In addition to the 8 million vehicles already being recalled by Toyota , another 1.2 million 2005-07 Corolla and Matrix passengers cars are being considered for a solution, which may or may not include a recall. Toyota is currently aware of a known issue where by the vehicles can stall without warning, but has yet to find a fix.
Leftlane first reported that NHTSA was reviewing customer complaints regarding up to 386,000 2006 Toyota Corolla and Matrix passengers cars for their potential to stall without warning. Now, NHTSA says the number of complaints filed has tripled, and the number of vehicles being considered for a fix by Toyota has more than tripled to 1.2 million.
The study by NHTSA was said to be focused on an electronic control module that controls many aspects of engine operation, including fuel and air ratios. Toyota also mentioned in a service bulletin on the matter that many customers had reported rough shifting on the affected models, another area controlled by the ECM. At the time of our first report, Toyota officials had not commented on the investigation.
The investigation shifts gears
Now that the investigation has been taking place for several months, Toyota has commented and suggested that they are aware of the “flaw,” but that they don’t believe the problems poses “an unreasonable risk” in regard to safety. Free Press points out that as of early this month NHTSA list of complaints had grown to 76, including owners who reported trouble restarting the vehicle after stalling and one possibly related vehicle fire.
Toyota’s letter to NHTSA outlined the affected vehicles (2005-07 Corolla and Matrix) were stalling due to a physical fault that occurred during production on the vehicles’ engine control units. Toyota pointed the issues to two separate suppliers as the root cause.
“Toyota has been investigating this issue and is now considering how to address our customer concerns,” Toyota explained in a letter sent to NHTSA on March 2, 2010, and obtained by the Free Press. “Based upon its analysis, Toyota does not believe that the alleged defect creates an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety.”
Toyota also said that if the issue occurs it would trigger a warning light on the dash, and added that although some owners were “inconvenienced” by their vehicle’s engine stalling, the stalling was “preferable as opposed to allowing the engine to become damaged or dangerous (i.e., catastrophic failure, fire, etc.).”
References
1. ‘Toyota mulls fix for…’ view
