2014 Toyota Camry Se on 2040-cars

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Toyota recalling 10k vehicles to fix wiper switches

Toyota has announced a voluntary recall covering approximately 10,000 cars in the United States. Affected models include the 2013-14 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2013-14 Avalon and Avalon Hybrid, and the brand new 2014 Corolla.
The problem, as Toyota explains it, is that, "During manufacture of the wiper switch assembly in the involved vehicles, certain contacts on the switch terminal could have been manufactured incorrectly." This could lead to a short in the circuit when the wiper switch is moved between "off" and "mist," and thus, cause the windshield wipers to stop working. Not good.
Toyota will contact owners via first class mail, and the vehicles can be repaired at dealerships, free of charge. Have a look below for the automaker's official statement.

Safety Agency Studying Toyota Acceleration Problem

A U.S. safety agency is looking into a consumer's petition alleging that older Toyota Corollas can accelerate unexpectedly at low speeds and cause crashes. The inquiry by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers about 1.69 million of the Corolla compact cars from the 2006 to 2010 model years. The agency will decide whether to open a formal investigation into the problem. An unidentified consumer said in a letter to the agency that he experienced multiple low-speed surges in a 2010 Corolla, and the brakes failed to stop the car in time to prevent a crash. The consumer said the problem caused one collision with a parked vehicle on June 8. "In addition to evidence from our crash incident, we are providing evidence that many other Corolla owners are experiencing similarly unsafe scenarios that are leading to crashes," said a portion of the consumer's letter posted Monday on NHTSA's website. The consumer provided 163 reports from other drivers who experienced a surge at low speed or no speed. But NHTSA said it eliminated duplicates, those outside the scope of the 2006-2010 model years and those from foreign countries to get 141. No injuries were reported. The agency said it would evaluate all of the complaints from the consumer in order to decide whether to grant or deny the petition and open a formal investigation. The consumer filed the petition on Sept. 11, according to the documents. Messages were left Monday morning seeking comment from Toyota. In 2009 and 2010, Toyota issued a series of recalls totaling more than 10 million vehicles for various problems including faulty brakes, sticky gas pedals and ill-fitting floor mats. Toyota is under pressure to announce recalls quickly after a U.S. government investigation found it hid information about past defects. Last month, the company agreed to pay $1.2 billion to settle that investigation. It also paid fines totaling $66 million to the U.S. government for delays in reporting unintended acceleration problems. The company has said it made "fundamental changes to become a more responsive and customer-focused organization, and we are committed to continued improvements." Recalls Toyota Safety NHTSA crash unintended acceleration

Toyota recounts past Supra glories

It could just be a slow start to the news week around the Toyota offices, but its UK blog has posted a brief history on its legendary Supra sports car. Read into however you'd like, but there has been plenty of speculation as to the return of the Supra nameplate in recent years (including last month from incoming Toyota chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada).
Built from April 1978 through July 2002, Toyota's sports coupe made quite a name for itself as both the Celica Supra (shown above) and the Supra, and the blog post charts many of the changes and highlights through the years. Head on over to the Toyota UK blog to read more about this Supra's history, and then be sure to check out the gallery of images from Toyota spanning all four generations.