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Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced an agreement with Toyota Motor Sales USA on Wednesday that will aid Toyota owners in New York seeking repairs on car defects. (Aloysio Santos/The Epoch Times)
NEW YORK—Attorney General Andrew Cuomo came to an agreement with Toyota Motor Sales USA on Wednesday to aid Toyota owners in New York seeking repairs on car defects.
Toyota dealers will have to provide services to pick up and return cars to be repaired. Furthermore, dealers will have to provide free rental cars or taxi services for affected drivers. In New York state, there are over 500,000 vehicles affected by the recall.
The service, the first of its kind in the United States, will only be granted to New York drivers who bought their Toyotas in the state, said Cuomo’s office.
Toyota, the world’s largest car manufacturer, along with its subsidiary company, Lexus, recently recalled around 8.5 million vehicles around the world due to problems with sudden acceleration and braking issues.
Cuomo said he had received many requests for Toyota dealers to provide car owners with free transportation or reimbursements while their cars are being repaired.
“It is unacceptable that New York consumers should face additional burdens when dealing with a safety problem that is Toyota’s responsibility,” said Cuomo in a statement. “New Yorkers who own recalled vehicles understandably may be reluctant to drive their cars and assume the risk of harm to themselves and others on the road.
The agreement “will help ease the fears” of Toyota drivers while adding no additional costs, said Cuomo, who added that while many Toyotas have been repaired, most of the affected vehicles are still in need of repairs. Cuomo’s office said the majority of “vehicle owners have not even received notification letters advising them to schedule repairs with their local dealers.”
Toyota said that vehicles in need of repairs include those with sticking accelerator pedals, floor mat pedal entrapment, and anti-lock brake system software updates. Tacomas in need of a front drive shaft inspection should also get repairs, said Toyota in a statement.
“Everyone at Toyota is focused on making the recent recalls as simple and trouble-free as possible for our customers, with dealers across the country making extraordinary efforts to take care of Toyota owners,” said Toyota CEO Jim Lentz. “We are doing everything we can, as fast as we can, to make things right for our customers.”
Other than transportation services, Toyota aims to keep many of its locations open 24-hours-a-day or are at least offering extended hours with extra staff members on hand to deal with repairs.
Cuomo urged New Yorkers who think they have an affected vehicle to contact local Toyota dealers. He launched a Web site, www.NYToyotaHelp.com, to promote more information to Toyota owners about any accommodations they can receive. Specific vehicles affected by the recall can be found at: www.nhtsa.dot.gov.
Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota, apologized to U.S. Lawmakers and Toyota owners at a hearing in Washington on Wednesday. Toyoda added that he “takes full responsibility” for the problems with Toyotas, according to a prewritten statement.
He added that one of the main reasons for the recent recall is that Toyota is expanding too fast, placing quantity over quality. In the future, he said Toyota will make changes to the way they process complaints, while getting a third-party’s input on safety recalls in the future.
