Toyota Recall 2013: 369,000 Vehicles Recalled Just Days After Ford Motors Recalled 370,000
Toyota Motors has announced it will carry out two separate recalls involving heat issues and engine issues in Lexus and Hybrid vehicles.
The announcement adds to a miserable week of headlines for car companies. Ford Motors said earlier in the week that it is recalling 370,000 Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Cars. The Japanese company will be recalling almost exactly the same amount of vehicles, 369,000. 235,000 of these vehicles will be recalled in the United States while 74,000 will be coming from Japan. An additional 37,500 will be recalled in Europe.
The vehicles affected by this recall are the 2006 through 2010 Highlander hybrids and 2006 through 2008 Lexus RX 400h hybrids. The vehicles can overheat and prompt the warning signal before sending the car into "limp-home mode," according to Toyota. In some cases, the hybrid system will completely shut down and the vehicle will stop. The Lexus vehicles are also at risk of stopping while on the road due to loose bolts in the vehicle.
According to CNN Money, A Toyota spokesperson said no accidents or injuries had been reported as a result of the problems.
Owners of these cars will be notified soon and the company said that any necessary repairs will be carried out free of charge. Some owners have already found out on the news or through Twitter and have started to tweet about it. Newspapers told Twitter followers to notify any friends who drive Toyota cars while fans expressed their disappointment in the company and were stuck wondering what to do about their car.
"Holy crap! Does that mean I have to buy a new car while they fix my #toyota?" Tony Chan [@lokeytc13] said.
Despite the negative PR from the recalls, Toyota announced that its August sales were up 22.8 percent from the same time a year ago.