Page 192 - Toyota Under Fire

RESPONSE AND THE ROAD TO RECOVER Y

manufacturer and the NHTSA after extensive discussion. That’s
illustrated most starkly in the fact that one manufacturer may
issue a recall over a flawed part, while another manufacturer using
the same part does not. We’ve noted several instances in which
Toyota, after January 2010, issued recalls when other manufac-
turers using similar or identical parts did not. The judgment
calls by both parties are also influenced by the political and me-
dia environment. All regulatory agencies, not just the NHTSA,
toughened up under the Obama administration. The media at-
mosphere around the Toyota recall crisis influenced other au-
tomakers—thus the more than 50 percent increase in recalls
between 2009 and 2010 for all manufacturers. It would be fool-
ish to believe that the increase was due to a sudden collapse in
quality at every manufacturer simultaneously.
It’s also important to keep in mind that even with the huge
uptick in recalls, the total number of problems and vehicles re-
called is a small percentage of the number of vehicles on the
road. Further, the number of times a problem actually surfaces
is typically a very small percentage of the vehicles recalled. At
the time of the sticky pedal recall in the United States, there had
been only 12 vehicles found in the country with the condition—
none resulting in an accident—but the recall covered more than
2 million vehicles. Chrysler’s sticky pedal recall was due to five
complaints. Similarly, the Ford Fusion floor mat entrapment
investigation, which theoretically could lead to the recall of
250,000 vehicles, is based on three complaints.*

* Stephen Manning, “U.S. Investigates Reports of Dangerous Ford Floor Mats,”
Huffington Post, June 1, 2010; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/01/
us-investigates-reports-o_n_596625.html.

161