Toyota recalls 10,000 Tacoma trucks in North America+

CHICAGO, Feb. 12 Kyodo -
Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday it will recall about 10,000 Tacoma pickup trucks
in North America amid criticism of its massive global recalls implemented from
last fall totaling around 8 million vehicles in connection with accelerator
pedal and brake system problems.
Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. said it filed a recall with the U.S. National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration for approximately 8,000 units of certain
2010 model year Tacoma 4WD trucks in the United States. Another 1,500 units of
the trucks have been sold in Canada, while the model has also been released in
Mexico.
While the scope of the latest recall is relatively small, the development is
likely to add to concerns that the series of recalls that have tarnished
Toyota's reputation for quality may also hurt the carmaker's business
performance.
In its latest announcement, the Japanese automaker said the front drive shaft
of the trucks manufactured between mid-December and early February ''may
include a component that contains cracks that developed during the
manufacturing process.''
''As those vehicles are used, the cracks may eventually lead to the separation
of the drive shaft at the joint portion,'' it said.
Although there have been no reports of accidents, injuries or complaints
involving this problem, Toyota apparently decided to conduct a voluntary safety
recall to inspect the possibly problematic front drive shaft to show its
commitment to safety amid the growing recalls.
Calls for Toyota's president, Akio Toyoda, to testify before U.S. congressional
committees on the recent recalls have been mounting, and Toyota officials said
Friday that Toyoda would agree to do so if formally asked.
Toyota, the world's largest automaker, has come under intense scrutiny both at
home and abroad since it was discovered that the automaker has been making
adjustments to the latest model of its Prius hybrid on a customer-by-customer
basis following dozens of complaints it had received over brake problems.
Earlier this week, the world's largest automaker announced a recall of about
437,000 vehicles globally to fix the brake problems in its new Prius and three
other hybrid models.
That followed a massive global recall of more than 4 million vehicles,
including the mainstay Corolla and Camry models, to fix faulty accelerator
pedals, and a safety recall since November of some 5.55 million vehicles in
North America to fix gas pedals getting stuck under loose floor mats,
potentially causing sudden acceleration. Some of the vehicles in these recalls
overlap.
In addition, reports of unexpected acceleration have been filed with the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for Toyota models not subject to
the series of recalls, including more than 100 cases involving the Tacoma
truck.
Toyota said it does not see any safety problems so far with the vehicles
involved in the reports and sent a written response to the U.S. House of
Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to that effect.
==Kyodo