Toyota Recall Flashback: Revisiting the Toyota Recall Saga

On Tuesday, a National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) report with the help of NASA determined that Toyota’s electronics systems were not to blame for acceleration issues that led to massive recalls of its cars.

The Japanese automaker has been plagued by recall after recall in recent years, as millions of Toyota vehicles have been pulled back.

Let’s take a look back at some major developments in the Toyota recall saga over the past two years:

Oct. 2009: Toyota recalls 3.8 million vehicles due to “stuck” floor mats that could force a sudden acceleration of the car. At the time, it was the largest US recall for Toyota.

Jan. 2010: After consultation with the NHTSA over sticky pedal incidents without floor mats, Toyota recalls another 2.3 million vehicles.

Apr. 2010: Toyota pays $16.4 million in fines to the Department of Transportation for not reporting safety incidents to the NHTSA in a timely fashion. It was the largest fine against a carmaker ever.

Jul. 2010: Toyota recalls 400,000 Avalons and Lexuses due to complains the steering wheel locked up while driving.

Aug. 2010: The NHTSA announces in a report that driver error could have caused crashes of Toyota cars due to sudden acceleration.

Oct. 2010: Toyota recalls 1.5 million vehicles worldwide, including Avalon, Highlander, and Lexus models in the US due to leaky master cylinder seals.

Nov. 2010: A lawsuit filed against Toyota alleges that the carmaker bought back cars with acceleration defects to hide the issue from regulators.

Nov. 2010: Toyota recalls 136,000 compact cars in Japan and Europe due to steering issues.

Nov. 2010: Toyota finds defective engine coolant pumps in 650,000 Prius hybrids and promises to fix them. The faulty pumps could cause overheating and power loss.

Dec. 2010: Toyota recalls 94,000 minivans due to brake issues, which caused some 2011 Siennas to brake randomly.

Jan. 2011: Toyota recalls 1.7 million Lexus cars due to a faulty fuel pressure sensor, which could cause fuel to leak. 1.3 million of the Lexus vehicles were sold in Japan.

Sources: The Epoch Times, The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration