Page 156 - Toyota Under Fire
P. 156

THE RECALL CRISIS




           action now, it unfortunately took an enormous effort to get to
           this point.”

           FEBRUARY 3, 2010: LaHood warns Americans not to drive re-
           called cars, but later says that this was a misstatement.

           The NHTSA says that it has received more than 100 complaints
           about brake problems from Prius owners.

           FEBRUARY 9, 2010: Recall of 437,000 Prius and other hybrid ve-
           hicles worldwide to resolve complaints about braking. The an-
           nouncement raises the number of vehicles recalled by Toyota to
           more than 8.5 million.

           FEBRUARY 12, 2010: Toyota recalls about 8,000 Tacoma pickup
           trucks from the 2010 model year to fix a problem with the front
           propeller shaft that could cause the vehicle to lose control.

           FEBRUARY 22, 2010: On the eve of congressional hearings, ABC
           News broadcasts a report that purports to show evidence of the
           possibility of electronic defects in Toyotas based on Professor
           Gilbert’s device.
           FEBRUARY 23 AND 24, 2010: Hearings of various committees
           of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Akio Toyoda.
           Toyoda publicly apologizes and pledges renewed commitment
           to quality and safety from Toyota.













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