Toyota Recalls Focus Only on Faulty Mats

By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter

The Korean unit of Japanese giant carmaker Toyota issued a recall Tuesday for a total of 12,984 vehicles for a glitch in the floor mats used in its three best-selling models, which could cause interference with accelerator pedals.

The announcement came soon after the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs ordered the company to recall 11,232 Lexus ES350 sedans, 1,549 Camry sedans and 203 Camry hybrid editions. They were manufactured between November 2005 and January 2010 for sale in Korea.

The mats, when not fully attached to the floor, can slip and cause the accelerator pedals to get stuck "under rare conditions," the maker said. The affected vehicles will be eligible for free repairs at the manufacturer's service centers from April 19. The Japanese car giant has claimed so far that the mat problem was all that was wrong with its cars, but investigations are underway in the United States as to other possible causes for sudden acceleration incidents. The Korean government didn't ask Toyota for recalls on reasons other than flawed mats.

An apology and admission by Toyota Korea President Hisao Nakabayashi basically maintained the company's assertion about faulty parts but didn't mention any problems with the cars' electronics.

Following the recalls in the United States, earlier this year the company started to check on vehicles sold here to find any potential problems, according to Toyota Korea. The defective mats were manufactured in Korea, and were never used outside the country, it said.

No consumer claims have been reported concerning the floor mats so far, the company said.

This is not the first recall by Toyota here. Earlier this year, the company issued a voluntary recall on a total of 510 Prius hybrid vehicles sold in Korea due to a braking system problem.

At a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday, Nakabayashi made a public apology, saying the company is "truly regretful to all Korean customers for all the inconvenience it has caused."

"We have rapidly grown over the last few years, but it appears that we failed to listen to our customers and that ultimately resulted in the recall crisis," he added.

The apology came two months after Toyota President Akio Toyoda publicly apologized amid the worsening recall crisis concerning 8 million vehicles worldwide on the issue of unintended acceleration, the same reason that caused the recall in Korea.

The Camry and ES 350 sedans were subject to a recall for the same reason in the United States in September 2007.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration then concluded Lexus and Toyota owners are exposed to the danger of accelerator pedal interference, which could result in very high vehicle speeds and ultimately crashes.

Toyota, which debuted in the Korean market in October last year, sold 1,050 ES350 vehicles, 2,170 Camry sedans and 260 Camry hybrids up to last month.

Toyota's recall crisis is apparently causing damage to its Korean unit, as Toyota Korea saw its overall sales remain at 512 vehicles in March, a 12.6-percent drop from the previous month.

In March, the Camry took up 70 percent of sales with 356 vehicles, but most of them were reportedly preorders made last year.

This year, Toyota Korea aims to sell 7,200 Camry sedans and 5,300 Lexus models in South Korea. Despite the recalls, there will be no change in those targets, the company said.

도요타 불량 매트로 리콜

도요타 자동차 한국 지사가 차내 바닥 매트 문제로 대량 리콜을 실시한다고 6일 발표했다.

이 발표는 국토해양부가 토요타 측에 국내에서 판매된 도요타 렉서스 ES350과 캠리, 캠리 하이브리드 등 총 1만2984대에 대해 리콜 실시를 명령하면서 나오게 됐다.

회사측은 매트가 바닥에 충분히 장착되지 않아 미끄러질 수 있어서 가속 페달 가동에 문제가 생길 수 있다고 설명했다.

도요타는 이달 19일까지 해당 자동차에 대해 무상 수리 서비스를 실시할 것이다. 그러나 도요타는 전자시스템 오류에 대해서 언급한 것이 아니다.

또 회사는 아직 매트와 관련된 문제가 보고된 것은 없다고 밝혔다.

나카바야시 히사오 한국도요타사장은 6일 기자회견장에서 공개 사과를 했다.

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