Toyota Recalls

[Twistoffate0817]

I truly believe my Yaris has some issues that need to be resolved. As some may know, I have always felt my yaris had some type of flaw. My Brakes are not stopping my vehicle well enough, and now today I was driving down the road, had a cd in, and it just randomly chaged from the CD to AM radio. It is just all very weird.

[MadMax]

Toyota's once-golden resale value gets dented

CHICAGO – Toyota owners looking to trade in their cars have little reason to sing the carmaker's old ad slogan, "I love what you do for me — Toyota!"

Recalls and a bungled response to safety questions are putting a dent in the resale values of their cars. For years, Toyotas have been praised both for high quality and maintaining their worth. These days, the Toyota in your garage is no longer like money in the bank.

Some dealers are refusing to accept Toyotas for trade, while others are paying considerably less than they did just two week ago. Kelley Blue Book has dropped the value of recalled Toyotas by as much 3 percent. The auto research Web site Edmunds.com estimates resale or trade-in values could fall up to 10 percent in the short term.

The decline will likely continue as long as uncertainty and defects continue to shadow the world's No. 1 carmaker.

Toyota Motor Corp. has so far recalled more than 7 million cars in the U.S., Europe and China over a sticky accelerator and floor mats that can get caught in the gas pedal. Its prized Prius hybrid — which is partially powered by electricity — is under investigation for momentary brake failure. The company is expected to announce its plan for fixing that model this week.

Kelley, which two months ago named Toyota the best brand for resale value, says recalled models are now worth $200 to $500 less per car. Another cut of the same magnitude is planned as soon as the coming week unless the recall controversy abates and demand for Toyotas stops declining, Kelley spokeswoman Robyn Eckard says.

Similarly, since the first recall for sticky accelerator pedals on Jan. 21, Edmunds' estimate for the trade-in value of a 2009 Toyota Camry has fallen by 4 percent to 6 percent to $13,967 while the 2009 Toyota Corolla has declined 6 percent to $11,233.

"My advice to a consumer would be 'If you don't have to trade one in, wait,'" says Michelle Krebs, senior analyst for Edmunds. "Values will stay down for a bit. But Toyota's got really strong brand equity."

The news has unnerved more than a few consumers who had viewed Toyota as a bulletproof brand for quality.

Laura Benin, 34, of New York City chose a 2009 Corolla for her first car purchase a year ago because of Toyota's stellar reputation. Now she's reluctant to drive her car even after the potential acceleration problem is fixed, but knows this is a bad time to try to sell it.

"It's a little bit scary to think the car with the greatest reputation for safety is in the situation it's in now," she says.

Those who are anxious to sell without waiting for a value rebound can turn to the Japanese automaker's rivals. GM, Ford and Chrysler all have announced similar programs that involve offering $1,000 in incentives to Toyota owners who buy their vehicles.

Car dealers are also facing uncertainty.

At River Oaks Chrysler-Jeep in Houston, general manager Alan Helfman told his used car manager to knock 30 to 40 percent of the book value off any recalled Toyotas or Prius hybrids traded in.

"You've got to get them fixed," he said. "You've got to take them in at greatly reduced value."

Chuck Eddy, a Chrysler dealer in Youngstown, Ohio, said he's heard of other dealers refusing to take recalled Toyotas in trade, but said he'll still take them at reduced values.

Two auction houses, where dealers sell trade-ins if they decide not to keep them, have told his dealership that they won't take recalled Toyotas due to legal liability fears. Eddy says customers are nervous about buying Toyotas and the auction houses have further limited his resale options.

Despite the problems, many drivers appear to be sticking with the brand, however uneasily. Leasetrader.com, which acts as matchmaker between buyers and sellers of car leases, says that of several thousand people on a waiting list to take over Toyota leases, fewer than 30 have canceled.

American drivers pushed Toyota's reputation to an unrealistically high level and now a natural adjustment will occur that benefits Ford and General Motors, says John Wolkonowicz, a senior auto analyst for North America at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Mass.

"I don't think Toyotas are going to suddenly become undesirable on the used car market," he says. "It's just that they have been taken down from this lofty position that they couldn't possibly live up to forever."

Jack Fitzgerald, who owns 12 dealerships including two Toyota stores in the Washington, D.C., area, said he would buy every used Toyota he can get because he's confident they will retain their value.

Fitzgerald said the recall concerns are overblown and should pass quickly once Toyota gets the repair parts to dealers.

"I'm buying every one I can get," he said. "I can't wait for the village idiot to dump his Toyota for nothing. I can certainly make money on it."

___

Associated Press Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.

[slothman86]

"I'm buying every one I can get," he said. "I can't wait for the village idiot to dump his Toyota for nothing. I can certainly make money on it."

LMAO!

[yannis-b]

Luckily my car is not affected as it was manufactured after September 09 (there's a look up system on toyota.co.uk). The thing is the media present it as a disaster etc, whereas as mentioned above it didn't even make it to the top-10 of recalls. As for the drop in trade-in prices it's expectable but hey thanks I'll keep my car...

[Cutie Pie #2]

To add more fuel to the fire: Problems with steering now!
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/co...into/19351106/

[b_hickman11]

Honda added another recall today. Looks like they were getting jealous of all attention Toyota was getting and they are trying to steal some of the pub.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/09/auto...dex.htm?hpt=T2

[why?]

at this point i think toyota is making every recall it can think of, figuring it can't hurt their rep any more.

[Astroman]

Still wouldn't buy a chrysler or GM if you paid me.

[eht13]

OK, I think it's safe to start calling bullshit on some of these complaints... like people are sitting around thinking of things that could be wrong with Toyotas, and because of the situation everyone takes it seriously. The government and the media are doing nothing to alleviate concerns, and may actually be contributing to them.

[127.0.0.1]

Originally Posted by eht13

OK, I think it's safe to start calling bullshit on some of these complaints... like people are sitting around thinking of things that could be wrong with Toyotas, and because of the situation everyone takes it seriously. The government and the media are doing nothing to alleviate concerns, and may actually be contributing to them.

yup

[1NZYaris1]

look on the bright side at least Toyota does the recall when the cars are new ..
Unlike Honda's latest recall on 450,000 cars dateing back to 2001
for fualty airbags

[*MAD DOG*]

Toyota has finally recalled the Prius here in Australia.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news...l/1746793.aspx

[marcus]

*** another update...yesterdays news toronto. heard it on a radio.

some ex employee also revealed a previous toyota cover up on recalls.. this is just killing the TOYOTA reputation.. hope this is a hoax...

[Hard_Yaris]

I heard a story about a person getting their HAND BLOWN OFF by an Air Bag...
I wonder what Vehicle that person was driving?

[nemelek]

I have owned a few throw away cars in my life. A 72 Vega good for 80,000 miles and a 78 Ford Courier also good for 80,000 miles. To my knowledge no recalls on them, however, these vehicles should have never been built.

[why?]

Originally Posted by Hard_Yaris

I heard a story about a person getting their HAND BLOWN OFF by an Air Bag...
I wonder what Vehicle that person was driving?

any first gen air bag could have done that to a small enough person in the wrong circumstance.

[roxy1]

Originally Posted by Hard_Yaris

I heard a story about a person getting their HAND BLOWN OFF by an Air Bag...
I wonder what Vehicle that person was driving?

Honda is the one with the crazy airbags

http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/2010/...8-000-vehicles

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/31/hon...all/index.html

[MadMax]

Finally, the truth is being told...

Relatively few complain about Toyota

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Despite a torrent of high-profile recalls that have tarnished Toyota's once stellar reputation, a study published Wednesday reveals that the automaker actually gets fewer customer complaints per car than the majority of its competitors.

Edmunds.com reviewed more than 200,000 complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) over the last decade and found that Toyota ranked 17th among the top 20 automakers in the overall number of complaints per vehicle sold.

The results come amid a series of recalls totaling more than 8.1 million Toyotas worldwide, including 400,000 of the popular 2010 Prius hybrid for problems associated with sticking brake pedals, software glitches and faulty floormats.

As a result, British carmaker Land Rover had the highest proportion of complaints relative to the number of cars it sold. The company received 0.6% of the total complaints in the database, while its sales amounted to only 0.1% of all new cars sold in the United States.

Meanwhile, Toyota had 9.1% of all the complaints in the database. But the company was number 17 on the list because its sales made up 13.5% of the U.S. market.

According to the study, Toyota had fewer complaints than its American rivals. Ford was number 10 on the list, while General Motors came in at number 11.

The only automakers to receive fewer complaints than Toyota were Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and the Mercedes-made Smart Car.

Among the other automakers that ranked high on the list were Suzuki and Isuzu, which came in at numbers 2 and 3 respectively. German automaker Volkswagen came in at number 4.

The complaints lodged against Toyota ranged from minor problems with lighting to more serious issues such as sudden acceleration and difficulty steering. But the study did not rate the reported incidences for severity.

Edmunds.com said that it found some unreliable reports in the database, including one complaint indicating that 99 people had died in one vehicle as a result of an accident. It also said that about 10% of the complaints appeared to be duplicates.

Quality control: Not just Toyota's problem

While the issues raised by Toyota's recent recalls shouldn't be overlooked, quality control concerns are apparent across the entire automobile industry, said Jeremy Anwyl, Edmunds.com chief executive.

"A broader view shows that consumer complaints reflect an industry issue, not just a Toyota issue," said Anwyl. "It is no longer an option for car companies to dismiss consumer complaints, even if the event is difficult to replicate or diagnose."

Some automakers assume that customer complaints are the result of driver error and not necessarily a reflection of design problems, said Jeannine Fallon, an Edmunds.com analyst.

"It depends on the culture of the car company," she said. "But it's clear now that Toyota has not had very many conversations with NHTSA."

The study was based on the percentage of complaints each automaker received versus the total number of vehicles they sold in the United States between 2001 and 2010.

Of course, we all knew this. It is just nice that some in the press aren't hopping on the hysteria bandwagon...

Cheers! M2