Toyota announced that letters will be mailed this week for the sticky accelerator pedal recall but not all Toyota car owners will have mailing address information that is correct is Toyota’s database.

In a separate announcement on February 8th, Toyota tells Prius owners included in the 2010 Prius recall to wait for their recall  letter.   Does Toyota believe that they will get a 100% delivery rate?

As Toyota has starting shipping parts to Toyota dealers nationwide as part of the massive Toyota recall program, some Toyota owners are at risk of falling through the cracks.  Toyota has advised consumers  that it has started to mail recall letters, here is an exerpt from Toyota’s February 5th press release:

“The company also announced that it has begun mailing letters to owners of recalled vehicles to let them know when to bring their vehicles into a dealership.  Owners will only receive a letter if their vehicle is involved in the recall. Upon receipt of a notification letter, owners will be asked to contact a local Toyota dealership to schedule an appointment to have their vehicle fixed.”

As part of the 2010 Toyota Prius recall press release dated February 8, 2010,  Toyota says:

Toyota will begin mailing letters to Prius owners included in this recall next week and HS 250h owners within the next few weeks, to let them know when to bring their vehicles into a dealership. Owners will only receive a letter if their vehicle is involved in the recall.

The press release did not address the very practical problem that Toyota’s database can not contain accurate mailing information for all Toyota owners affected by the recall.  Car sales between private owners as well as mailing address changes as consumers move within  the country will impact the effectiveness of a Toyota national recall notification mailing.

Toyota Owners Will be Missed

According to the US Postal Service website:

• 17% of Americans change addresses annually.
• 43 million people move each year.
• One out of every six families move each year.

The ability for any company to maintain an accurate mailing address of their customers has always been a challenge in the direct mail industry.  With over 6 million cars included in the floor mat recall and the sticky accelerator pedal recall, when you apply a conservative mailing address error rate of 8%, it can be estimated that over 500,000 Toyota owners will not receive their recall letters.

Since Toyota’s press release says that mailed recall letters as the trigger for consumers to call their local dealer, consumers who don’t get recall letters in the coming days are advised to call their local Toyota dealer to check and see if their VIN# and mailing address is correct in the Toyota database.    The Toyota press release did not cover what consumers are to do who own cars included in the recall and that do not receive a letter.

Consumers can also request that a local Toyota dealer contact them by completing the form shown below.

Toyota Owners Have a Voice Here

Consumers can also particpate in this website’s forums and discussions to share their experiences during the recall process.  This website will allow consumers to freely express their recall service experience and the effect the recall has on their confidence  in the Toyota brand.  Consumers can also request a local Toyota dealer contact them about a recall service appointment or to confirm that their car in included in the recall.  

This independent website which is not affiliated with Toyota, is a popular destination for Toyota car owners to express the questions comments and reactions to the Toyota recall process.  The Pasch Consulting Group chose the .org domain extension because the website is designed for public information, education and commentary.   

This website was recently recognized by the Public Interest Registry (PIR.ORG) as a fine example of the effectiveness and application of a .org domain name.  You can read their post at: http://blog.pir.org/?p=541

Official Toyota Hot Line

Consumers who are concerned about the safety of their Toyota models not included in the current recall are advised to call the official Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.

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