點禮貌好麽？ -狼主- ♀ (0 bytes) () 04/28/2010 postreply 10:48:29

• let's just talk calmly, no one is prefessional here -wolfmanii- ♂ (222 bytes) () 04/28/2010 postreply 20:05:13

• 要是mud能讓輪胎見底的話，寬一點窄一點區別不大。 -jin_yin_hua- ♂ (0 bytes) () 04/28/2010 postreply 20:57:17

• If mud能讓輪胎見底的話，narrow tire can get better grip -wolfmanii- ♂ (84 bytes) () 04/29/2010 postreply 06:43:49

• 我們是在討論能不能逃出來，而不是開得好不好，對吧。 -jin_yin_hua- ♂ (76 bytes) () 04/29/2010 postreply 07:19:21

• to tell you the truth: -wolfmanii- ♂ (257 bytes) () 04/29/2010 postreply 11:34:31

• you are right. you can't classify mud as just mud. -jin_yin_hua- ♂ (0 bytes) () 04/29/2010 postreply 12:45:27

• calm down, what if the mud area is longer than the wheelbase -wolfmanii- ♂ (31 bytes) () 04/29/2010 postreply 23:21:59

• LOL~~~~我對你佩服得五體投地。你再胡咧咧，我就吊死在你家門口！ -殺雨- ♂ (0 bytes) () 04/30/2010 postreply 07:59:08

• I AM.嘿嘿嘿。 -殺雨- ♂ (0 bytes) () 04/29/2010 postreply 08:08:30

• 低調, 低調 -wolfmanii- ♂ (2 bytes) () 04/29/2010 postreply 11:35:45