Is a recent surge in recalls hurting their stunning reputation?

The Toyota, Lexus, and newly-developed Scion brands have been booming in the United States for years now. The Toyota Camry has conquered its rivals for the best-selling car every year since 2002. One of the Toyota’s trademarks that has led to this success has been its reputation for outstanding quality. It seems that is about to change, however.

There has been a surge in recalls from Toyota and its subsidary companies. In the past two years, the number of recalls has increased tenfold to nearly 2.2 million vehicles. To their credit, one of the problems was a minute issue that affected vehicles as much as 16 years old–old enough, in fact, that the company is not required to issue a recall. However, Toyota did.

Another bit to Toyota’s credit is that their recent addition of a more youth-oriented brand, Scion, while being extremely customizable in nature, lends itself to increased criticism from its consumer base. That idea has not deterred the automotive giant, but rather encouraged them to continue to improve the new brand.

In the contrary to a fear of problematic vehicles, Toyota Motor North America’s senior vice president insists that warranty claims for his division have been on a steady decline. In fact, compared to companies such as Ford and GM, Toyota spends less than half the rate of revenue as the American giants do filling warranty claims.

Many leading auto watchdogs, such as J.D. Power and Associates, report that there is no decline in quality of the company’s vehicles. So it appears that at the end of the day, Toyota’s sterling reputation is still one to be trusted, and by its competitors, greatly feared.

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