Toyota is having problems. On Jan. 21, 2010, the world's largest automaker issued a recall — its second in three months — on 4.1 million vehicles sold in the U.S. and Europe to fix faulty gas pedals that have a tendency to get stuck, causing unintended acceleration. This is on top of a November recall of 5.3 million cars (and counting) believed to have ill-fitting floor mats that have a tendency to trap pedals. In total, more than 9 million Toyota cars worldwide have been pulled back for pedal-related flaws. That's a lot of cars. In fact, it's nearly the same amount as the total number of vehicles all carmakers sold in the U.S. in 2009. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced plans to investigate the recall and whether the Japanese-based automaker needlessly put the public at risk.
Honda drivers have no room to gloat: 646,000 Honda Fits, Jazzes and Cities (including 140,000 cars sold in the U.S.) have been recalled to fix a faulty window switch known to accidentally catch fire.