Toyota offers free fix, but no recall, for Corolla, Matrix steering (749,685 cars)

[Omaha Steve]

Source: USA Today

Drive On colleague Justin Hyde of the Detroit Free Press has learned that Toyota is telling federal regulators that a steering problem that could affect 749,685 Corolla and Matrix models isn't a safety defect -- thus no recall is required -- but Toyota will offer free repairs to owners who complain.

If the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration agrees, it would save Toyota from pushing its worldwide safety recall total in the past year to nearly 9.25 million vehicles. And it would save the company the legal and financial burdens of a recall, such as notifying affected owners and reporting in repair progress.

NHTSA in February opened a defect probe into 2009 and 2010 Corolla and Matrix models, following 168 reports that the electric power steering in the vehicles was prone to drifting or locking up, especially at highway speeds. In response to NHTSA, Toyota said (in documents obtained by Hyde and the Free Press) that it had 437 reports of steering problems covering 395 vehicles, including 11 injuries in 18 crashes.

Spokesman Brian Lyons told the Free Press that Toyota believes most of the complaints involved wandering from the on-center steering position that didn't amount to a safety problem. "We see this as a customer-satisfaction issue."


Read more: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/07/toyota-offers-free-fix-but-no-recall-for-corolla-matrix-steering/1

[Curmudgeoness]

1. A customer satisfaction issue? And floor mats were making gas pedals

stick down. Jeez. No huge corporations care about customers/people anymore. So far, my Matrix has not been in any of these recalls/issues, since they started with the 2009 models (or so we are told). On a side note, my Toyota is giving me no problems and I still love it.

[Fastcars]

2. Has Toyota Jumped The Shark?

Steering wandering and locking up at highway speeds a customer satisfaction issue? Do they think we are that stupid?

[madrchsod]

6. yes they do...

they have done a great con job on the american public.

[DimplesinMI]

3. Does this recall cover Pontiac Vibes too?

It is the sister car to the Matrix?

[Canuckistanian]

7. Yes, it is the sister car to the Matrix

From what I was told, the Vibe was basically a Matrix with a Pontiac body and accessories.

And I just bought a 2009 Vibe last month. :scared:

[AtheistCrusader]

4. Funny that Nissan Frontiers didn't hit the news for their gas tank recall.

Toyota sure pissed someone off.

The tank isn't formed correctly, causing the fuel gauge float to be wrong, causing you to run out of damn gas in the middle of whenever. Losing the engine on the freeway is a real bitch, because there goes your boosted brakes, and steering along with thrust.

[Omaha Steve]

8. Thank you

This was all I could find in a hurry.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/used-cars/used-cars-archive/rugged-suv-was-a-backroad-brute/article1621387/

Transport Canada has two safety recalls. The first concerns a suspect fuel gauge that could read one-quarter full when in fact, the tank is empty. Nissan has apparently notified new owners of this problem and, by now, it should have been dealt with. If in doubt, keep your fuel level above half a tank.

The second recall involves a possible glitch with the airbag sensor, which could malfunction in areas where salt is heavily used on the roads during winter. It could result in non-deployment of the airbags in the event of a collision. This recall also affects Frontier and Xterra models from 2005 to 2009.

[AtheistCrusader]

11. Oh snap. Thanks! I didn't know about the airbag issue.

[madrchsod]

5. the problem was being reported starting in February of 09....

toyota never really solved the problem but this is nothing new.toyota has had a problem with their steering for years.

[unblock]

9. well, i guess i can see how steering locking up at highway speeds leads to customer dissatisfaction

so i guess they do have a point.

:dunce:

[leftyladyfrommo]

10. Wow. I had that happen in my Yaris.

All of a sudden I just kind of went to the right. And then it was OK. I just thought it might have been a wind gust or a track in the highway.

[Heywood J]

12. Drift is one thing, since our roads are so bad

that it could be mistaken as an alignment issue and vice-versa. But calling steering lock-up a "customer satisfaction" issue when it happens at highway speeds is criminal and extremely dangerous. NHTSA should force a recall as soon as possible to correct the obvious defect. They're very lucky to have only eighteen crashes so far - this could easily result in fatalities. Recalls have been issued over far less than steering lockups. Just popping my own car into the NHTSA recall list shows recalls over relatively insignificant items like aftermarket headlamp assemblies:

NHTSA campaign # 09E025000

DOPE, INC. IS RECALLING 42,540 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT." THESE LAMPS DO NOT CONTAIN THE REQUIRED AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS.

A recall was issued some time ago on GM vehicles for a steering problem with an aftermarket part that involved a loss of control and the possibility of crash. Why isn't this being forced on Toyota now when the faulty part is standard equipment and guaranteed to be on the vehicles?
NHTSA campaign # 09E005000

Consequence:
A BROKEN STEERING KNUCKLE COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL AND A POSSIBLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.

Double-standard for Toyota indeed. A safety defect is a safety defect, no matter who made the vehicle.