General Motors just announced that it will buy back Chevy Volts from concerned customers. The move, meant to ensure customer satisfaction, follows a government investigation of two post-crash tests conducted over concerns that the Volt’s battery can burst into flames under certain conditions.

GM CEO Dan Akerson told the Associated Press that GM will repurchase a Volt at owner request, but did not announce an official buyback program, according to the Detroit Free Press. GM also offered loaner cars to Volt owners worried about their cars’ safety. The Chevy Volt is a lithium-ion-powered hybrid car powered with an onboard electric motor that powers the car when the battery charge runs low, explained NewsInferno. (more…)

The feds are investigating Chevy Volt fires that appear to be linked to lithium batteries. The Chevrolet Volt, an electric car, caught fire three weeks after it was involved in side-impact crash testing, said The New York Times.

Now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which commissioned the Volt test, is asking auto makers which make or intend on making lithium-ion battery-operated vehicles about their vehicles’ batteries’ risks, including “special handling and discharging recommendations,” said the Times, “including any recommendations for mitigating fire risks in these vehicles,” according to the just-released NHTSA statement. LG Chem. Ltd., which is the largest chemical maker in South Korea, is the Volt battery supplier, said Businessweek. (more…)

For the third time in a row, Toyota is starting a new year out with a car recall. Toyota just announced a recall of 1.705 million vehicles including nearly 245,000 Lexus sedans in the U.S.

The U.S. Lexus recall includes the following models: 2006-07 GS 300 and GS 350, 2006-09 IS 250, and 2006-08 IS 350. According to Toyota, insufficient tightening of the fuel pressure sensor, which is connected to some engine fuel delivery pipes that have nickel-phosphorus plating, may cause the pressure sensor to loosen. This could cause fuel to leak past a gasket that’s used in the connection between the sensor and the fuel delivery pipe. It could also leak through the threaded part of the sensor. (more…)

A federal grand jury is looking into the way Toyota handled defective steering rods in some of its vehicles. The automaker revealed yesterday that its US subsidiaries had received subpoenas last month demanding documents about such defects.

The newly-revealed grand jury investigation is just the latest headache for Toyota this year. Since last November, Toyota has recalled about 8.5 million vehicles worldwide to resolve the floor-mat interference and sticking pedal problems that may lead to incidents of unintended acceleration. Some vehicles are subject to both recalls. Complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) attribute 93 deaths to sudden acceleration of a Toyota vehicle. (more…)

Toyota is looking bad again. Federal regulators say the automaker planted a recent story in The Wall Street Journal that blamed driver error for accidents involving the unintended acceleration of some of its vehicles.

Since last November, Toyota has recalled about 8.5 million vehicles worldwide to resolve the floor-mat interference and sticking pedal problems that may lead to incidents of unintended acceleration. Some vehicles are subject to both recalls. Complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) attribute 93 deaths to sudden acceleration of a Toyota vehicle. (more…)

Anxious to prove it takes safety issues seriously, Toyota announced today that it would be testing the stability of all its SUVs. The move was prompted by Consumer Reports’ issuance of a “not acceptable” rating for the 2010 Lexus GX 460 SUV.

Hours after Consumer Reports published its rating, Toyota announced it was suspending sales of the GX 460 in the U.S. and Canada. The automaker has since suspended sales of the vehicle in markets elsewhere in the world. While the automaker has not decided if it will issue a recall for the SUV, it is offering current owners use of loaner cars while it tries to figure out why it failed Consumer Reports’ handling test. (more…)

The Department of Transportation is seeking the maximum penalty allowed by law from Toyota for failing to promptly notify the government about defective gas pedals.

The $16.375 million fine would be the largest civil penalty ever issued to an automaker by the government. Toyota has two weeks to contest the penalty. (more…)

Was Toyota using “technical service bulletins” to avoid issuing recalls? Some critics think so.

Two years before Toyota issued a recall of defective floor mats implicated in incidents of sudden, unintended acceleration, the automaker warned its dealers of the dangers. Unfortunately, no one in the American driving public ever got this information. (more…)

Criminal charges could be on the horizon for Toyota if it is found that it withheld information about the sudden acceleration problems that led to the automaker’s recent recalls.

According to a report in USA Today, a federal law adopted in 2000 known as Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act. It makes individuals who intentionally mislead federal regulators about safety defects subject to possible criminal fines and even prison. (more…)

The Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has written to Yoshimi Inaba, President and CEO, Toyota North America asking him about some serious allegations. According to Representative Edolphus Towns (D-NY), documents reviewed by his committee indicate Toyota withheld evidence in lawsuits filed by people injured in crashes that involved Toyota vehicles.

Last week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing into Toyota’s recent recalls and safety problems. Inaba, as well as Toyota president Akio Toyoda, both testified during the proceeding. (more…)