Toyota has launched media campaigns in Canada and the U.S. to bolster its reputation for quality while nervous customers confront dealers about faulty gas pedal systems.
Crisis-management experts said Sunday that the recall of millions of cars and trucks isn’t the Japanese automaker’s only problem: its message to Toyota owners–delivered in full-page ads Sunday in 20 major newspapers–isn’t as clear and reassuring as it needs to be.
The company has said the recall of about 4.2 million cars and trucks–270,000 in Canada–is related to condensation that builds up in the gas pedal assembly and can cause the accelerator to get stuck. Dealers say the fix involves slipping a shim into an area where springs push the gas pedal back to its resting position after a driver has eased off the gas.
This morning, Toyota Canada managing director Stephen Beatty released a four-minute online video in which he outlines the recall’s Canadian implications. Because the Canadian affected parts are made from different materials and have a different design from affected U.S. models, Beatty said, only one Canadian model was affected by the recall issue.
"However, we realize that Canadian customers driving models which were the subject of a recall in the U.S. might still be concerned," he said in the video. "And we knew that telling our customers there was no need to worry was simply not good enough, not when their confidence in their vehicle is at stake."
For that reason, Beatty said, Toyota has initiated a "voluntary safety improvement campaign" to replace parts on all models affected by the U.S. recall.
A shorter version of the video is set to appear on television during commercial time. Print ads will also run in major newspapers nationwide.
Toyota Canada executives are also appearing on Canadian television news shows.
Toyota dealers over the weekend said there has been a noticeable drop in customer traffic and sales, though they have faith that customers loyal to the brand before last week’s recall will not abandon it altogether. Dealers selling U.S. brands have seen more Toyota drivers in their lots than usual, but for now those visits haven’t translated into many new customers.
Toyota’s black-and-white ads Sunday characterized the halt in sales and production as a "temporary pause" to put customers "first." The ads don’t give details on how the pedals will be fixed or when customers can expect a remedy.
Toyota has not commented on the repair.
"They are trying to do the right thing," said Alexander Edwards, president of automotive research group Strategic Vision, of the ads. "But what’s going on isn’t stated very clearly and that causes more uneasiness with customers."
Larry Smith of the Institute for Crisis Management in Louisville, Ky., said "The ads are intended to buy Toyota a bit of time, to ask people to give them a chance."
But what matters now is "how Toyota expresses its plan and executes the repairs," Smith said.
Cutting the company some slack, Smith said the ads likely had to be placed on Friday, before Toyota received the go-ahead for its planned fix from federal regulators.
"They are a really good company, and there is no reason they should not snap back from this," Smith said.
Industry analysts expect Ford to be among the beneficiaries of Toyota’s troubles because some of its models have recently received good quality scores from third parties such as Consumer Reports magazine.
The recall widened beyond Toyota over the weekend. France’s largest automaker, PSA Peugeot Citroen, said it was recalling 100,000 cars across Europe to change accelerator pedals on two models designed and produced in a joint venture with Toyota. The recall is a "preventive" measure, Peugeot said, adding that there has been no evidence of accidents or safety problems linked to the pedals.
