Toyota flaws affect 6.4 million vehicles

1.8 million in U.S. part of world recall

TOKYO - Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling nearly 1.8 million vehicles in the U.S. for various safety problems, including air bags that may fail to deploy.

The Japanese automaker announced the U.S. recall Wednesday as part of a broader global recall of nearly 6.4 million vehicles and 27 Toyota models.

“We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and concern brought by this recall announcement,” the company said in an emailed statement. “Toyota has rededicated itself to strengthening its commitment to safety and quality. In part, that means refocusing on putting customers and people first, by listening better and taking appropriate action.”

In the U.S., the recall includes 1.3 million vehicles with faulty electrical connections that could cause the air bags to deactivate. Included are the 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Matrix, 2008-2010 Highlander, 2009-2010 Taco-ma, 2006-2008 RAV4, 2006-2010 Yaris and 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe. If the air bags deactivate, they could fail to deploy after a crash.

The recall also includes 472,500 small cars with defective springs in the front seat rails, which could prevent the seats from locking in place. Included are the 2006-2010 Yaris hatchback, 2007-2010 Yaris sedan and the 2008-2010 Scion XD.

“Something is wrong,” Koji Endo, an analyst at Advanced Research Japan in Tokyo, said by telephone. “They may even need to review their production process. Even if the problem is with the suppliers, Toyota should be responsible for it.”

While details weren’t available for precise calculations, Endo estimated that the recall could cost Toyota $589 million to $687 million, or about $98 per vehicle.

Toyota said it is currently working on remedies for the problems. Dealers will replace the defective parts for free when replacement parts are available.

The Pontiac Vibe, which is made by General Motors Co., is included in the recall because Toyota designed and engineered it for GM when the two companies shared a factory in California. GM said 40,500 Vibes will be recalled and GM dealers will make repairs when Toyota sends them the parts.

The air-bag issue is unrelated to a separate GM recall of 2.6 million vehicles for an ignition-switch defect that also can deactivate the air bags. The Vibe isn’t included in that recall.

Toyota said no injuries or crashes have been reported related to the recalls.

“This is Toyota being more active in calling back vehicles to ensure quality,” said Takaki Nakanishi, a Tokyo-based analyst for Jefferies Group LLC. “The number is big, but the faults are minor and not critical.”

Even during mounting scrutiny of their safety processes, it often takes car makers years to recall vehicles. Toyota first identified one of the five problems in Wednesday’s recall back in 2007, it said in an email. The one that came to light most recently emerged last year, it said.

By region, the recall affects 2.3 million vehicles in North America, 1.09 million vehicles in Japan and 810,000 vehicles in Europe. Other regions affected by the recall include Africa, South America and the Middle East.

The recall is one of Toyota’s largest since 2009 and 2010, when the company issued recalls totaling more than 10 million vehicles for various problems including faulty brakes, sticky gas pedals and ill-fitting floor mats.

Toyota is under pressure to announce recalls quickly after a U.S. government investigation found it hid information about past defects. Last month, the company agreed to pay $1.2 billion to settle that investigation. It also paid fines totaling $66 million to the U.S. government for delays in reporting problems with unintended acceleration.

The company says it has “made fundamental changes to become a more responsive and customer-focused organization, and we are committed to continued improvements.” Information for this article was contributed by Yuri Kageyama and Dee-Ann Durbin of The Associated Press and by Craig Trudell and Yuki Hagiwara of Bloomberg News.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 04/10/2014

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