When top carmakers said sorry

In the race to conquer markets across the globe, top automakers have even compromised safety aspects. Car recalls have now become the flavour of the season, a byproduct of the booming auto business. From the world's largest manufacturers of cars, Toyota to Indian car maker Maruti, it's been an unfortunate reverse journey for many models.

"I'm deeply sorry for any accident that Toyota drivers have experienced," Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda said.

The grandson of the founder of the world's largest automaker, Toyoda on February 24 apologised in a hearing to the (US) House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for safety lapses. The accelerator and braking failures led to several deaths in America.

"My name is on every car. You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers," Toyoda said.

In a startling admission, he said, "I would like to point out here that Toyota's priority has traditionally been the following: First. safety; second quality;  and third, volume. These priorities became confused, and we were not able to stop, think, and make improvements as much as were able to before, and our basic stance to listen to customers' voices to make better products has weakened somewhat," he said.

Companies like Toyota, which stood for the highest quality standards have faltered in the race to establish themselves as the biggest car companies in the world. Toyota officials have also apologised to the Canadians and the Chinese for the safety problems with their vehicles.

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Toyota has recalled 8.5 million vehicles worldwide, mostly to fix problems with floor mats trapping gas pedals or with pedals getting stuck.

Toyota confirmed 180,865 vehicles across the UK face accelerator pedal safety recall. Toyota has also recalled 436,000 of its new Prius hybrid models worldwide.

Acoording to 'The Telegraph' a union member had written a letter in 2006 to then Toyota's CEO Katsuaki Watanabe and blasted the carmaker for putting "amateurs in charge of the factory" and for failing to act on safety information in spite of continued problems.

Three US congressional committees are investigating instances of sudden acceleration which resulted in the 40 deaths in the US.

Maruti Suzuki India recalled about 100,000 units of its flagship export model 'A-Star' to replace a faulty fuel pump part. 

The company is replacing a faulty rubber gasket in about 100,000 cars -- manufactured before August 2009 and sold in domestic as well as overseas markets, to prevent any possible fuel leakage. 

Maruti Suzuki India had launched its fifth global model, A-Star on November 19, 2008. The 998cc K10B petrol engined car is manufactured only in India at its Manesar facility. 

The recalled vehicles belong to a lot made till August 22 last year. A-Star is currently exported to about 70 countries and is sold as Suzuki Alto in Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Honda on March 16 announced the recall of about 412,000 vehicles in the United States for problems related to brakes.

Odyssey minivans and Element small trucks in the US were recalled. The recall includes 344,000 Odysseys and 68,000 Elements from the 2007 and 2008 model years.

Honda said the brake pedals can feel soft to drivers and must be depressed closer to the floor than usual before the vehicles will fully stop.

Honda has recalled over 170,000 Jazz superminis in the UK due to faulty window switches.

Nissan Motor plans to recall almost 540,000 vehicles due to brake pedal defects and damaged gauges.

Nissan said a pin in the pedal assemblies on some models like the Armada SUV, can become loose and reduce the braking force of its cars.

The truck recalls will be from the US. A Nissan statement said no accidents or injuries have been reported so far.

The recalls also affect Canada, Mexico, the Middle East, Ukraine, Russia and Taiwan.

Hyundai Motor is set to recall the new Sonata sedan to replace front door latches after the company received complaints from customers.

The doors had a mechanical problem due to which it did not get locked. The recall will affect 46,000 Sonatas produced in South Korea till December 6.

Hyundai said it has been applying modified parts to some of its Korean and US production models.

Fiat

Fiat's Brazilian subsidiary is set to recall its Stilo model. About 30 accident cases have been reported in which 8 people lost their lives.

The problem was with the faulty rear wheels becoming loose from moving vehicles.

Suzuki Motor said it would recall 432,366 units of two minicar models in Japan after incidents of fire due to defective air conditioners.

Suzuki Motor said it was recalling more than 430,000 Suzuki and Mazda brand small vans in Japan.

"We sincerely apologise to users for causing inconvenience," Suzuki said in a statement.

General Motors

General Motors'Australian subsidiary GM Holden has recalled 9,000 Cruze sedans due to a faulty fuel hose. Some buyers complained the Cruze models had a leak.

Japanese car maker Daihatsu will recall around 275,000 vehicles. Dahitsu faces problems associated with missing or faulty suspension bolts. Other problems include malfunctioning brake lights or broken fuel hoses.

Daihatsu Hijet and the Atrai mini-van vehicles have been affected.

In the UK, around 6,000 Peugeot 107 cars, which were fitted with the 2-Tronic semi automatic gearbox, or manual gearbox cars fitted with ESP (electronic stability program) are affected.

According to Citroen, only 36 cars will be recalled in the UK as only petrol versions with ESP fitted are affected.