Toyota recalls 8,500 cars in Ireland as part of 6.4m recall

Toyota is recalling 8,500 cars in Ireland as part of a global recall of 6.39 million vehicles over potential faults affecting various parts ranging from steering to seats in the company's second-largest recall to date.

The models affected are Hilux, RAV4, Yaris, Yaris T Sport and Urban Cruisers.

Toyota said some 3.5 million vehicles were being recalled to replace a spiral cable that could be damaged when the steering wheel is turned, causing the air bag to fail to activate in the event of a crash.

This is the most significant issue for Irish owners, affecting Hilux and RAV4 models manufactured between June 2004 to December 2010 and involving 4,937 vehicles.

Another 2.32 million three-door models are being recalled to check the rails that could cause the seat to slide forward in a crash. In Ireland this concerns Toyota Yaris and Urban Cruiser models manufactured between January 2005 to August 2010, affecting 3,475 vehicles.

The other recalls are for faulty steering column brackets, windshield wiper motors and engine starters, Toyota said. Of these only 26 Toyota Yaris T Sport and Urban Cruiser models manufactured between September 2005 to February 2009 are affected in Ireland due to the issue involving the steering column bracket.

The world’s biggest automaker said it was not aware of any crashes or injuries caused by the glitches.

Toyota Ireland said it would be writing to owners in the coming weeks to organise to have the problems fixed by its dealer network. In the meantime should a Toyota owner have a query they can contact their local Dealer or Toyota Ireland on 01 419 0222.

The 6.39 million vehicle recall is the largest announced on a single day for Toyota since October 2012, when it called back 7.43 million Yaris, Corolla and other models to fix faulty power window switches.

The automaker did not say now much the recall would cost and it was not clear if the faults stemmed from Toyota’s suppliers or its manfacturing process.

“We sincerely apologise to our customers for the inconvenience and concern brought by this recall announcement,” Toyota said in a statement.

Large scale recalls have become more common in recent years as automakers move to fix defects quickly after Toyota was forced to recall more than 9 million vehicles to address sticky accelerators linked to fatal accidents.

That recall, which forced Toyota president Akio Toyoda to testify in US Congress, weighed heavily on the company’s sales and reputation, culminating in a record $1.2 billion settlement agreed only last month, with more private lawsuits still pending.

If you are a Toyota owner and have a query contact your local Dealer or Toyota Ireland on 01 4190222.

Additional reporting: Reuters