Toyota recalls 1.7m cars after new concerns

Car manufacuturer Toyota are to recall almost 1.7 million cars in two simultaneous recalls, that include the Toyota Avensis and Lexus IS 250, after concerns over fuel systems, which, if combined, amount to the biggest Toyota recall for six years.

Japan's transport ministry stated that it was possible for slight cracks to appear in fuel pipes in Avensis models, which may widen if the cars continue to be used. In the United Kingdom, Toyota GB are offering free repairs, which are expected to take around four and a half hours each. The Lexus IS 250 is involved a separate recall, with around 280 thousand models outside of Japan being recalled over a faulty fuel pressure sensor, which can possibly come loose, causing a fuel leak.

The Managing Director of Toyota GB stated "We are committed to putting the customer first and have a total focus on the quality of all our products. We will liaise with our customers to carry out the repair procedures as efficiently as possible, with minimal disruption".

Toyota have recalled over 16 million cars globally since late 2009.

via Toyota recalls 1.7m cars after new concerns - Wikinews, the free news source.

Japan's unemployment rate is high, over 5% currently. With unemployment soaring, the economy tanking and jobs being cut, the people who still have jobs are way overworked and thus, more mistakes will happen.

 

One of Toyota Motor Corp.'s most remarkable achievements is that it has not laid off any of its permanent workers in more than half a century.

But the Japanese automaker may be about to relinquish that proud tradition. Japan's biggest business newspaper, the Nikkei, reported Friday that Toyota was considering cutting 1,000 jobs in Britain and the United States.

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Other Japanese papers have suggested even bigger job cuts may be announced as Toyota moves to reduce its output and costs in response to plunging demand for vehicles worldwide.

Toyota already has slashed thousands of temporary workers at plants and offices in Japan, the United States and other regions.

From The Detroit News January 24. 2009: http://detnews.com

Perhaps Toyota should not have "slashed thousands of temporary workers" at plants in 2009.   A few of those slashed people might have solved the problems Toyota is having. Over here, it is even worse.

The jobs crisis isn't going anywhere, according to the latest forecast from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which puts the national unemployment rate above 9 percent through 2011 and 8 percent through 2012.

Unemployment will fall to a more "natural rate" only in 2016, when CBO estimates it will reach 5.3 percent -- a projection roughly in line with private-sector figures.

via HuffingtonPost