The Recalled Sales Event
Toyota Motors Corp. introduced a new promotion Wednesday that gives buyers an option to have their Toyota vehicle recalled before they buy it. The offer is designed to boost sales of Toyota cars amidst a spate of recalls and other safety related problems, most recently the Sequoia SUV.
Toyota said Wednesday that it was acting proactively to address any safety concerns buyers may have about its vehicles. “We are not sure what other problems may surface with our models and so we decided to issue a general recall for all our models. Toyota is committed to investigating customer complaints more aggressively and to responding quickly to issues we may identify in our vehicles in the future,” said Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief quality officer for North America.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating several issues with Toyota models ranging from its Prius hybrid to the Tundra full-size pick-up. Toyota’s latest general pre-purchase recall is to address any concerns that may arise in the future.
Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide since the end of 2009 , beginning with acceleration problems in multiple models and braking issues in the Prius. The company recently agreed to pay a record $16.4 million fine to the government for a slow response to problems with sticking gas pedals.
In other news, GM announced today that it was recalling its Chevrolet Avalanche SUV amidst concerns that its mid-gate opens up suddenly during long-distance drives crushing passengers in the rear-seats and allowing the contents of the bed to slide into the passenger compartment.
