The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a recall campaign for two separate issues concerning GM trucks and SUVs.

The first recall concerns 6,768 units of the Chevrolet Colorado and the GMC Canyon from the 2011MY due to a failure in a transmission clip that may not engage the “Parking” mode even though the driver has moved the lever to the appropriate position. GM’s dealers will repair the faulty automatic transmission free of charge, and the recall is expected to begin on July 19.

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A class-action suit has been filed against General Motors in Detroit concerning a defect in the suspension rods of more than 400,000 2007-2008MY Chevrolet Impalas that causes premature wear to the rear tires.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a woman from Pennsylvania named Donna Trusky, who wants GM to replace the defective suspension rods on 423,000 Impalas from the 2007-2008MY the company sold over a two-year period.

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Daimler AG is conducting a voluntary recall campaign on certain 2011MY Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedans (chassis code W212) and Estates (chassis code S212) to inspect, and if necessary, replace a potentially defective auto part. The recall will include approximately 41 E-Class models in the States manufactured from July 8, 2010, through July 12, 2010.

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A defect associated with the cruise control system has prompted a U.S. recall of 136,751 units of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class and M-Class AMG SUVs from the 2000-2004MY. In a filing to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA], Mercedes-Benz said it has determined that under certain circumstances, use of the brake pedal may not automatically disengage the cruise control system.

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The Toyota Group may be off the hook over suspicions of unwanted sudden acceleration caused by software-driven throttles after the findings of the NHTSA-NASA study, but the Japanese automaker is once again making headlines over trapped accelerator pedals. Today, Toyota announced that it will conduct a voluntary safety recall of approximately 2.12 million vehicles in the United States to address accelerator pedals that could become entrapped in floor mats or jammed in carpeting.

More specifically, Toyota is recalling approximately 20,000 Lexus GS 300 and GS 350 All-Wheel Drive vehicles from the 2006-2007 model years to modify the shape of the plastic pad embedded in the driver’s side floor carpet. According to the company, if the floor carpet is not properly replaced in the correct position after a service operation, it is possible that the plastic pad embedded into the floor carpet may jam against the accelerator pedal and keep it from returning to the idle position.

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According to U.S. safety officials, last week's highly publicized Toyota Prius accident in Harrison, New York, that was investigated as a possible case of unintended acceleration was most likely caused by the driver. The Prius owner had had blamed the crash on the vehicle, saying it wouldn't stop.

"'Information retrieved from the vehicle's onboard computer systems indicated there was no application of the brakes and the throttle was fully open," NHTSA said on Thursday in a statement about the New York accident.

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Here's something that I never knew existed: Single Event Upsets. SEUs are the reason for technological glitches (usually in consumer electronics); they're caused by the resulting radiation when "cosmic rays strike the atmosphere". Could these radioactive waves be the cause of Toyota's unintended acceleration?

SEU glitches tend to show up and then simply disappear, leaving no hard evidence of the cause whatsoever. The major issue is that "unlike interference from radio waves, there's no way to physically block particles; [SEUs] typically have to be prevented by a combination of software and hardware design."

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Approximately 344,000 Honda Odyssey minivans and 68,000 Element crossovers from the 2007-2008 model years are being recalled in the United States to address a problem with the brakes.

The Japanese automaker said that it had received a number of customer complaints of brake pedals that feel "soft" or that gradually needed more pressure to work. Honda added that the in the affected vehicles, this condition tends to "very slowly increase over time".

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By now everyone's heard about the shady dealings of runaway-Toyota driver James Sikes, and the allegations that somehow, instead of legitimate Toyota failings, what was really occurring with his 2008 Prius was a case of fraud.

Obviously, considering that this horror (or stunt) was filmed on live television, Toyota needed to get personally involved with Sikes and his claims. After stating that Sikes' story and what the car's computer recorded didn't add up, they made sure to fully disclose what, precisely, they checked.

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And the show goes on. Today, prosecutors in Southern California's Orange County announced that they have filed a civil lawsuit against Toyota over safety concerns with the Japanese automaker's vehicles. The OCDA is the first District Attorney's Office in the U.S. to bring a consumer protection lawsuit against Toyota after the 'unintended acceleration' issues.

In an official statement, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas' office said that it will try to stop Toyota's U.S. division "from continuing to endanger the public through the sale of defective vehicles and deceptive business practices".

You can read the D.A.'s full release after the jump, but here's an appetizer:

"The complaint filed against the defendant accuses Toyota of knowingly selling and leasing hundreds of thousands of cars and trucks with defects that cause sudden unexpected and uncontrollable acceleration (hereafter known as defects). The complaint also states that Toyota continues to sell their defective vehicles to Californians without fixing the known problems and adequately informing consumers of the defects."

In response to the civic lawsuit, Toyota issued a short statement saying that it "has not received the complaint and is not in a position to comment on pending litigation."

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Toyota may just have been caught with its hand in the proverbial cookie jar. Corporate blower of whistles and former Toyota Motor Sales USA (a "product liability group") managing counsel Dimitrios Biller has apparently brought a few documents to light - documents the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee finds "troubling".

According to panel chairman Ed Towns (D-NY), the documents "indicate Toyota deliberately withheld records that it was legally required to produce in response to discovery orders in litigation... [The] documents concern 'rollover' cases in which a driver or passenger was injured, including cases where victims were paralyzed."

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Hyundai's all-new 2011 Hyundai Sonata just got hit with its first recall (at 2 weeks into US sales, it probably just wants to get one under its belt like the big boys), forcing the little-Korean-that-could to put a "halt sales" order out on all models being sold in South Korea and the United States.

The cause: front door lock mechanisms are screwing up. When front passengers try to open their door from inside the car while also holding the lock button (I assume it's like trying to lock the doors as you're trying to get out of the car... weird), the inside door handle / latch mechanism sticks in the "pulled" or open position; this prevents the door from being able to properly shut.

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A defective airbag that has been linked to one death and 11 injuries in the United States over the past few years is still haunting Honda as the company today announced that it is adding 437,763 cars to its existing global safety recall over the airbag inflation problem.

The expanded recall is concentrated mainly in the United States, where nearly 378,758 vehicles are affected, but the latest announcement also covers Japan, Mexico, Taiwan and Australia.

The models added to the list concern certain 2001 and 2002 Honda Accord, Civic, Odyssey, CR-V, 2002 Pilot, 2002 Acura CL and selected 2002 Acura TL vehicles.

According to the automaker, the driver's airbag inflators in these vehicles may deploy with too much pressure causing the inflator casing to rupture and send metal fragments through the airbag cushion material possibly resulting in injury or even fatality to vehicle occupants.

Honda first issued a recall on the matter on less than 4,000 model year 2001 Accord and Civic back in November 2008. After the original recall, the Japanese automaker said that two additional incidents were reported, including one fatality from a vehicle not included in that recall.

That led Honda to expand the recall in July 2009 to include approximately 440,000 model year 2001 and 2002 Accord, Civic and certain 2002 Acura TL vehicles.

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First of all, let us tell you that the above picture isn't a Carscoop chop, but an official advert for the Lexus HS 250h that's shown here in the U.S. and is supposed to highlight the use of sustainable materials on the car. And now that we've got that out of the way, let's concentrate on Toyota's latest recall.

Following the NHTSA's investigation on owner complaints of momentary loss of braking on the third-generation Prius, Toyota decided to issue a voluntary safety recall on approximately 400,000 vehicles worldwide to update software in the anti-lock brake system (ABS).

Aside from the 2010 Prius, the recall also affects the 2010 Lexus HS 250h and its JDM only sibling, the new Toyota Sai hybrid sedan, as all three models use the same components for the ABS system.

Toyota said that the recall is being taken in response to reports of inconsistent brake feel during slow and steady braking on bumpy or slick road surfaces when the anti-lock braking system (ABS) is actuated.

The company added that the affected cars are safe to drive because pressing hard on the brake pedal when the ABS is activated will stop the vehicle.

Toyota has been criticized by the media and consumers for taking its time to issue this recall as the automaker had introduce a running production change on the new Prius built from January 2010.

The Japanese automaker said that it will begin mailing letters to Prius owners included in this recall next week and HS 250h owners within the next few weeks, to inform them when to bring their vehicles into a dealership.

According to the company, the software update will take approximately 40 minutes using standard test equipment in use at all authorized Toyota service centers.

The latest safety campaign for Toyota comes after a string of other recalls, mainly about the faulty accelerator pedals / killer mats, that concern 8.1 million vehicles worldwide since October of 2009.

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No, we didn't spell Toyota's name wrong. It's actually GM that's being investigated in this latest safety case by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) which has either stepped up its efforts or -most likely- most of us are paying closer attention to the agency after Toyota's "sticky" woes.

The NHTSA said that it opened an investigation on the Chevrolet Cobalt after 1,132 consumers complained about a sudden loss of electric power steering (EPS) in 2005-2009 Cobalt and 2008-2009 Cobalt SS models.

According to the agency's report, around 10 per cent of the complaints claim that the loss of steering assist resulted in difficultly controlling the vehicle, while 11 support that the sudden increase in steering effort caused by the alleged defect led to a crash, with one consumer alleging an injury.

If -and we stress "if"- the NHTSA's findings call for a fix, it is estimated that approximately 905,000 Cobalts will be affected by the recall.

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And if you didn't get it, our title is a sarcastic jab at the "Toyota Recall" madness that seems to have prevailed among certain sites and blogs these past couple of weeks. Reporting on a subject is one thing but overdoing it without essentially offering something new to readers either for traffic or even less noble motives is another... But to the story.

The National Highway Traffic Administration said today that it has opened a preliminary evaluation centered on owner complaints of momentary loss of braking in the 2010 Prius.

Toyota responded with a statement saying that it is aware of NHTSA's initiation of the investigation while the company also acknowledged that it performed a production change last month, improving the ABS system's response time, as well as the system's overall sensitivity to tire slippage.

"Some customers have complained of inconsistent brake feel during slow and steady application of brakes on rough or slick road surfaces when the anti-lock brake system (ABS) is activated in an effort to maintain tire traction," Toyota said in a statement.

Now the question we pose is this; if Toyota deemed the problem serious / important enough to introduce a running production change, then why didn't the company issue a recall to make the same fix on the rest of the 2010 Prius hybrids'?

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Toyota's British arm today announced details on the exact models and the total number of vehicles that are the subject to its sticky accelerator pedal safety recall in the UK. Overall, 180,865 Toyota brand vehicles are affected in the UK with the total made up of models from seven different ranges that you can check out after the jump.

The Japanese automaker added that, in the UK, manual Aygo models and all versions of RAV4 are not included in the recall, while the same goes for all Lexus models.

As in other regions, Toyota will address the problem by installing a precision-cut steel reinforcement bar into the accelerator pedal assembly.

The company said that the first shipments of parts required for this fix will begin arriving in the UK next week and Toyota will start repairing cars from 10 February. According to the automaker the procedure should take about 30 minutes to complete.

UK Models affected by the recall:

- AYGO (Feb 2005 - Aug 2009) Only AYGO MMT is affected

- iQ (Nov 2008 - Nov 2009)

- Yaris (Nov 2005 - Sep 2009)

- Auris (Oct 2006 - 5 Jan 2010)

- Corolla (Oct 2006 - Dec 2009)

- Verso (Feb 2009 - 5 Jan 2010)

- Avensis (Nov 2008 - Dec 2009)

UK Models NOT affected:

- AYGO Manual

- RAV4

- Urban Cruiser

- Avensis Verso

- Corolla Verso

- Celica

- MR2

- Prius

- Previa

- Land Cruiser

- Land Cruiser Amazon

- Land Cruiser V8

- Hilux

- Hiace

- Dyna

- Any pre-2005 Toyota

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Having pinpointed the issue that could potentially cause accelerator pedals to stick in a partially open position in approximately 2.3 million recalled Toyota-branded vehicles in North America and another 1.8 million in Europe, the Japanese automaker has announced a fix for the problem.

According to Toyota, the sticking throttle issue involves a friction device in the pedal designed to provide the proper "feel" by adding resistance and making the pedal steady and stable.

That device includes a jagged shoe that rubs against an adjoining surface during normal pedal operation. Toyota said that the problem concerns the materials used on the device, as over time, these surfaces begin to stick causing the throttle to remain in a partially open position.

The company's solution is rather simple as it involves the installation of a precision-cut steel reinforcement bar into the assembly thus reducing the surface tension between the friction shoe and the adjoining surface.

Toyota says it's confident that with this reinforcement in place, the excess friction that can cause the pedal to stick is eliminated.

The company announced that it will start repairs in the U.S. this week with Toyota dealers working extended hours to complete the recall campaign with some even said to stay open 24 hours a day.

As for Europe, first shipments of parts required for the fix will begin arriving next week.

And while we've explained this before, we've guess it won't hurt anyone if we stress the fact that there are two different recalls over Toyota's accelerator problems - even though some vehicles are affected by both.

Here's how Toyota describes the two different (but related) issues:

Sticking Pedal Accelerator Recall: The condition can occur in rare instances, over time, under certain environmental conditions - there is a possibility that certain accelerator pedal mechanisms may, mechanically stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to idle position.

Potential Floor Mat Interference with Accelerator Pedal Recall: This condition is the potential for an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat to interfere with or entrap the accelerator pedal and cause it to get stuck in the wide open position.

Toyota has determined that this condition can occur in vehicles in which the driver's side floor mat is not compatible with the vehicle and/or is not properly secured.

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