Toyota Under Fire From Malaysian Consumer Organisation
February 19, 2010 by admin
Filed under News Bites
While earlier news reported that UMW Toyota Motor will be initiating a special service campaign to address the brake issue of Toyota Prius., the Consumer Association of Penang (CAP) has taken the local distributor of the Japanese brand to task.
Malaysiakini has reported to that CAP has detected faulty steering rack ends in at least two Vios models. This defect apparently causes the front wheels to go badly out of alignment.
However, UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd (UMW), the sole Malaysian distributor, claims that this is not a manufacturing defect. UMW was reported to have said that the alleged defects were caused by “an external impact to the front left tyre with sufficient force (which caused) the steering rack to bend backwards.”
Nevertheless, CAP President, SM Mohamed Idris, stated that, in the case of the first car, the steering rack end had bent upwards when the car started moving from a motionless position, while the second car’s steering rack broke into two as the car stopped at a T-junction.
UMW has been reported to have maintained silence on inspection reports by Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM) and Goodyear Marketing and Sales submitted by CAP. Both reports are said to have found no sign of external impact or evidence that the vehicles were speeding.
The CAP President added that Toyota Japan has placed the onus on UMW. These allegations come in the wake of worldwide recalls of seven Toyota models last year, including the Vios, for defects found in the accelerator and brake systems and power steering hose.
However, UMW issued an official statement in January, reassuring customers that Toyota Japan had cleared all models distributed in Malaysia of similar problems. According to Malaysiakini, the distributor was unavailable for comment, being closed until 22 Feb 2010 for Chinese New Year.
Meanwhile, in the USA, it was reported that a US House panel yesterday subpoenaed confidential company documents that a former Toyota lawyer has said prove the automaker routinely concealed evidence from the courts and federal regulators.
