A California jury handed down a big decision for Toyota, saying that the car company wasn’t responsible in the 2009 crash of a Camry that accelerated out of control and killed the driver. Instead, the jury placed the blame squarely on another driver in the crash, saying it was the catalyst that set the whole accident in motion. [More]
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Toyota Recalls 235,000 Vehicles In U.S.
By 9.4.13
In two separate actions announced this morning, Toyota has recalled a total of 235,000 vehicles in the U.S. alone (369,000 worldwide) for possible problems with heat damage in two hybrids and a possible defect in engine bolts in multiple Lexus vehicles. [More]
Toyota To Start Manufacturing Lexus Vehicles In Kentucky
By 4.18.13
Toyota’s plant in Georgetown, KY, is slated to go a bit upscale with the news that the world’s largest car company will be using the plant to manufacture the Lexus ES, which had previously only been produced in Japan. [More]
Toyota, Honda & Nissan Recall 3.4M Vehicles Because Air Bags Need To Work
By 4.11.13
The thing about car air bags is it’s quite necessary that they deploy at the right time. Which is why the Japanese maker of safety gear is at the center of a recall of more than three million vehicles, scattered across the Honda, Toyota and Nissan brands. Those companies all have cars that could have defective airbag inflators, causing airbags to possibly deploy abnormally in a crash. [More]
Toyota & Ford Fighting On The Playground Over Who Has The No. 1 Car
By 4.10.13
It’s an all-out slap fight on the playground these days between Toyota and Ford, as both claim they’re No. 1 in the world as the makers of the top-selling car of 2012. Toyota contradicted Ford’s claim of the Focus being the coolest by sayings its Corolla is actually the best around. [More]
NHTSA Investigating 1.3 Million Fords, Toyotas & Hondas For Safety-Related Issues
By 2.25.13
There’s a whole lot of investigating going on right now at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and it includes almost 1.3 million vehicles from Toyota, Ford and Honda. All three are in potentially hot water for safety-related issues, from steering problems to brake issues. From the sound of it, the Prius is bearing the brunt of the scrutiny. [More]
Toyota Announces Recall Of 750K Corollas & 270K Lexus IS Vehicles
By 1.30.13
Toyota doubled on its recall announcements today, issuing two separate recalls totaling more than 1 million vehicles in the U.S. [More]
Toyota To Pay Out $1.1 Billion To Settle Unintended Acceleration Lawsuit
By 12.26.12
Three years after Toyota announced numerous recalls of vehicles to deal with claims of unintended acceleration, it has finally agreed to a $1.1 billion settlement to be shared by owners of around 16 million Toyotas in the U.S. [More]
Camry, Prius V, Several Luxury Cars Fail New Crash Tests
By 12.20.12
You all know the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety; they’re the folks that get paid to smash cars into walls. Now the IIHS has added a new level to its Top Safety Pick certification — Top Safety Pick+ — for vehicles that meet existing standards and perform well in new small frontal overlap tests. [More]
Toyota Will Pay A Record Fine Of $17.35M Over Delay In Reporting Safety Defects
By 12.18.12
Toyota says it will be paying out a record $17.35 million — the maximum fine allowably by law — after the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the company had delayed reporting a safety defect to the government. It’s the highest single civil penalty that’s ever been paid to the NHTS Afor violations that are a result of a recall. [More]
Toyota Recalling 2.77 Million Vehicles Worldwide For Steering Snafu, Water Pumps
By 11.14.12
Toyota announced it’s voluntary recalling a total of almost 3 million vehicles worldwide for steering and water pump issues that have popped up recently, which will make this the second multi-million vehicle recall for the company in just over a month. There haven’t been any accidents or injuries reported thus far from the problems, which can be fixed relatively quickly but will likely cost Toyota hundreds of millions of dollars to repair. [More]
Ford Continues To Sink Toward Bottom Of Consumer Reports’ Reliability Ratings
By 10.29.12
In 2010, Ford was among the top 10 auto brands in Consumer Reports’ Annual Auto Reliability Survey, with more than 90% of its models rated average or better by CR readers. But in the two years since, the shine has gone off the Ford brand, and in the newly released survey, it now comes in next to last place. [More]
Toyota Issues Recall Of 7 Million Cars Worldwide For Faulty Window Switch
By 10.10.12
In one of its biggest recalls yet, Toyota is recalling 7.43 million vehicles from around the United States, Japan and Europe — all because of a faulty power-window switch in about a dozen models that didn’t get greased up enough when the cars were built. That could cause friction in the switch and at times, even smoke. [More]
U.S. Car Makers Post Double-Digit Sales Increases
By 9.4.12
Need some decent news to brighten up your dreary day? This may not do it, but it’s worth a shot: Chrysler, GM and Ford have released their August sales numbers and each of the automakers saw substantial year-over-year sales increases during the last month of summer vacation. [More]
Man Announces "Toyota Sucks" On Roof — And Google Maps Takes Notice
By 8.27.12
Writing “Toyota Sucks” on your roof and turning your Toyota truck into an anti-Toyota billboard may seem like a slightly fruitless exercise. That is, until both of them end up on Google Maps, much to the amusement of the Internet. [More]
Why Is Dealership Checking My Credit When I'm Paying In Full?
By 8.14.12
Brad and his wife drove a few hours to a car dealership, planning to pay cash for a new vehicle. Well, not cash exactly: they were putting part of the balance on a credit card (for airline miles or other rewards, we’re guessing) and had a cashier’s check for the rest. The dealer agreed to this deal over e-mail and over the phone. Then, when they reached the dealership, they were handed a credit application to fill out. Wait, why did they need their credit checked when payment in full was sitting right there in their hands? [More]
Why Did Toyota Sell Me A Van With An Obsolete Navigation System?
By 5.18.12
Ben bought a Toyota Sienna minivan last year, and one of the fancy options included was a built-in navigation system. That’s neat. But what’s strange is that his car has the wrong system. It has the one meant for the 2011 model, not the 2012 that he purchased. This doesn’t seem like all that big a deal, but it hurts the resale value of his van and is just generally annoying. Wouldn’t you want the technology that you paid for? [More]
Toyota Recalls Another 681,000 Camry, Venza, Tacoma Vehicles
By 3.7.12
It’s been a few months since the last big Toyota recall, so it probably comes as no surprise to some of you that Toyota has issued recalls a grand total of 681,000 Camry, Venza and Tacoma vehicles. [More]
