Toyota recall lawyer: Toyota vehicles plagued by computer problems?

It isn’t news that Toyota has recalled a massive number of vehicles across the globe in past months. What is surprising – and troubling – is that they have just issued the third recall for a computer-related glitch.

Just this week Toyota recalled 50,000 2003 Sequoia SUVs because they have a problem with their Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) System.  This particular computer glitch causes the vehicle to accelerate slower than the driver would normally expect.

According to Toyota this computer glitch was first discovered in 2003.  At that time, instead of a recall Toyota chose to just publish a “technical service bulletin” – which over the years has become a controversial way for auto manufacturers to address issues without the stigma or trouble of an official recall.

Since that bulletin was issued, Toyota has been responding to Sequoia and Lexus owner’s concerns by replacing an onboard computer, what Toyota calls the skid control unit, any time a vehicle had a problem.  The software in question is intended to help drivers “avoid and recover from vehicle skids and spins”.

The other two computer related recalls of late were the Lexus recall and the Prius recall.  In the Lexus recall, the issue was first reported by Consumer Reports earlier this month, when they issued a “Don’t Buy: Safety Risk” rating for the Lexus GX460 because of problems with the stability control system.  This led Toyota to initiate and investigation and ultimately recall 9,400 Lexus GX 460 SUVs.

In February of this year 133,000 2010 Prius vehicles were recalled because of inconsistent braking in the antilock brake system (ABS).  This was also attributed to a software issue.

Toyota now claims they are being “proactive” about consumer complaints.  Perhaps this is Toyota code for “more recalls coming!”  Stay tuned, this isn’t over.