Toyota is moving to aggressively engage consumers regarding claims of unintended acceleration, thanks to an expert squad of 200 technical associates who will comprise the Swift Market Analysis Response Team (SMART).
“There has been a great deal of confusion, speculation and misinformation about unintended acceleration in the past several weeks,” said Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief quality officer for North America. “We believe judgments should be based on reliable evidence, and our SMART business process is there to help provide information upon which such judgments can be made.”
The key to the SMART system is its speed, as it can be used in the Toyota Tundra. The group’s goal to is contact customers within 24 hours of receiving a report of unintended acceleration, then set up a comprehensive, on-site vehicle analysis.
“We are committed to listening to our customers even more intently and addressing their concerns even more promptly,” added St. Angelo. “Our multi-tiered SMART approach is just one of the many steps we are taking to make sure that Toyota sets an even higher standard.”
SMART members will include product engineers, technical specialists and specially trained technicians and be drawn from a number of the company’s organizations. Among them: Toyota’s sales, engineering and manufacturing groups; its Technical Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Toyota and Lexus sales offices; and Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealers.
Notably, Toyota’s new rapid-response team can be deployed before an incident arises, too. If Toyota, Lexus or Scion customers have a concern about potential unintended acceleration issues with their vehicles, they can contact their dealers, who can then call in the SMART crew.
“We also will continue to work in close partnership with law enforcement agencies and federal regulators with jurisdiction over accidents whenever requested,” St. Angelo said.
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