Toyota Recalls 12,500 UK-Owned Cars Over Steering Fault

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Thu, 04 Nov 2010

Toyota has announced yet another safety recall, this time involving an estimated 12,500 iQ city cars in the UK.

Toyota IQ models built between September 11 2008 and October 22 2010 are said to be affected by a problem with the steering system.

The problem involves a possible power steering sensor malfunction which can occur when driving over traffic safety measures known as "rumble strips", making the steering more heavy.

The troubled Japanese carmaker said there have only been 37 reported incidences of this happening, all in Japan, and none have resulted in any accidents .

It confirmed that it is working with the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) to contact registered IQ owners and keepers by letter to inform them of the recall and advise them of the procedure for taking their car to an authorised garage for repairs.

The repair work involves the update or replacement of the EPS control unit software, which takes two hours to complete.

The steering fault, which affects a further 122,500 Toyota models across Europe and Japan, is the latest in a line of safety issues that have damaged the company’s reputation this year.

Last month the world’s largest car manufacturer announced a global recall of around 1.5 million vehicles over a problem with leaking brake fluid that it warned can gradually diminish braking performance.