Ford Recall History Puts Toyota Recalls in Perspective
February 16, 2010
Did you know…
• U.S. Population in 2008: 304 million
• Total U.S. Vehicle Recalls in 2008: 8.6 million
• U.S. Population in 2009: 305 million
• Total U.S. Vehicle Recalls in 2009: 15.2 million
That means in 2008, a mere 3% of the U.S. population had to deal with a vehicle recall, while in 2009, that figure skyrocketed to 5%. While still not nearly as bad as the 2004 figures totaling over 30 million units recalled (which in today’s figures would represent 10% of the population) 2009 still presents some staggering figures for the U.S. driving public to consider.
Toyota led the pack for recalls in 2009 with over 4.8 million units recalled across both the Toyota and Lexus brand names. And 2010 already puts Toyota as a front-runner so far with its Prius recall of over 437,000 units and the subsequent recall of over 4.5 million units for various problems. A Tacoma recall of 8,000 units was added to Toyota’s bill on February 15 as well. But wait – is the hype more bark than bite?
While 5 million units for the Japanese automaker may seem like a sea of cars, there’s another car manufacturer that trumps Toyota in total recalls over time:
Since the NHTSA started keeping records, Ford Motors has recalled over 20 million vehicles, the highest recall year being 1996 with over 7.6 million units. Thus, while the current recall hype might be news to the US consumer who favors Japanese models over their American counterpart, the news of Toyota’s 5 million units recalled could be overshadowed by Ford’s recall history.
It began back in 1972 when Ford issued a recall for over 4 million cars with faulty seatbelt buckles. With indications that the buckles could release in a crash situation, the auto manufacturer recalled cars from its Ford, Mercury and Lincoln brands – every single one of them made during models years 1970-71.
The next major car recall from Ford was the 1996 Ford Explorer recall. The malfunction in question gave it the less-than-favorable moniker “Ford Exploder” as the ignition switches were found to be defective and could catch fire, overheat or otherwise malfunction. Nearly 8 million cars were affected and Ford recalled nearly all its cars manufactured between 1988 and 1993.
2005 wasn’t such a great year for Ford in the recall department, either. While we’re at it, we should mention 2009 as well. Both years resulted in a recall of 4.5 million units each for Ford, and were directly related to cruise control malfunctions. Had the NHTSA combined these incidents into a single report, it would have been the largest recall of all time with an estimated 14 million Ford / Mercury vehicles affected.
While the Toyota news as of late has consumers riled, perhaps it is a good sign for what lies ahead. More stringent manufacturing processes from the already stringent Japanese automakers may be on the horizon. It will be interesting to watch shareholder reactions to both Ford and Toyota alike as the auto recall situation plays itself out through the remainder of 2010.
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36 Responses to “Ford Recall History Puts Toyota Recalls in Perspective”
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….this is all true but this data is WOEFULLY unqualified. in 09 Ford recalled 4.52mil vehicles – NONE OF THESE VEHICLES WERE MADE IN THE LAST 6 YRS!…in fact nearly all of them were JUST A CONTINUATION for the faulty cruise control module that may start a fire. Now lets put this big ‘ford engine fire’ recall into perspective here! This is not a engineering inherent design defect like most Toyota recalls. The circuit module was a potentially faulty but outsourced part. Now this part was on 16 million vehicles and out of that number 600 fires occurred, WITH NO INJURIES OR FATALITIES, and one burned down garage. Let’s call a spade a spade here. Ford wast raked over the coals for this by the media, and import car lovers CONSTANTLY refer to this recall as a big deal and a statement of Ford lack of competence. The fact is that this recall was statistically a non issue.
Sure many people died in the Explorer/Firestone tire debauchery – but the bottom line was that the Firestone Tires were woefully defective and that Ford’s mistake was to use them without testing them thoroughly, especially when dropping the recommended pressure to 26psi. The big investigation also concluded that Ford was negligent by not widening the track 2″ is patent nonsense as this logic could be applied to dozens of vehicles over the years including some Toyota’s that by nature of design are much more likely to flip than a regular car. Again Ford got roasted for this one. Essentially it was crap defective tires with questionable driving manoeuvres, giving Ford much more fallout dropped on their shoulders than they really deserved. Ditto the media and the import lovers jumping on Ford….all the while Toyota covers up evidence of faulty roof structure in their Suv’s/trucks FOR YEARS!
Now Toyota in 09 has far more complaints of unintended acceleration events/accidents documented by the NHTSA THAN ALL THE OTHER AUTO MAKERS COMBINED! IN FACT, IS HAS INCREASED 10 FOLD IN NINE YEARS! THIS ARTICLE ATTEMPTING TO MINIMIZE THE SERIOUSNESS OF TOYOTA’S POTENTIAL NEGLIGENCE IS STUPEFYING, WHEN CLEARLY THE ISSUE HERE IS NOT THAT AUTO MAKERS MAKE MISTAKES, IT IS THE INHERENT DESIGN NATURE OF TOYOTA’S MISTAKES (MANY OTHER EXAMPLES THAT THE PRESS NEVER TOUCHED!), AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE FACT THAT TOYOTA KNEW AT LEAST 3 YRS AGO THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM, AND DID NOTHING TO CORRECT IT! THIS IS NOT A NEW PHENOMENON BY ANY MEANS FOR TOYOTA AND I INVITE PEOPLE TO INVESTIGATE NUMEROUS OTHER EVENTS WHERE TOYOTA KNOWINGLY ALLOWED IT’S CUSTOMERS TO DRIVE DEFECTIVE CARS FOR YEARS! AS FOR THE OBAMA GM MEDIA, GOV’T CONSPIRACY THEORISTS, ASK YOURSELF WHY A GOV’T AGENCY THE NHTSA ROLLED OVER FOR TOYOTA 3 YRS AGO WHEN THE EVIDENCE WAS IN THEIR HANDS. NOT ONLY THIS, STATE FARM INSURANCE RAISED PREMIUMS ON TOYOTA PRODUCTS DUE TO THE RISING CLAIMS AND POTENTIAL PROBLEMS – AND EVEN NOTIFIED THE NHTSA OF THIS IN 2007! WHILE ADMITTING THAT THEY ARE NOT QUALIFIED AUTO ENGINEERS, STATE FARM HUMBLY REQUESTED THAT THE NHTSA MIGHT WANT TO HAVE A LOOK AT THE POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WITH TOYOTAS!
I invite people to research Toyota’s truths and myths…..you will be shocked! Like Toyota’s black box secrets. Millions more to be recalled and much more will come of this recall
I don’t think the cruise control quick fix being the only cause of fires. My 2001 F-150 caught fire the same way as others described and my recall had been fixed. Texas Insruments says there’s a lot more going on.
I have been buying Toyota vehicles for over 25 years and the current problems with some of their models does nothing to diminish the reliability and quality of the vehicles I have owned over this time period. Granted, they certainly could have handled the problem in a more forthright manner, but I believe their current problems will be resolved and they will emerge an even stronger company. If it wasn’t for the Asian automakers setting the bar for quality and reliability we would still be driving the junk the big three was putting out in the 60′s, 70′s and 80′s.
Have a 98 Explorer. I never paid attention to the 26 psi. I ran more and never had an issue with the tires, but got them replaced anyway. But more to the point, when the accidents were investigated, in most cases, the investigators found that the tires that didn’t blow were not even at the 26 psi level. 15 to 20 psi was more the norm. The people did not do normal maintenance, then drove at high speeds in high temperatures. Have 175,000 on the Explorer now … all orignial except for normal maintenance items …. Also had an F250 for 725,000 miles. Have a Sierra right now with 130,000 miles of pulling a 7,000 lb trailer all over the country. You just don’t see the Toyotas doing that. When I was commuting a lot, I did have a small Toyota for a while, but it began having problems at 80,000 miles, so I sold it before it began to cost money. Most of the people that love them, don’t keep them long term to see what happens at 150,000 miles and up. Granted, some do, but people that I have known, especially truck owners that tow and keep things until they wear out, always seem to use Ford or GM trucks. My mother-in-laws 2006 Prius has been a pain in the ass. Oh well. What a feeling ….
Darin,
I’m glad that you are so patriotic, but the data as quantified in this report is accurate and qualified. Also, when writing, it’s best not to write in all-caps, it makes it look like you are screaming whilst being more difficult to read, the combination of which would lead many to decline to continue reading your comment. You also used a pejorative colloquialism that lumps all drivers of foreign-manufactured vehicles into some kind of unpatriotic sense of mind. When you look at the design and performance history of American automakers and European and other foreign marques, you notice a significant pattern. Daimler, Audi, or BMW will introduce a new feature or change the aesthetics of the design of its vehicles, which will be mimicked by Toyota, Nissan, or Honda and their subsidiaries, and the Japanese equivalent will be almost copied five years later with the release of a new American vehicle. In my opinion this is why no one wants to drive American vehicles – they are all too little, too late.
And yes, no matter how you spin it, Toyota has a ridiculously better safety record and recall record than Ford. Period.
I think the US government is taking this opportunity to pin the Japanese carmakers to spruce up its US car industry
Everyone’s need to remember the rule is: if the production focus only on volume and not focus on quality normally will get problem, specially the defect product involves with death and injured, human life can’t replaceable,
Dear Darin,
The ford cruise fires did infact kill several people. And I’d be very shocked to find out after 600 fires, no one was injured.. And if we’re going on numbers here.. how many people died in the exploders? over 200 I believe… compared to Toyota’s, less than 1/4 of that right?
You might want to check your facts.
sure darin…
toyota vs ford (fix or repair daily)
this may be a big problem but compared to the issue every ford car has.. lol
lets just ask american consumers which brand of car they would prefer toyota or ford.. =] in other words toyota>ford
I wonder if Ford is telling all? (or any other Manufactures) Everyone is yelling at Toyota and complaining about slow response, lack of information etc.
But in one of the recent recalls announced by Toyota (a voluntary recall meaning they did it before the NHTSA said to) of 8000 Tacoma Trucks, Detroit News also reported that 14,000 plus Ford/Mercury vehicles and 11,000 plus Nissans used the same part from the same supplier and NEITHER Ford or Nissan were issuing a recall on the part.
“NONE OF THESE VEHICLES WERE MADE IN THE LAST 6 YRS” It seems like Ford knew about this problem for a long time and did nothing.
“I INVITE PEOPLE TO INVESTIGATE NUMEROUS OTHER EVENTS WHERE TOYOTA KNOWINGLY ALLOWED IT’S CUSTOMERS TO DRIVE DEFECTIVE CARS FOR YEARS!” WoW! Ford would not do that would they?
“THE FACT THAT TOYOTA KNEW AT LEAST 3 YRS AGO” Ford has had the fire problem for at least ten years.
“AS FOR THE OBAMA GM MEDIA, GOV’T CONSPIRACY THEORISTS, ASK YOURSELF WHY A GOV’T AGENCY THE NHTSA ROLLED OVER FOR TOYOTA 3 YRS AGO WHEN THE EVIDENCE WAS IN THEIR HANDS.” The Gov’t only invested in GM with OUR money last year.
“Sure many people died in the Explorer/Firestone tire debauchery – but the bottom line was that the Firestone Tires were woefully defective and that Ford’s mistake was to use them without testing them thoroughly” Who is at fault here?
By the way, my Sienna blew the head gaskets at 80,000 miles and my wife’s Oldsmobile blew a transmission seal at 70000 miles. I was sure glad I paid for an extended warranty.
My S-10 was plagued with the inevitable breaking crankshaft.
I am glad we both drive Toyota’s now.
I apologize, I have never owned a Sienna.
My GMC Sierra blew the head gaskets at 80k.
I have driven several Sienna’s they ride great!
Toyota vs. Ford…not even close…I have never had 1 problem with any of my Toyotas.
Isn’t if funny that Toyota has never had so many recalls/bad press until they starting opening up all these plants in the USA? What does that say about American workmanship? And now all the media can do is throw Toyota under the bus. Has anyone mentioned that all the recalled Toyotas were manufactured in the good ole US of A?? no, not a word about that! Or that GM, Ford & Chrysler all use the same pedal that Toyota does? Bet you wont see all the media hipe when they start their recalls… Toyota has always been at the top of the quality game in auto manufacturing & they will learn from this, and be back on top again and it won’t cost the American govt one red cent.
Toyota Rav- 226,000 miles and it keeps going! I spent no more than 2000.00
in the 14 years i have owned it- i dread the day i need to have to purchase a new car!
Darin, you mentioned the cruise control in the Ford’s that were faulty and caught on fire being outsourced. I used to own and Expedition that was recalled because of it. Did you know that the faulty brake pedals were outsourced by an automotive supplier located in Indiana? Not a Toyota product. Just something to add to your comment! I own two Toyotas & love them. We will continue to support, love & drive our vehicles. We love our made in the USA Toyotas!
I think the media has WAY overblowned (notice i only use caps on one word?) this so-called Toyota crisis. I think an increase an in consumer demands (wanting the best of everything) is also part of the blame. I mean did anyone notice the recent 200000 Volkswagen recall or the 47000 Hyundai Sonata Recall.? Also, the rise in complaints only occured after the fact that the recall was announced in the media? What is to say that alot of the complaints are because people want something to blame on? Or you’ll see that some news organizations say that the Toyota recall has caused 29 deaths, although it is actually 5 confirmed and 29 possibly linked?
The thing is Toyota has issues with some of it’s vehicles that in still small likely event cause problems. But the thing is every single car company does. But Toyota unlike some car companies (GM, Ford in the past), has continually built reliable cars, have taken care of their customers for a long time, and has been from how I see it , upcoming and forward with information. So i ask all paranoid consumers, take a deep breathe and realize your more than likely to be fine, take things into perspective, and realize the media like to blow things up.
I would still trust a Toyota any day over any of the Big Three. They have a problem and are fixing it, just like when Ford had its seat belt problem or Firestone Tire problem. The only difference is I don’t remember Ford offering to come get the car from my house and paying for rental cars, like Toyota is willing to do. If you think the Toyota recall is such a pain, try buying a GMC. My 2008 1500 has been in the shop 10 times in 2 years and I still have the same problem. Toyota is a great product and doesn’t deserve all the media hype!!!
Indeed, I think Hiep and Wes are correct.
It was somewhere around 2006 or so that I read in both my Road & Track and Motor Trend magazines that Toyota will surpass GM in becoming the world’s single largest automobile manufacturer. Now you cannot get to that achievement without cutting some corners. A typical goal of any company, regardless of industry, is growth. When a company puts growth ahead of quality or customer service, things will go badly for them.
Every automaker has recalls, that is just the way it is. Sometimes it is more severe than other recalls and it gathers media attention. And when you DO produce more vehicles than any other carmaker, of course you are more likely to have a bigger recall.
And to those people who are thinking about commenting about American vs. Foreign, no matter what brand it is, it is better and more cost effective to build vehicles in the country where you will sell them. That is why Honda, Toyota, BMW, Hyundai among others have plants in the US and employ American workers.
I smell a rat. Most of the American car companies have problems or had problem. The media does not talk or discuss the problems that have happened to the American public. When the Toyota problem came to light and the news agencies began hammering the public, did you notice the sudden increase of ads for GM cars. I did not see an ad for Dodge for months until a couple of weeks age. I believe the automotive lobby in Washiington is funding Congress to investigate the Toyota industry, and the lawyers are rubbing their hands and hoping for a windfall. It certainly cannot do any harm to the American automotive industry. If the American public can be convinced that Toyota is lacking safety and reliability, this will be a win for the American auto industry. This is specially true after the bailout of Chrysler and GM. If the lobbyist and the news media can convince the public about the danger of Toyota cars, this will boost the job market in Detroit.
The paddle thing happens to Ford as well. Ford is using the same as T. The detroit auto show for ford as successful but now reading this and the link above, not consider ford anymore
what u think
No doubt that the government will recoup the money they invested in GM. WoW, what a concept. The government rubbing out Toyota to make Obama’s bail out look like it was worth the investment of American tax payers.
Shame on you Obama, for wasting MY money!
This is why the government has no place in business.
how come the link i post here get removed?!?
they try to silence ppl here?
anywayz search, ford gas pedal global mail in google, you will find that Ford is using the same paddle as T
YOUP,
Your link got removed because, as a rule, we don’t allow people to drop links into comments. There is too much spam out there. If you want to mention a website fine, but it can’t be a link. Google “link spam” or “comment spam” for more information. Although I’m sure yours wasn’t spam, it is just a rule that we have and we don’t make exceptions.
Thank you for your comment. And no, we would never “silence” people.
Staff
[...] are pushing hard to stay ‘Merican and be bigger and better. How’s this for bigger: in 1996, Ford’s recall of their Explorers affected over 7.6 million units, 2.6 million more than what Toyot…. “The malfunction in question gave it the less-than-favorable moniker ‘Ford Exploder’ [...]
Before you criticize the US Auto Industry for having to grovel for a bailout, do some research to understand the Japanese government has pumped billions into Toyota, Honda and especially Nissan over the past 15 years. Also research that according to Japanese law, the government does NOT have to disclose the accuracy of these details to the public. There is no denying Toyota has built production facilities here in the United States…you’re an idiot if you don’t realize there are still many of these production facilities for American OEMs (in fact more facilities and higher capacity facilities than Toyota). The arguement begins when you start to understand that the OEMs ASSEMBLE parts made by others. The majority of foreign OEM Engineering work is done outside of the United States. They also value relationships with Japanese suppliers and use American suppliers ONLY when they have to. I work in the auto industry and have dealt with Toyota many times. They have pros and cons like everyone, but they do not wish to work with Americans unless they ‘have’ to. The Indiana supplier of the pedals is what you call a ‘build to print’ facility. They received a product drawing with tolerances and built it. I can also confrim that the Toyota Engineers I’ve dealt with are some of the stupidiest people in the entire automotive industry. They are very good at watching over their production processes, but you know Toyota has consistenly ranked below Cadillac, Buick and Lincoln in quality…so American OEMs can make good cars!
[...] Ford tardó 7 años en recuperar el valor perdido desde su escándalo con el Ford Explorer. Mitsubishi Motors nunca se recuperó. [...]
I have owned Ford trucks(the worst) chryslers(not much better than ford) GMC’s (the best domestic) and Toyota’s. While livng near Detroit I felt it was my duty to drive American made cars. I’m done with that, they just don’t hold up. I don’t want to rive a vehicle that I am constantly putting money into. I have to say though the Suburban that spun a main bearing at 14K miles, the Yukon that had the tranny that fell apart at 36K miles, and the V10 Excursion that had rod-rattle at 56K miles all were repaired under warranty, (we won’t discuss the F150 or the Grand Cherokee both must have been built on a Friday.) My current Toyota truck with 105K miles hasn’t broke yet, My previous Toyota truck with 205K miles never broke either. I don’t beleive this recall media hype for a second. I have a V8 Tundra and If I put the gas pedal to the floor, and then slam on the brakes the truck will stop…The engine is not as powerful as the brakes. As a tax payer I would like to sell my stock in GM, does anyone know how I can do that.
[...] and Toyota alike as the auto recall situation plays itself out through the remainder of 2010. Ford Recall History Puts Toyota Recalls in Perspective The NHTSA is another government controlled entity. One that apparently does not always do it's [...]
OK I have State Farm auto insurance, and the rate for my 2003 Toyota Tacoma went up over $100.00 dollars inthe last 6 months due to in their words “medical payments and personal injury claim experience” has warranted an increase. I have had no accidents/tickets nor claims in many many years. I have’t called State Farm yet (am waiting for policies on my other vehicles to come in) but am wondering if this is all related to the recall on Toyota’s? Anybody else had the same experience?
This was obviously written by a pro-Toyota person, hoping to skew the data to make it appear that this recall is small in comparison.
Ford has been in business since 1903. if you take the total amount of recalls since the NHTSA stated of course Ford’s numbers will be higher. Duh!
BTW, does Toyota even acknowledge a problem with their vehicles? And it appears that they do not even know how to find or fix the problems. So the resort is to deny the deaths happen and then make the people who report accelerator problems look like they are lying.
WTG Toyota. Grow some balls and fix your stuff. BTW, your recall numbers will continue to grow. This issue in still in the process. I suppose the government will make you fix your cars, since you will not on your own.
[...] drive a Toyota? I don't. Now where was all the media hype about the recent mass recall of Fords? http://www.usrecallnews.com/2010/02/…rspective.html Or how about GM? http://media.gm.com/content/media/us…ar/0302_recall People don't seem to [...]
ever notice how people speaking good about ford use facts and when they try and deffend other brands its just opinions.. just drive a ford for a while and there will never be a going back.. th only other option is audi.. the rest is basically scrap parts bolted together esp dodge and chevy
In 1973 Ford fathered the “Pinto” a death-trap, firebomb design failure, and foisted it on the American public for years after. Rather than fixing the problem, or changing the design, Ford elected to follow the cheaper route – pay the claims as they came in! Americans were willfully burned to death. Maimed and injured to protect the shareholders best interests and the business community and American courts applauded the erudite and circumspect adherence to Corporate law that Ford followed – Corporatism and Capitalism are the cancer of this great democracy. For another sick and sad situation that proves this point, Google, torrent, the movie,”Who Stole The Electric Car?” and study it carefully. American patriots lost big time again at the corrupt corporate hand. ‘Buyer Beware’ is an American mantra, even for young American school kids who have no idea what is in their lunch-meat.
Daren from Feb 16 brings some interesting information to light but is clearly biased. His whole arguement is built on minimizing ford’s defects while restating toyota’s issues like it was breaking news and using sensational speech to sway opinions. He talks about how ford was raked over coals by the media , and how the fords recalls were a result of mechanical failure and not engineering flaws, which is true for the examples he provided, but what about the ones he didnt. The ford pinto is a good example. The pinto’s gas tank was at risk of exploding because of engineering flaws.
I recently returned from overseas. It seems that the whole world is aware that all of the recalled Toyotas were manufactured in the US. Interesting that this is not in the US news. If you follow the money trail on who benefits, you’ll see the source of these issues…
Do you think that the problems one has with a vehicle or vehicles might have something to do with the proper maintenance of the vehicle (disregarding recalls, of course)? My husband and I have never driven anything but Ford/Mercury/Lincoln products in our 41 years of marriage. We currently have a 2006 Mustang GT, 2004 F250 that is used to pull a livestock trailer, a 1971 F150, and a 2010 Flex. Love the Flex! I don’t understand why they are not selling like hotcakes. It is a great vehicle. Anyway, we have never had any major problems with a Ford product. But then my husband makes sure that regular maintenance is done on all of our vehicles. We might have had the same success with any brand vehicle, but if something is not broken you don’t try to fix it. So we stayed a Ford family.