ZT Toyota Recalls Sequoia SUVs to Fix Stability Control

By Angela Greiling Keane and Alan Ohnsman
April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp., which recalled
Lexus GX sport-utility vehicles this month because stability
controls failed to engage fast enough, is recalling Sequoia SUVs
to adjust a control system that drivers say is too aggressive.
Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, told the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration today 50,000 of the 2003
Sequoias are covered in the recall. The agency has been
investigating the defect since 2008. About half those vehicles
had the control unit adjusted after a technical service bulletin
was sent to dealers, said John Hanson, a Toyota spokesman.
“We have customer complaints dating back to 2003” that
vehicle stability control “kicked in at times it shouldn’t
have, maybe too early,” said Hanson, based at Toyota’s U.S.
sales unit in Torrance, California. Neither Toyota nor NHTSA has
received reports of accidents or injuries linked to the control
flaw, he said.
Toyota, based in Toyota City, Japan, has recalled more than
8 million vehicles worldwide in the past year for defects that
may cause unintended acceleration in its cars and trucks. The
company on April 19 said it would recall the Lexus GX 460 SUV
after Consumer Reports magazine rated it a “safety risk”
because the model can roll over in certain driving conditions.
“Toyota is cooperating with NHTSA’s request to issue a
safety recall of the 2003 Sequoia,” said Julia Piscitelli, an
agency spokeswoman. “NHTSA has been investigating electronic
stability control malfunctions which have turned up 163 safety-
related failure incidents” reported to the agency or Toyota.



Customers Reimbursed


The automaker is also reimbursing customers who were
charged for the adjustment when the work was performed after
their warranty had expired, Hanson said.
“Toyota has consistently advised NHTSA of its position
that the alleged inappropriate activation of the VSC system does
not present an unreasonable risk to safety because the
activations are rare,” the company told NHTSA in filing. The
reported incidents occurred at low speeds and last no longer
than “a few seconds,” the company said.
After initial complaints about the controls on Sequoia,
Toyota modified the software in 2003, Hanson said. The repair
involves replacing the Sequoia’s electronic control unit that’s
intended to prevent the vehicle from skidding.
“Toyota is committed to investigating customer complaints
more aggressively and to responding quickly to issues we
identify in our vehicles,” Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief
quality officer for North America, said in a statement today.
Toyota’s American depositary receipts, each equal to two
ordinary shares, fell 21 cents to $76.78 at 12:31 p.m. in New
York Stock Exchange composite trading.