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NEW YORK (TheStreet) — The scale of Toyota’s(TM) vehicle recalls has been undeniably shocking.

In Sept. of 2009, Toyota announced a recall of approximately 3.8 million vehicles in the U.S. due to floormats that, according to Toyota, had a penchant for coming loose and forcing down accelerators. The problem was suspected in crashes involving Toyota cars that have killed five people.

In Jan. 2010, Toyota issued a series of recalls on 5.6 million vehicles in the U.S., due to sudden acceleration in some vehicles — the largest-ever recall for Toyota, and among the biggest for an automaker in U.S. history. In February, Toyota recalled another 437,000 units of its 2010 Prius, Sai, Prius PHV (plug-in hybrid) and Lexus HS250h hybrids. Then on March 9 Toyota announced that it would be recalling its 2004-2009 Priuses after news of a runaway car incident the previous day.

On that day, a 61-year-old Prius driver found himself in the national spotlight after his accelerator got stuck and took his car to a speed of 94 mph on a San Diego Highway. Fortunately, he was corralled to safety with the help of highway patrolmen.

Then, Tuesday night, another runaway Prius reared went on a rampage, according to reports. Reports say that a 56-year-old woman was backing out of a driveway in Harrison, N.Y., when her 2005 Prius suddenly accelerated out of control and sent her crashing into a stone wall. According to reports, the ensuing damage was substantial, but no one was seriously hurt.

Toyota’s problems touched other carmakers too: France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen said it recalled nearly 100,000 Peugeot 107s and Citroen C1s made in the Czech Republic, where Toyota and PSA jointly make cars.

Still, the world’s largest automaker is far from the only car company revealing vehicle defects and issuing recalls. Indeed, numerous automakers have issued recalls of late, including Nissan(NSANY), GM, Ford(F), Chrysler and Honda(HMC).

Yes, even Ford, which has generated significant goodwill in the U.S. by virtue of the fact that it is not Toyota, has issued recalls of its own — and has, in fact, like the other big six carmakers, received its own complaints regarding sudden acceleration, according to Edmunds.com.

 

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