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Business & Tech

Toyota's Travails

New Country Toyota's still selling more cars -- even as current owners wait not-so-patiently for their recall repairs.

Remember when the Toyota Prius had a months-long waiting list? The sales people at the Westport's New Country Toyota, must be longing for those good old times.

It's mighty quiet these days in the showroom at 777 Post Road. On a recent visit there, three bored salesmen would turn and wait expectantly each time the door opened. At least theoretically, they're still selling cars – even the recalled models. Toyota temporarily suspended sales of eight affected vehicles, including the current model Avalon, Tundra, Sequoia, and some RAV4s and resumed about a week later. Everything they have on the New Country lot, according to one salesman, is available for purchase. The dealership is receiving new shipments regularly and making needed recall repairs on premises – not at the plant. New Country does a full inspection, and assures potential buyers they won't let a customer drive a newly-purchased car off the lot if there are any mechanical problems.

Millions of Toyota owners are likely wishing they'd seen the same amount of concern when they made their purchase. Toyota's wide-spread mechanical troubles are now as legendary as the 1982 Tylenol contamination. First was the floor mat entrapment issue which led to the November 25th recall of 4.26 million cars. The recall applied to Camry ('07–'10), Avalon ('05–'10), Prius ('04–'09), Tacoma ('05–'10), Tundra ('07–'10), Highlander ('08–'10), Corolla ('09–'10), Venza ('09–'10), Matrix ('09–'10), as well as three Lexus models. (Toyota's short-term repair solution to the floor mat crisis: to zip-tie the mats.) It became the car manufacturer's largest recall ever, but certainly not the last.

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Problem number two: accelerator pedals were sticking, causing people to speed out of control. The "Pedal" recall, announced on January 21, applied to RAV4 ('09 -'10), Corolla ('09 -'10), Matrix ('09 -'10), Avalon ('05 -'10), Camry ('07 -'10), Highlander (2010), Tundra ('07 -'10), and Sequoia ('08 -'10) models.

On Feb. 8, Toyota recalled the 2010 Prius to "update software on the anti-lock brake system." In other words, the Prius' brakes weren't engaging immediately when drivers hit the pedal. And most recently, on Feb. 12, Toyota recalled a small number of Tacoma 2010 trucks due to cracks in the front drive shaft.

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New Country's general manager, Tom Coppinger, declined to be interviewed for this article.  The service manager, Andy Perna, also did not return calls requesting comment.

If buyers are jumping the Toyota ship and running over to other dealers, Honda of Westport isn't seeing it.  "Our sales are good and steady," said Michael Abrahams, sales manager, "but I haven't seen an uptick in sales because of what's going on at Toyota."

In late January, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced, "Toyota's communications to consumers have been inadequate – both incomplete and vague. The company has failed to definitively answer anxious owners' most pressing question: 'Is my vehicle safe to drive?' The company says the defect is rare but provides no guidance on inspecting a vehicle for the flaw in advance. The only way to find out: Drive it."

Now, Blumenthal said he may take legal action against Toyota over possible deceptive claims to consumers about the safety of their cars.

To learn more about the recall and how it's affecting your vehicle, click here

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