Toyota Canada launched a week-long, nationwide media campaign Monday to reassure Canadian consumers that they are working hard to alleviate their concerns, amid a massive vehicle recall on both sides of the border.
Representatives from the automaker's Canadian division will travel across Canada, beginning in Mississauga, Ont., to demonstrate why thousands of cars have been recalled in Canada and what is being done to fix them.
In January, Toyota Canada recalled 270,000 vehicles to install brake override software to alleviate concerns over sticky accelerator pedals.
Earlier this month, the company recalled 3,300 Prius vehicles over brake problems. The company said some customers' concerns that it felt like they were accelerating when they hit the brakes on icy or bumpy roads was an illusion created when the vehicles moved between two different braking systems.
As well, 393 early production 2010 Camry vehicles were recalled due to concerns a power-steering hose could develop a hole.
About 30 per cent of recalled vehicles have so far been repaired, the company said Monday.
Toyota Canada officials hope their media blitz helps to separate the problems in Canada with those in the United States, where millions of vehicles have been recalled.
"We've done everything that we could and should have done under the circumstances, but because these are unprecedented actions, it not surprisingly has caught a lot of attention too," said Toyota Canada managing director Stephen Beatty.
"Unfortunately, we live in a global media environment today, and we're struggling in part with the fact that there were other issues related to floor mats in the U.S. that have influenced the coverage of the Canadian situation."
Four million vehicles have been recalled in the U.S. over concerns gas pedals could get stuck in floor mats, a problem that is being blamed for 34 fatalities since 2000. Canadian officials say the floor mat problem is not a concern for customers north of the border because vehicles sold in Canada use different floor mats.
PR nightmare continues
Toyota's safety problems in the U.S. have sparked congressional hearings and a criminal investigation.
The president of Toyota Motor Corp. is going to find himself in a difficult situation when he attempts to explain the company's latest public relations disaster to U.S. Congress on Wednesday.
The company, which is already reeling from the series of recalls, was hit with more bad news over the weekend when internal documents went public, showing Toyota bragging about saving $100 million by convincing U.S. regulators to limit the size of a recall.
"The documents show the company was given special treatment," BNN's Michael Kane told CTV News Channel Monday. "This is going to be an interesting question for (Toyota President Akio Toyoda) to answer when he appears before Congress Wednesday."
Other Toyota executives and safety regulators have been called to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform committee this week.
The document, titled "Wins for Toyota -- Safety Group," says it saved $100 million by negotiating an "equipment recall" involving 55,000 Toyota Camry and Lexus ES350 vehicles in September 2007. The document also says millions were also saved by delaying other safety regulations and avoiding investigations.
The documents, which were obtained by congressional investigators, should only add more drama to the two House committees holding hearing into Toyota's recall of 8.5 million vehicles in the last several months.
U.S. Transportation Department spokesperson Olivia Alair called the document "very telling."
"And that's why Secretary (Ray) LaHood has been saying we're going to hold Toyota's feet to the fire and make sure they do what's necessary to make their cars safe for the driving public," she told The Associated Press.
On Monday, Toyota said it received a subpoena from a U.S. federal grand jury requesting documents related to the acceleration issues in its vehicles and the braking system of the hybrid Prius.
Documents were also requested from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said.
Despite the leaked documents, Toyota shares were up slightly in overseas trading Monday.
With files from The Canadian Press
