Toyota & GM Recall 660,000 Vehicles

660,000 2003-2004 vehicles manufactured by the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) plant, a joint venture of General Motors and Toyota Motors, are being recalled due to bolts in the power window system that may loosen and cause the door glass to separate from the window regulator. Replacement of the driver and front passenger door glass bolts will be done at no charge. Cars with manual windows are not affected by the recall.

The recall affects 539,500 Corolla and Matrix passenger cars and 123,000 Pontiac Vibe passenger cars. According to Fox Business, General Motors has received reports of 107 glass breaking incidents, with 11 minor injuries and no crashes resulting. Toyota had received reports of 143 incidents, one minor accident and 15 injuries related to the defect.

While General Motors quality woes are well documented - GM's brands all place below the industry average - quality issues with Toyota goes as far back as 2006, when surveys and reports began to suggest that Toyota's quality was slipping - perhaps as a result of expansion to become the world's largest automobile manufacturer. In 2007 was overtaken by the Ford Motor Company in the JD Power Quality Rankings.

In September, Toyota recalled floor mats in 55,000 vehicles - the 2007 Toyota Camry and the 2007 Lexus ES 350 - that could slip and get trapped under or over the accelerator, causing uncontrolled acceleration. In January, Toyota recalled 533,000 2004-2006 trucks and sport utility vehicles after receiving reports of 11 accidents and six injuries related to problems that could lead to excessive wear to a front suspension lower ball joint that could make it difficult to steer the vehicle and stay in the center of the lane.

Last month, General Motors recalled some 207,000 Buick Regal and Pontiac Grand Prix sedans built for the 1997-2003 model years because they can develop oil leaks that could cause fires on the report of 267 fires and six injuries to the company. And in February, 180,000 Chevrolet HHR wagons were recalled due to the cars' apparent failure to meet government side impact standards.

NUMMI was established in 1984 and produces approximately 420,000 vehicles annually. In November of last year, a NUMMI employee filed a lawsuit alleging supervisors at the plant routinely allowed quality defects to go unfixed. She seeks unspecified damages for "retaliation against a whistleblower" and emotional distress.

Last month, Kunihiko "Kent" Ogura, formerly a Toyota Motor Manufacturing President, was named President of NUMMI

RESOURCES:

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0945790520080409

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/industries/transportation
/article/gm-recalls-pontiac-vibe-potential-window-shattering_
557400_8.html