The carmaker stated in a declaration for AFP that it would recall 65,000 compact iQ and Passo cars in Japan and some 70,800 in Europe, all built between 2008 and 2010.
Toyota decided to recall the vehicles after it found that power steering sensors could malfunction when driving over bumps, making steering heavier. There had been no reports of accidents due to the problem, but maintenance and updates are necessary. The company said it would fix the faulty software on all cars.
Toyota GB spokesman Scott Brownlee stated that the recall was based on just 37 reports of warning lights activation when driving over rumble strip, only in Japan. No cases have been reported in Europe.
"The issue affects certain iQ vehicles, produced between 11 September 2008 and 22 October 2010. When driving on certain roadside safety side strips or 'rumble strips', signals received by the EPS sensors may be incorrectly interpreted by the EPS control unit, triggering the EPS warning light. Should this happen, the driver would need to apply extra effort to steer the vehicle," a company statement read.
Toyota will notify owners by letter to inform them of the problem. Owners will have to take their vehicle to an authorized Toyota service for update or replacement of the EPS control unit software. The job will take approximately two hours to complete, free of charge to the customer.
“We are committed to putting the customer first and have a total focus on the quality of all our products. We will liaise with our customers to carry out the repair procedures as efficiently as possible, with minimal disruption,” said Jon Williams, Managing Director of Toyota GB PLC.
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