CAR RECALL SYSTEM TO BE REVIEWED

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TOKYO - Japan's transport ministry may review and improve its car recall system, reports said yesterday, as Toyota Motor Corp battles accusations it may have delayed acting on drivers' complaints.

The step reflects deepening concerns in Japan over Toyota's recalls of more than 8 million vehicles, most of them in overseas markets.

Transport Minister Seiji Maehara told Japanese lawmakers on Friday that he hopes to try to improve his agency's recall system to respond better to consumer interests, Kyodo news agency reported.

"We will consider reviewing the recall system to make it more familiar to users,"Mr Maehara told a lower house committee.

The agency may require car-makers to move more quickly to fix defects and may expand the types of problems subject to reporting requirements, according to the reports, which also included one in the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper. The reports cited unnamed ministry officials.

Toyota president Akio Toyoda is to appear on Wednesday before the US House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Its chairman, Mr Edolphus Towns, virtually compelled Mr Toyoda to attend last week after issuing a formal invitation for him to testify.

Toyota has not given any details of Mr Toyoda's travel plans, though the Japanese newspapers Yomiuri Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun reported he left Japan over the weekend.

Mr Maehara and other Japanese officials have applauded Mr Toyoda's decision to attend the hearing and voiced their support, saying he should use the opportunity to reassure customers angered by recalls over sticking accelerator pedals, accelerators jamming in floor mats and momentarily unresponsive brakes.

US safety regulators are also investigating complaints about power steering in the Corolla, Toyota's top-selling model worldwide, with 1.3 million sold last year. The estimated 500,000 Corollas in question in the US market are not made or sold in Japan.

As Toyota wallows in its recall mess, there has been relatively little talk here about how and why its famously impeccable quality control regime failed - and why mainly in overseas markets.

But a review by the transport ministry could focus on such issues inside Japan, where the company has recalled about 223,000 Prius hybrid cars with braking problems.

The number of complaints over quality and safety issues in the US has dwarfed those in Japan, largely because the millions of Toyota vehicles subject to recalls were made with parts not used in models made and sold in Japan. AP

From TODAY, Monday, 22-Feb-2010

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Toyota Recall: Corollas in the list

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COROLLAS MAY BE RECALLED TOO

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TOKYO - Toyota is considering a recall of its hot-selling Corolla subcompact after complaints about power steering problems, even as company president Akio Toyoda reiterated his promise of a brake-override system in all future models worldwide as an additional safety measure against the acceleration problems behind the current massive recalls.

In the alarming disclosure, the executive in charge of quality controls, Mr Shinichi Sasaki, said Toyota was taking seriously the complaints about power-steering problems in the Corolla, the world's best-selling car.

He said drivers may perceive a strange feeling as though they were losing control over the steering, but it was unclear whether the problem was with the braking system or a problem with the tyres. There have been fewer than 100 complaints.

It was still uncertain if a Corolla recall would be necessary but the auto-maker is considering one, Mr Sasaki said from Toyota's Tokyo office.

The number of affected vehicles is also unclear, but the company was putting customers first in a renewed effort to salvage its reputation and would do whatever is necessary if a fix is needed, he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Toyoda said he will not be attending the United States congressional hearing on safety lapses, entrusting the job to US-based executives as he wanted to focus his energies on improving quality worldwide.

The US House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is holding a hearing on Feb 24 on Toyota's accelerator pedal problems. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has scheduled one the next day.

Mr Toyoda promised a brake-override system mechanism that would override the accelerator if the accelerator and brake pedals are pressed at the same time.

Reports of deaths in the United States connected to sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles have surged in recent weeks, with the alleged death toll reaching 34 since 2000, according to new consumer data gathered by the US government.

Mr Toyoda, the grandson of the company's founder, would also head a task force to improve quality control and enable the group to respond more quickly to reports of defects. "We are not covering up anything, and we are not running away from anything,'' he said.

Toyota has also commissioned an independent research organisation to test its electronic throttle system, and will release the findings as they become available.

It took full-page advertisements in major Japanese newspapers yesterday to apologise for the massive recalls, most of which affect cars outside of Japan.

The world's biggest car-maker has published similar ads of apology in US newspapers.

Toyota has recalled 8.5 million vehicles globally during the past four months because of problems with sticking accelerator pedals, floor mats trapping accelerators and faulty brake programming. Agencies

From TODAY, Thursday, 18-Feb-2010

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