For the second time in as many weeks, Toyota is now recalling about 95,700 cars and crossover vehicles sold in the US. It has been recently found that icing in colder temperatures could adversely affect the braking systems of these vehicles.
Last week's huge recall was announced for almost 690,000 that were built and sold in China.
This new recall includes the 2009 and 2010 models of the Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix and the 2008 and 2009 Scion xD. These vehicles are currently registered in 19 states that are deemed cold weather states. These states include Alaska, Idaho, Colorado, New Hampshire, Maine, New York, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Vermont, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Toyota dealers plan to fit a new intake air connector to these vehicles that are equipped with 1.8-liter engines. Toyota says that the problem is that while operating in colder climates and temperatures the condensed moisture from the "positive crankcase ventilation port" could leak into the vehicle's brake system vacuum port and cause freezing. The eventual build up of the ice would then lead to lengthened vehicle stopping distances because of the reduced "vacuum power assist".
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The Chinese recall that was announced last week involved 384,763
Camry models,
Corolla,
Vios and
Yaris cars which were manufactured in the past four years. The defective window switch system involved in this recall was supplied by Japanese Tokai Rika and caused the problem with excess lubrication, which could result in the electric window switch control to short circuit and ultimately cause a fire.
Late last year
Toyota was also one of the several carmakers that were involved in a recall over all-weather floor mats that were not being properly secured and were slipping under the acceleration pedal. At the time of that recall, these problems had caused eight crashes injuring 12 people. The 2007/2008
Camry was one of the models involved in this recall.
Toyota seems to have been plagued by all types of recalls just in the last year. Just over a year ago, in May
Toyota issued a recall for over 90,000
Highlander SUVs because of faulty safety belts. These defective belts were interfering with the proper operation of rear-facing child safety seat devices. At the time of that recall Toyota was facing at least one known law suit involving a different safety belt issue. There has also a whistle blower alleging that Toyota was covering up safety issues.
Per the
Toyota website, the repair will be free of charge and depending on the workload of the dealership; the repair should only take about an hour. They also say that no other Lexus, Toyota or Scion vehicles are involved.
Customers with questions or concerns should contact the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331 or the Scion Customer Experience at 1-866-70SCION(707-2466).