[got-rice]

http://jalopnik.com/5615202/toyota-warns-dealers-to-fix-recalled-used-cars-before-selling-them

Toyota is concerned dealers are selling used cars without conducting recall-related repairs, according to an internal email leaked to Jalopnik. The same email also warns of Inside Edition conducting "ambush interviews." Why is Toyota worried?

In the last year, Toyota's recalled more than 5 million U.S. vehicles, covering a majority of the models they sell. The problems range from bad floormats to sticky accelerator pedals and involve various complex repair schemes.

Many of these repairs took a while to implement as Toyota had to refine the process. Those with a sticking pedal were offered two possible repairs: metal Chicklets or full replacement, althought you'd only get the later if you complained about it.

Any of the more than a dozen Toyota models being sold used on a dealer lot could have potentially any number of repairs necessary, and a new email from a regional dealership service manager for Toyota Motor Sales USA raises the question of how quickly they're being fixed.

In the email, the representative says the issue came up during a PR conference call:

During our field PR conference call today we learned that the CBS "TV news magazine" Inside Edition has been going to the NHTSA and Toyota websites to identify VINs of used cars in dealer inventory that have not yet had the recall repairs made, then attempting to buy them."

This seems to indicate there are cars on dealer lots without the repairs, although so far there's no proof they've sold any.

The email goes on to warn against even letting someone test drive a car without a repair and says a pre-delivery check should assure against anyone taking an unrepaired car home. Given Toyota's often adversarial relationship with the media it appears the company is attempting to prevent another "gotcha moment."

At two points in the email the representative lets some contempt for the media slip in, saying "They are obviously working on a negative scare story" and putting quotation marks around the word "investigation."

We've sought a comment from Toyota and are awaiting a response.

 

[rolla-XRS]

Geez...talk about a bunch of freaking ambulance chasers.

What the difference between the US press and Lawyers? Nothin!

 

[arabianobsession]

Wow, I love how now that the government is so heavily involved with GM, they will find any way to make GM look better than Toyota. Remember how they admitted recently that there was nothing wrong with the cars that had the "acceleration problem"? Get a life people! If you have to resort to this to make your product look better.....then your product must be pretty crappy.

I'm glad I sold all my domestics and own imports now. I'm sick of the BS.

 

[Vmax2007]

Wow, I love how now that the government is so heavily involved with GM, they will find any way to make GM look better than Toyota. Remember how they admitted recently that there was nothing wrong with the cars that had the "acceleration problem"? Get a life people! If you have to resort to this to make your product look better.....then your product must be pretty crappy.

I'm glad I sold all my domestics and own imports now. I'm sick of the BS.

They did? Link please.

No conclusion on SUA has yet been reached.

 

[arabianobsession]

http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/our-point-of-view-post.aspx?id=2234

 

[Vmax2007]

http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/our-point-of-view-post.aspx?id=2234

What is conclusive about this article from Nov 2009???

 

[arabianobsession]

Nothing has changed since then......where's your proof that it has? Remember the story about the man from California who "lost control" of his Prius and drove at 90 mph for miles on end? They later, from the "black box" out of the Prius, saw that this gentleman had used the gas and brake at the same time an upwards of 350 times, which is all the memory the black box had.

 

[Vmax2007]

Nothing has changed since then......where's your proof that it has? Remember the story about the man from California who "lost control" of his Prius and drove at 90 mph for miles on end? They later, from the "black box" out of the Prius, saw that this gentleman had used the gas and brake at the same time an upwards of 350 times, which is all the memory the black box had.

I have no proof one way or the other... Nobody does....that is why the investigations continue. There is no conclusion for all of the causes of SUA.

 

[arabianobsession]

And there probably never will be

 

[Vmax2007]

And there probably never will be

Wait, didn't you just claim a few posts back that the government concluded and admitted that there never was a problem with SUA beyond floor mats? Now you agree that there is no conclusion and likely never will be?

 

[arabianobsession]

Yeah, because the government is always going to try to find some way to re-open the investigation.....I don't know how many times you can go over something like this but I guess 6 isn't enough. And I was actually more talking about you

 

[workerant]

Geez...talk about a bunch of freaking ambulance chasers.

What the difference between the US press and Lawyers? Nothin!

Lawyer hurt U in court. Pay them a couple of hundred millions and they'll be happy.

Press hurt you publicly and can do more harm. One bad press can cause thousands of unnecessary headache. Do you know how many idiots out there? One scream of wolf and they all jump over the cliff.

Anyway, it's all good. This should kick Toyota in the ... where it hurts ... for them to not lag on quality control. I did notice my '07 Camry was much worse than my 1996 Camry. There were problems in that '07 that exist and reported for many years without Toyota lifting a finger to try and solve it. I sold my car before the recall mayhem and than Toyota finally release those fix.

My current vehicle is kinda Toyota too, but older model and much MUCH more reliable. It have been over a year and I have not visit the dealer for any repair yet. So I won't buy a new vehicle for awhile.

It's all good. :thumbsup: