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Camry, Avalon Hybrids involved in stop-sale of 50,000 Toyota vehicles

A number of popular Toyota vehicles can currently not be sold thanks to something called a "stop-sale" order. The reason is that the seat heater on these vehicles - which include the 2013 and 2014 Camry, Camry Hybrid, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Sienna, Corolla, Tacoma and Tundra models - "does not meet a provision of US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) requiring materials to retard flame at a specified rate." In other words, the seat heater could burn too fast. There have been no reports of fires or injuries due to the issue. Toyota told AutoblogGreen that around 50,000 vehicles are affected. No Scion or Lexus vehicles have the problem. The exact fix has not been identified, but Toyota said it is preparing a modification for all vehicles still on dealer lots, but there has not yet been an official recall. Instead, Toyota filed a "Non-Compliance Information Report" with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today. You can read Toyota's official statement below. Toyota and NHTSA are also looking at around 30,000 2007-2008 model year Camry Hybrids for brake issues. Seat Heater Non-Compliance Issue Creates Temporary Stop Sale On Certain Toyota Models January 30, 2014 Toyota has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it has initiated a stop sale of certain Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Corolla, Sienna, Tacoma and Tundra vehicles equipped with seat heaters in order to address a non-compliance issue. In involved vehicles, the seat heater, which is a small portion of the soft materials of the seat assembly, does not meet a provision of U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) requiring materials to retard flame at a specified rate. Toyota is preparing a modification for this condition, which will be implemented on all covered vehicles in dealer inventory. There have been no reports globally of any related incidents in the field with units in operation. Per NHTSA regulations, Toyota will file a Non-Compliance Information Report today. Featured Gallery 2013 Toyota Camry Hybrid: Review View 23 Photos News Source: ToyotaImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Government/Legal Green Toyota Hybrid toyota avalon

Toyota retires robots in favor of humans to improve automaking process

Mitsuru Kawai is overseeing a return to the old ways at Toyota factories throughout Japan. Having spent 50 years at the Japanese automaker, Kawai remembers when manual skills were prized at the company and "experienced masters used to be called gods, and they could make anything." Company CEO Akio Toyoda personally chose Kawai to develop programs to teach workers metalcraft such as how to forge a crankshaft from scratch, and 100 workstations that formerly housed machines have been set aside for human training.
The idea is that when employees personally understand the fabrication of components, they will understand how to make better machines. Said Kawai, "To be the master of the machine, you have to have the knowledge and the skills to teach the machine." Lessons learned by the newly skilled workers have led to shorter production lines - in one case, 96percent shorter - improved parts production and less scrap.
Taking time to give workers the knowledge to solve problems instead of merely having them "feed parts into a machine and call somebody for help when it breaks down," Kawai's initiative is akin to that of Toyota's Operations Management Consulting Division, where new managers are given a length of time to finish a project but not given any help - they have to learn on their own. It's not a step back from Toyota's quest to build more than ten million cars a year; it's an effort to make sure that this time they don't sacrifice quality while making the effort. Said Kawai, "We need to become more solid and get back to basics."

Toyota unintended acceleration lawsuit settled for $16M

Slowly, the many loose threads still dangling after the unintended acceleration issue Toyota faced a few years ago are being resolved. The Orange County District Attorney's office was believed to be the first DA's office to take Toyota to court, its suit alleging that Toyota knew its cars had defects and continued to sell them. The suit sought to "permanently enjoin Toyota from continued unlawful, unfair, deceptive, and fraudulent business practices as it pertains to both consumers and competitors" and asked for $2,500 "for every violation of the Unfair Business Practices Act," plus costs.
That suit has now been settled, Toyota - without admitting fault or wrongdoing - agreeing to pay $16 million to the county. Half of the money will go to the Orange County Gang Reduction Intervention Partnership, another four million dollars to the OC DA's office to investigate economic crime, the remaining four million being used to pay for the case.