Toyota issued a recall of 1.1 million Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles after more than 1,000 complaints.
GM will recall 200,000 Pontiac Vibes, including 162,000 in the United States, after a "handful" of complaints, said GM spokesman Alan Adler.
The Vibe, a sister vehicle for the Matrix, was produced as part of the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. joing venture between the two companies in California that is now defunct.
Toyota said it was addressing some engine control modules -- the computer that controls the engine -- that may have been improperly made.
Cracks may develop at solder points or on the electronic component used to protect circuits against excessive voltage -- in some cases stopping the engine while the vehicle is being driven, the statement said.
The announcement today raises Toyota recalls since November 2009 to about 12.3 million vehicles worldwide and 10.5 million in the United States, most for sudden acceleration, Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons said.
The supplier of the modules at issue in today's recall was Delphi Corp., a Delphi spokesman said.
"The ECM's supplied to Toyota were designed and validated in accordance with specifications provided to us by Toyota," said Delphi spokesman Lindsey Williams. "We continue to work collaboratively with Toyota and support them in this recall campaign."
All the affected Toyota vehicles were sold in North America.
"Our goal is to help ensure that Toyota drivers are completely confident in the safety and reliability of their vehicles," Steve St. Angelo, Toyota's chief quality officer for North America, said in a prepared statement.
Earlier this week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was upgrading its investigation of the Corollas.
Toyota's popular Corolla model also faces other regulatory concerns. Since February, NHTSA has been investigating dozens of complaints of steering problems with the Corollas from model years 2009 and 2010.
Some accidents, no deaths: Toyota said it knew of three unconfirmed accidents stemming from the safety defect, one of which involved a minor injury.
NHTSA said it knows of six reported crashes, with no injuries or deaths.
When the problem occurs, the check engine light will illuminate in most cases and the vehicle may experience "harsh shifting", Toyota said.
Consumers have filed 1,101 complaints, according to NHTSA data. Toyota has reported it approved 4,211 warranty claims for replacement of the electronic control module or unit, the computer that conrols the engine.
In a January complaint, the driver reported a problem with a 2007 Corolla that had been driven 22,000 miles.
"When I got off work, I could not start the engine," the driver wrote. "I tried three times and engine was finally started."
The next morning, the driver decided to bring the vehicle to the dealership. It stalled at a red light on the way, the complainant wrote.
Toyota said it plans to replace the electronic control module on recalled vehicles at no charge. Owners will be informed of the recall in mid-September mailings, the company said.
The Toyota-GM Joint venture led to the manufacture of vehicles in Fremont, Calif., from April 2004 to January 2008, GM's Adler said.
NHTSA did not announce it was investigating the Pontiac Vibe, nor were any consumer complaints sent to the federal agency, the GM spokesman said.
The recalled Pontiac Vibes can be brought into any GM dealership, Adler said.
No comments:
Post a Comment