Toyota Opens New Quality Field Offices

Hit last year by the biggest recall in the history of the automotive world, Japanese manufacturer Toyota set up in 2009 several new approaches to testify and verify the quality of its products. Among these approaches, and perhaps the most visible in the eyes of the consumers are the field quality offices, which have been created as a means to “detect, analyze and respond to customer and quality issues.”

So far, Toyota only had two such offices, in New York and San Francisco. This week, the car maker opened an additional two, in Houston, Texas, and Jacksonville, Florida. A fifth, in Denver, Colorado, should be up and running by the end of the year.

“These offices were opened as part of Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda’s six-point action plan to improve global quality and improve communication flow throughout the company,” said Gary Smith, Toyota Motor Sales quality assurance and technical support corporate manager.

“They not only provide a direct link between the customer and Toyota’s design, quality, and manufacturing organizations, but also enable Toyota to respond to customer issues quickly and effectively.”

The field offices deployed by Toyota so far, as well as the ones yet to be opened, are staffed with three Toyota engineers, who can cover issues with all three of the manufacturer's brands, Toyota, Scion and Lexus.

Each office is designed in such a way that it looks into possible problems specific to each region. In Jacksonville, for instance, Toyota looks into heating, ventilation, air conditioning and vehicle driveability, while in Houston it will tackle problems with trucks and chassis components.