They obviously at the time did not have enough vehicles to meet their recall requirements. The vehicle would not have been under warranty or anywhere near it, so by the letter of the law they are not obliged to actually do anything for you. Toyota normally recall vehicles very quickly if there is a fault, as such is the case with the Aurion VVT-i oil line, which was being recalled before any real issues with it, but those vehicles were mostly still under warranty. Sad to hear you have had a bad experience, but Toyota as a whole are a very good car company compared to most and make excellent vehicles.