Auto recall: Toyota has second recall within weeks

Our Florida readers are no doubt aware that Toyota has been struggling to reclaim its image after the devastating recalls during a two year period due to unintended acceleration and subsequent personal injury lawsuits. Last month more than 7.4 million Toyotas were recalled to fix power window switches. It was a large recall, but not one that would likely be a safety issue.

This week's recall by Toyota covers 2.8 million vehicles for what could be a safety issue. It was recently reported that the recall is due to a steering issue on some models and a water pump issue on other models. There have been no injuries to date, but given the accelerator issue, one could see where Toyota would want to err on the side of caution.

The recall affects the Prius hybrid made between 2004 and 2011 and the Corolla compact sedans made between 2000 and 2006. In all, Toyota is recalling 1.52 million vehicles in Japan, and 1.25 million vehicles overseas including 670,000 Prius in the U.S.

Recalls are typically communicated though dealership notices but also through other media outlets. To find out whether or not a specific model is included in the auto recall, Toyota owners are urged to either contact a local dealer or go to the Toyota company website.

Toyota claims that there have been no accidents due to these problems to date.

Toyota is understandably being proactive in this case. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Toyota paid $32.425 million as a result of two Department of Transportation investigations. Toyota paid a $16.375 million civil fine for failing to notify NHTSA of the gas pedal defect for four months and $16.050 million for failing to comply with the National Traffic Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

In addition to fines, Toyota was also held liable for the personal injury and wrongful death of several individuals due to the defective auto parts. It appears as though Toyota does not want to make that mistake again.

Source: Sun Sentinel, "Toyota to recall 2.8 million vehicles for steering glitch," Yoko Kubota, Nov. 14, 2012

• At our Florida law firm we represent the families of children who have suffered a personal injury due to an auto defect such as those mentioned in this posting about the Toyota recall.