There is a dispute between UMW and a consumer body over a defect in some Toyota cars in the country.

The Consumer Association of Penang (CAP) says that it has detected faulty steering rack ends in at least two Vios models which cause the front wheels to go badly out of alignment.

But UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd, the sole distributor of that brand, insists that it is not a manufacturing defect.

                                                

NONE According to CAP president SM Mohamed Idris, in the first case, the steering rack end had bent upwards when the car started moving from a motionless position, while the other car’s steering rack broke into two as the car stopped at a T-junction.

Both cars had covered 6,827 and 6,614 km respectively and cost RM1,752.55 and RM1,525.35 respectively to repair the defects.

UMW refused to accept responsibility for the faults, saying that they were caused by “an external impact to the front left tyre with sufficient force (which caused) the steering rack to bend backwards”.

Silent on inspection reports

They also maintained silence on inspection reports by Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM) and Goodyear Marketing and Sales submitted by CAP.  

Both reports found no sign of external impact or evidence that the vehicles were speeding.

“If the cars were traveling at cruising speed, (a defective steering rack) would result in the wheels going badly out of alignment or even coming loose.

Yet, Toyota had the gall to (tell us) that it does not gamble with the lives of its customers,” said Mohamed Idris in a press release.

He added that Toyota Japan has also evaded blame by placing the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of UMW.

“CAP calls on the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry to conduct a full investigation into Toyota cars (and to) recall defective cars from our market,” he said.

The allegations come in the wake of worldwide recalls of seven Toyota models last year, including the Vios, for defects found in the accelerator and brake systems and power steering hose.

However, UMW issued a press statement on Feb 12 reassuring customers that Toyota Japan had cleared all models distributed in Malaysia of similar problems.

The distributor was unavailable for comment on the issue as their offices are closed until Feb 22 for Chinese New Year.