Environmental_Factors_Paper

Environmental Factors Paper - Toyota Recall Angela Vasquez University of Phoenix MKT/421 – Marketing SB08BSB12 Professor: Craig Clark February 3, 2010 Environmental Factors Paper - Toyota Recall Recently, Toyota has issued a recall on five of their top selling cars due to a gas pedal system problem. Toyota Motor Corporation said that it is coming closer to a solution for the problem but Toyota has also said that it still has no estimated time or details as to when drivers would see the repairs being done on the vehicles. The recall has spread to 2.4 million vehicles covering three continents. CTS Corporation, the company that makes the parts is making a redesigned gas pedal assembly that is supposed to fix the problem with the gas pedal sticking. The engineers at Toyota are looking into developing ways to repair the gas pedal systems in their existing cars and trucks. Earlier in the week Toyota issued a statement saying that they will be suspending all U.S. sales and production of eight of their models because they need to fix the faulty gas pedal systems which are sticking and causing sudden acceleration. Officials at CTS Corporation have beefed up production at three of their factories so they can manufacture redesigned pedals. CTS is saying that the pedals are supposed to solve the problems that Toyota is experiencing with their vehicles. Repairs to the pedals will have to go through the normal testing to make sure that they work properly. It cannot be estimated how long it will take for Toyota to decide if they want to repair the pedals or replace them. Toyota is working quickly to prepare a correction remedy. Owners will be notified when a remedy is available. In the meantime, they can continue driving their cars. If the car owners feel a sudden change in acceleration, than they are have their car towed to the nearest Toyota dealer for repairs. The carmaker wants to make drivers aware of the potential problem and of what they should do if it arises. In recent months, Toyota has investigated isolated reports of sticking accelerator pedal mechanisms in certain vehicles without the presence of floor mats. In "rare instances" the accelerator pedal may stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position. Toyota previously had maintained there was no evidence of a mechanical fault linked to reported bursts of unintended acceleration that prompted the original recall last year. As recently as November, Bob Carter, Toyota's U.S. brand chief, said there was "no evidence" to support claims that the reported safety problems could be caused by anything other than loose floor mats interfering with the accelerator pedal. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had received reports of 100 incidents at the time of Toyota's first recall. Those reports included 17 crashes and five fatalities possibly linked to floor mats and accelerator pedals in Toyota cars and trucks. One of those crashes involved a Lexus that accelerated to more than 120 mph before crashing in San Diego, killing four people. The safety stumbles have dinged Toyota's reputation in the U.S. as a builder of dependable, high-quality cars. Last year's recall was the sixth-largest ever in the United States. References pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/toyota/toyota-consumer-safety www.msnbc.msn.com