Toyota has recently hit the headlines after recalling approximately 19,000 cars. Two models have been affected, the Avensis 3100 and the Lexus IS250, both of which pose a risk of fuel leakage. Toyota will be carrying out the work – which is likely to take several hours for each car – free of charge, but it won’t help a car brand that has been in the headlines a great deal for large scale recalls due to defects. So does all this mean that Toyota owners should be especially prompt about renewing their vehicle breakdown insurance?
Well if you look at the stats, you’ll find that the world’s biggest car manufacturer (by sales and production) is by no means the only car brand that has had to recall some of its models. In fact, you would be hard pushed to find any car company that hasn’t done so – although few can match the 11 million Toyotas recalled due to a possible faulty accelerator pedal.
Fellow Japanese car maker Nissan also recalled 84,000 cars last year, while even more recently Volvo recalled several thousand of its vehicles. But perhaps the most surprising recalls come from the high end sports and luxury car marques that supposedly have the very best build quality; the Rolls Royce Phantom has had an issue with its braking system, the Ferrari 458 Italia posed a risk of fire due to a faulty heatshield, and it was the pedestrians at risk from a particular Bentley model, whose mascot did not retract sufficiently due to corrosion.
So we see that poor old Toyota is not alone, and that there really is no model out there that makes you think – ‘I don’t need vehicle breakdown insurance’.