Toyota has faced a record number of vehicle recalls over the last few months, but the Japanese automaker has finally found a way to put an end to the situation – stop calling them recalls.
Avoiding the term ‘recall’ altogether, Toyota announced a warrant enhancement for 735,000 defective vehicles on Wednesday. The extended warranty will cover about 235,000 RAV4 models and 500,000 Corolla and Matrix vehicles.
The warranty extension will cover RAV4 models produced between 2001 and 2003. Toyota says it has received a number of complaints from RAV4 owners of “hard shifts” and dashboard lights indicating some kind of malfunction. Dealers will inspect the models affected and make repairs as necessary.
Additionally, Toyota will extend the warranty on 500,000 2009 and 2010 Corolla and Matrix models for a steering problem. Corolla and Matrix owners have complained that the vehicles can suddenly veer to the side at speeds over 40mph.
Toyota says it is offering the warranty extension rather than a recall because the issues listed aren’t related to vehicle safety. However, the NHTSA has received 168 complaints over the Corolla/Matrix steering issue, resulting in eight crashes and 11 injuries, making Toyota’s claim hard to believe.
Toyota has previously offered a warranty extension rather than a full recall. In 2008, Toyota was forced to fix 600,000 Sienna minivans for two separate defects, but covered all repairs under an extended warranty program.
