Recall Information October 2010

What You Need to Know About

Toyota and Vehicle Recalls

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation and is recognized as the vehicle safety authority by North American automotive producers. NHTSA conducts defect investigations and administers safety recalls to support its mission to improve vehicle safety. NHTSA is authorized to order manufacturers to recall and repair vehicles or items of motor vehicle equipment when investigations indicate they contain serious safety defects in their design, construction, or performance. NHTSA also monitors the adequacy of manufacturers' recall campaigns. Before initiating an investigation, NHTSA carefully reviews the body of consumer complaints and other available data to determine whether a defect trend may exist.

The NHTSA makes available compilations of these recall and defect reports daily. Complete reports can be found at www.nhtsa.gov

In 2009 Toyota and its subsidiaries manufactured 7,234,439 vehicles making it the largest global producer of combined light and heavy duty vehicles. General Motors Corporation was just over a half million vehicles behind producing 6,459,053 vehicles. Respectively; Volkswagen 6,067,208, Ford 4,685,394, Hyundai 4,645,776, Honda 3,012,637, Chrysler 959,070, Volvo 105,873, Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru) 491,352.

Presently Toyota/Lexus has 980 recall campaigns registered with the NHTSA(November 2010). Comparably General Motors have 6,339, Ford 4,810 and even Volvo (known for allegedly manufacturing some of the safest vehicles on the road) has 1,059 recall campaigns as of this date.