Malaysia Spared From Toyota's Massive Recall

Akio Toyoda's worst nightmare is playing out in real life. Toyota USA had to recall 4.2 million cars in November 2009 and 1.1 million more on January 26 due to floor mats that could trap accelerator pedals, potentially causing accidents. To make things worse, a further 2.3 million cars had to be recalled on January 21 for a whole new problem: sticking accelerator pedals that are hard to depress, slow to return, and are generally unsmooth during operation. The recalls are now heading for Europe and China.

But Malaysians can heave a huge sigh of relief, because the problems are not present for Toyotas sold here, as UMW Toyota Motor, the local distributor for Toyota cars, confirmed: “The accelerator pedal components of the affected models used in the United States markets are different from the Toyota and Lexus models sold in Malaysia by UMW Toyota”, a company statement said. “We would like to advise that there is no cause for concern on this matter”.

Consolation for us, but not so much for Toyota. Its share price has plunged, wiping out about USD 25 billion (RM 85.3 billion) in value since two weeks ago. And that is before accounting for the small matter of the irreversible damage done to Toyota's reputation. It seems Toyoda's worries were not unfounded after all.

AboutSeow Yaohan

Seow Yao Han strives to bring you the latest and the most comprehensive information on cars available in Malaysia. But it's never easy for him to talk and write cars in this part of the world because what you lust after is often not what you drive home. When the euphoria of test-driving that branded, super-expensive sports car dies down, he just goes home in his less-than-glamorous ride.