Over 5 million Toyota drivers have concerns wiped away

Toyota has made good on its promise to respond to customer complaints and broaden its approach to safety and quality insurance.  Recently, Toyota Motor Corp. announced that it had performed successful fixes and upgrades on over five million 2010-vehicle-recall-victims.  This wholesale response includes the replacement of nearly 3.1 million dysfunctional floor mats, 1.8 million sticky accelerator pedal repairs, and 128,000 anti-lock brake system software updates on certain Prius and Lexus models.  The numbers represent an 80% decrease in customer concerns and complaints about acceleration problems and faulty brakes since 2010.

This is welcome news for prospective buyers eyeing the 2011 Toyota Sienna: Chicago drivers can now look forward to an all new “Smart Stop” system on all Toyota vehicles starting in 2011.  The Smart Stop system is designed to reduce engine output automatically when it detects the brake and accelerator pedals engaged simultaneously.  Already featured in 84% of Toyota’s vehicles domestically, implementing Smart Stop technology on all vehicles will make Toyota the first automaker to do so (domestically) in history.

What about the 2011 Toyota Avalon? Chicago drivers may be wondering if this vehicle will come with revamped safety features as well.  Rest assured: not only will the 2011 Avalon come fit with the Smart Stop system, it – like all 2011 and beyond Toyota’s – will include the Enhanced Event Data Recorder (EDR) that provides valuable data about collisions before and after they happen.  This data will help Toyota analysts to understand the nature of a collision and how Toyota’s systems responded during the event.

These new features are part of an overall upgrade and expansion of the SMART evaluation process that Toyota implemented a year ago in response to a growing number of complaints and subsequent recalls.  This has included the launch of a North American Center for Quality Excellence that is designed to make sure Toyota employees to put the customer first and ensure quality and safety.  Toyota has also enhanced its testing and evaluation of parts attained from suppliers for its vehicles.  It is evident that Toyota is committed to facing its recent safety issues and earning back the trust of its loyal customers.  Since the start of this expansion in 2010, Toyota has evaluated nearly 4,200 vehicles, repaired over 5 million faulty vehicles, and decreased customer complaints and concerns over faulty accelerator pedals by 80%. Five million customers have had their problems and concerns ameliorated and their safety ensured in every Toyota model.