Rav4 V6 - Sales freeze due to Issues.

[Sport1vo]

Toyota Australia reels from second engine blow

Toyota Australia reels from second engine blow

Ian Porter , drive.com.au, 29/10/07

Local car maker Toyota has suspended sales of another model because of an engine problem, with the new V6-powered RAV4 closely following the Aurion TRD to the medi-lab. IAN PORTER and RICHARD BLACKBURN report.

Sales of new RAV4 V6 have been halted while Toyota investigates a problem relating to the 3.5-litre engine.

Toyota has again been hit by an embarassing fault in a new model, with all Australian dealers being ordered to stop selling the new V6-powered RAV4 compact 4WD.

The RAV4 V6 launched only a fortnight ago to join the four-cylinder model launched in early 2006. A problem relating to the engine follows shortly after Toyota Australia's Aurion TRD resumed sales in October after an investigation into an engine failure.

Toyota Australia spokesperson Mike Breen says the RAV4's 3.5-litre V6, which is shared with the Aurion, Kluger, and Tarago, is not operating "as smoothly as would be expected", and there appears to be an issue with the engine's electronic managment control system.

The problem was detected in a couple of company demonstration models and the decision was made to stop customer deliveries as a "precautionary measure". "There has been no customer feedback," says Breen.

Breen says the problem does not constitute a recall. "It is not safety related so it isn't a product recall."

The latest problem has come only days after one of the Japanese group's directors admitted the company's response to vehicle quality problems "was not perfect".

Toyota, which has grown to be the world's largest carmaker mainly on the strength of product reliability, issued the freeze order on the RAV4 V6 following concerns about the car's drivability. Details of the exact fault were not available last night, but a Toyota spokesman said it was not a safety-related issue.

It is the latest in a string of quality-related problems to hit the Japanese giant this year, both in Australia and overseas, and reflects the problems that come with growing rapidly year after year.

Toyota directors were so concerned about deterioration in quality levels two years ago they formed the Customer First committee to address the problem, executive vice-president Mitsuo Kino****a, told The Age last week in Tokyo.

"Quality is our first priority. Unfortunately, two years ago, vehicle [problems] increased so much at that time we decided to establish the CF committee," said Kino****a. "We have been doing that for two years and, as a result, the quality is getting better and the recall level is comparatively decreasing."

Apart from the pressures of having to rapidly increase production, Mr Kino****a said a major source of problems was the increasing use of electronics and, in particular, integrated circuit boards, in cars.

Toyota sales have been growing by between 500,000 and 800,000 vehicles a year, which means the company has had to build at least two factories a year to keep pace.

"Finding skilled people is one of the biggest challenges for us," Mr Kino****a said. "We now employ 300,000 people around the world. That has doubled in the last 10 years."

Mr Kino****a said Toyota had been forced to create its own "university", the Toyota Institute, where managers from around the world are taught "The Toyota Way" of building cars.

In addition, the group has established its Global Production Centre, where production group leaders learn how to teach their team members.

"We took many countermeasures to produce more skilled workers. Of course, it is not perfect..."

The freeze on RAV4 V6 sales comes only a month after Toyota Australia was forced to halt sales of its locally developed supercharged V6 Aurion TRD sedan after the engine in one of the early models failed. That was traced to some over-enthusiastic driving by a dealer.

Earlier in the year, Toyota was forced to halt sales of the newly released Corolla range after it was found an incorrectly fitted stay allowed the steering columns to slump to their lowest position.

Toyota's usually rock-solid reputation for reliablity has also had a set-back in the United States after an influential consumer magazine said the company's cars could no longer be automatically recommended.

[Sport1vo]

RAV4 V6 sales suspended (October 2007)

RAV4 V6 sales suspended (October 2007)

Words - Ken Gratton

A glitch in the engine management system is the suspect behind Toyota's decision to hold back sales of the V6-engined RAV4

Toyota has temporarily withdrawn the V6 RAV4 from sale.

The vehicle has only been available for a couple of weeks (more here), but company technicians have uncovered rough running in a couple of 'demonstrators'.

Mike Breen, Toyota's Manager - Public Relations, said "They found with a couple of company demonstrators that the engine performance wasn't as smooth as it should be -- under normal operating conditions.

"Their initial thought is that it's something to do with the engine management control unit.

"They decided to stop sales on the vehicles so we didn't get too many out there in the marketplace, because the more out there, the harder it is to control these things."

Mr Breen was unable to say how many cars had been delivered to date, but the condition so far appears to be isolated to Toyota-owned vehicles.

The engine is the same unit as fitted to Toyota's Kluger and Aurion -- and those vehicles are unaffected by the condition in the RAV4, which is why the company believes the problem is endemic to the RAV's engine management ECU.

At this stage, Toyota is unable to say when sales of the RAV4 V6 will resume.

[Sport1vo]

Toyota freeze sales of new V6 RAV4

Toyota freeze sales of new V6 RAV4

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October 30, 2007 By: steane Category: Toyota, Car News

Toyota Australia have ordered their dealers to temporarily cease selling the new V6 RAV4 compact four-wheel-drive. Details of the fault are not currently known. Toyota have confirmed that while the fault is not a safety issue it does affect the driveability of the new model. This is the second sales freeze called by Toyota in as many months for vehicles powered by their 3.5-litre V6. The previous issue involved the new TRD Aurion and a dealer car that suffered an engine failure.

The TRD Aurion features a super-charged version of the same 3.5-litre V6 that powers the RAV-4. The TRD Aurion is back on sale but we are non-the-wiser as to the issue that caused the engine failure. We’ll update this article when further details become available.

[Sport1vo]

Toyota Halts Sales of the V6 RAV4

Toyota Halts Sales of the V6 RAV4

30 Oct, 2007 - 194 Comments

Toyota Australia has stopped sales of its newly released V6 RAV4. The company stated the RAV4’s V6 engine, which has already seen controversy after Toyota stopped sales of the TRD Aurion, was not performing as smoothly as expected.

Toyota has been hard at work applying the 3.5-litre Toyota Aurion powerplant (2GR-FE) across its entire range. Starting life in the Aurion, then the Tarago, Kluger, and now a brief stint in the RAV4.

Toyota has not given any specific reasons for the sale freeze, noting that it is not a recall, but more of a precaution. The company says the RAV4’s driveability may be compromised.

Prior to the incident, Toyota executive vice-president Mitsuo Kino****a, told The Age newspaper that Toyota was under pressure due to growing demand. He also noted the use of in-car electronics and integrated circuit boards have been a weak point for the Japanese manufacturer.

This is the third sales freeze for Toyota this year, following the Corolla’s steering rack issue and the TRD Aurion’s engine failure. As we mentioned earlier, Toyota is also having quality issues in the U.S.

Is the king of reliability slipping in standards? YES!

[Taka]

Thanks for the links.

I would love to highlight this.

The freeze on RAV4 V6 sales comes only a month after Toyota Australia was forced to halt sales of its locally developed supercharged V6 Aurion TRD sedan after the engine in one of the early models failed. That was traced to some over-enthusiastic driving by a dealer.

I think it is good in a way that Toyota own up its problems. Mazda dealer can hide some of these problem and are rumoured without proof that keep selling "abused" cars as demo.

I have heard blown engine in any make, even a new Honda.

Edited October 31, 2007 by takahashi

[selyaT]

Lol 351 always keen to jump all over any Toyota issues...

New Commodore... seatbelt recall... uummm