2010 Toyota Corolla

2010 Toyota Corolla

The last couple weeks has been buzzing with Toyota news from the massive recalls for the accelerator pedals, floor mats and braking issues on the Prius. While all of that was happing the potential for a recall on the Toyota Corolla has been brewing in the background. Last week, concerns started to pop up on the steering system for the Toyota Corolla, including over at our partner site TheCarConnection.com.

Steering Wheel - 2010 Toyota Corolla 4-door Sedan Auto (Natl)

Steering Wheel - 2010 Toyota Corolla 4-door Sedan Auto (Natl)

The specifics are a little fuzzy, but Automotive News reported that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (N.H.T.S.A) confirmed numerous complaints on the electric power steering in the 2009 and 2010 Toyota Corolla. Considering that this is arguably Toyota’s most popular economy and entry-level car, another recall could be quite devastating given the shaky ground Toyota is on with it’s customers. How significant is the problem you ask?

The answer to that is also a little fuzzy, but since April of 2008, N.H.T.S.A has recorded a total of 83 complaints relating to the steering on the aforementioned Toyota model. The concerning part: 76 of those complaints reported that the vehicle would unexpectedly pull to one side at higher speeds. To add more fuel to the fire, six accidents and ten injuries are attributed to the steering anomalies.

The Corolla is already covered by both recalls announced in 2010, but news came Wednesday from Japan that Toyota is considering a recall of the Corolla for the steering problem as well. Toyota’s executive of quality control, Shinichi Sasaki, said Toyota was taking the possibilities of a recall on the world’s best-selling car very seriously and went on to say that the company was putting customer’s first in a renewed effort to repair the damaged done to their reputation.

Bottom line—Sales have dropped 16% since mid-January, which is causing plant closures for several of the U.S. based Toyota manufacturing locations. The impact of the multiple recalls is sure to be felt by Toyota for many quarters to come.

[Source: L.A. Times, Automotive News and Yahoo News]