Toyota, once the byword for reliability, forced to issue a massive recall of most of its key models and then halt production and sales across the world in order to solve a potentially dangerous problem with a faulty accelerator pedal.

How will this affect the company?
First off, its sales are going to be down. Whether that affects its newly acquired status as the largest auto company in the world depends on how long its operations are shut down and how long it will take to sort out the problem and get back on track.

Certainly, the longer it takes to rectify the problem with the faulty pedal, the longer it will take to get back on its feet.

And the longer it takes to get back on its feet, the more its long justified reputation for reliability will be tarnished. More than any other company except perhaps Honda, Toyota has risen to the top of the auto manufacturing world on a reputation for reliability.

As the Detroit Three found out in recent decades, that is an expensive asset to lose.

What models are affected?
Toyota announced Tuesday it was halting sales of some of eight top selling models and suspending production at six North American assembly plants beginning next week.

The models are: the 2005-2010 Avalon; the 2007-2010 Camry and Tundra pickup; the 2008-2010 Sequoia; the 2009-2010 Corolla, Matrix hatchback and RAV4; and the 2010 Highlander. The move followed the previous week's recall of some 2.3 million of the vehicles.

On Wednesday, Toyota announced it was recalling 1.09 million vehicles to fix the pedals. The models are: the 2008-2010 Highlander; and the 2009-2010 Corolla, Matrix, Venza and Pontiac Vibe which is made in a joint venture with General Motors. It also said it was extending the recall to China and Europe, according to The Associated Press.

The moves follow last September's recall of 4.2 million vehicles for a problem with accelerator pedals getting entangled the floor mat.

Those models were: the 2004-2009 Prius; the 2005-2010 Tacoma; and the 2007-2010 Camry and Tundra. In addition, it recalled the 2006-2010 Lexus IS 250 and IS 350 and the 2007-2010 Lexus ES 350.

What went wrong?
There seems general agreement that much of the blame for Toyota's quality control problems can be laid at the feet of former president Katsuaki Watanabe, a bean counter with a mania for leading the company into the No.1 spot, according to The Associated Press.

He was named president in 2005 and the following year admitted to a Japanese government investigation into auto safety that the fast track approach to growth had led to quality problems. He was replaced last year by Akio Toyoda.

Jidoka
Critics may wonder why Toyota has taken such draconian action. But it complies with Principle 5 of the 14 principles of the famous Toyota Way: Jidoka, or quality takes precedence.

In practical terms, it means any employee can pull an emergency handle and stop the production line at any time he or she sees a problem with quality.

In this case, Toyota has pulled the emergency handle right across the board.

Peter C.T. Elsworth