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International Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences (IJEAS)
ISSN: 2394-3661, Volume-2, Issue-8, August 2015
Manufacturing defects in the automobile industry, a
case study of the remote causes and effects of
7R\RWD¶VWUDQVPLVVLRQPDOIXQFWLRQVLQFDUV
Bebeteidoh Oyinkepreye Lucky, Stephen Takim
making the automobile more comfortable (Biswajit et al.
Abstract² Over the years, the automobile industry has been 2007). The famous era of the automobile came in the
continuously bedevilled by the continuous recall of vehicles as a 1950/1960 where companies like the Ford Motors, General
result of manufacturing defects. The recall of vehicles in the Motors (GM) and Chrysler where holding sway in America.
automobile industry is not limited to any particular The transfer of Ford Motors mass production model to
manufacturer. Defective components or parts have always been Western Europe and Japan after World Wars I & II, brought
attributed for the reason for the recalls, while some have
attributed it to uncontrolled growth and expansion. For about two important trends, first which was industrial
automobile companies to keep up with the growth in the advancement which led to the growth and production of the
automobile industry; it must be ready at all times to satisfy its German and Japanese auto markets, and the second important
numerous customers with quality, reliable and affordable trend which was as a result of the oil embargo from
products. Reliability of the product is essential to keep a good 1973/1974, which led to the export of fuel efficient vehicles to
customer base. The competitive nature of the automobile the United States of America from Japan (Biswajit et al.
industry requires that companies comply with international 2007).
safety standards in the manufacture of cars while ensuring that The amount of vehicle recalls in the U.S. has increased
components and parts supplied to production shop floor are substantially over the past twenty years, with over 30 million
capable (CP), and where defects have been identified, Failure
Mode Effect Analysis and Critical Analysis (FMECA) be cars recalled in 2004 (Yong-Kyun and Hugo 2013). The
carried out on such components. The aim of this research paper -DSDQHVH DXWR PDNHU 7R\RWD 0RWRU¶V SODFH LQ WKH
is to investigate the causes of manufacturing defects in the international automotive business where it is seen as a market
automobile industry, a case study of the remote causes and leader looks unstable following a run of recalls which began
HIIHFWVRI7R\RWD¶VWUDQVPLVVLRQPDOIXQFWLRQVLQFDUV,QRWKHUWR in late 2009; as a result of floor mats making accelerator
achieve this, the number of recalls from various automobile pedals to stick, (Business Monitor International, 2010) haven
companies was investigated, with a detailed case study analysis, ORQJ EHHQ WDJJHG DV WKH DFPH DQG LQQRYDWLRQ RI -DSDQ¶V
with SWOT and PEST analysis on the case study company. industrial strength and manufacturing quality. (Wu et al,
2010).
Index Terms² Manufacturing, defects, Toyota, With the Toyota Production System (TPS) which prides it
transmission, recalls, strategy first as a safety related company, secondly as a company that
is bent on the quality of cars that they build and thirdly as a
I. INTRODUCTION company that puts much interest on the volume of vehicles
The automobile industry has evolved overtime from the era produced, (Monden 2012: xxvi), Toyota is faced with a
of the vehicles that were powered with steam, dubbed massive problems related to quality that has cost lives, and are
³KRUVHOHVVFDUULDJHV´WKURXJKWKHHUDRIWKHKLJKSUHVVXUH also faced with colossal nightmare as a result of bad public
steam engine, (American Museum of Cars ND) to the mass relations which has put the company on edge. (Southworth
production of the Ford Model T in 1909. Since the invention 2010: 32). This has led to massive recalls, that has come as a
of the automobile over fifty years ago, it has brought with it WHVWWRWKHµ¶7KH7R\RWD:D\¶¶production philosophy (Joshi
more deaths and enormous sorrow and deprivation to people 2003).
(Nader1965). With its perceived problems, the motor car has The automobile environment has become very intricate and
EHHQFDOOHGµWKHPDFKLQHWKDWFKDQJHGWKHZRUOG¶ :RPDFNet demanding. Several factors can be attributed to the various
al. 1990). The auto industry is a representation of the recalls that have been made over the years by Toyota, to
technical spectacle by humankind, as one of the fastest FRUUHFWWKHPDQXIDFWXULQJµGHIHFWV¶ that have necessitated the
growing sectors in the globe. Its active development stages recalls.
are explained by sort of rivalry, life cycle of product and the As it is known presently the functionality and features of cars
demands of consumers. have become very complex, with the increase in the number of
The automobile industry today is occupied with issues of wires, computer chips used in auto electronics, and sensors; it
product safety, customers request for new styling features and has become very bewildering in the testing of quality control
along with problematic uncertainties and interferences (Feng,
2010). Toyota informed the general public that the defects
Bebeteidoh Oyinkepreye Lucky, Department of Marine and found in its vehicles that were recalled had caused no accident
Mechanical Engineering, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, and could be repaired in an hour and will cost the company
Bayelsa State, Nigeria millions of dollars (Kubota 2012). Before the recalls due to
Stephen Takim, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cross Rivers transmission glitches in 2009, the leadership position that
State University of Science and Technology, Calabar, Cross Rivers State,
Nigeria Toyota has built in quality as reported by Consumer Reports
15 www.ijeas.org
Manufacturing defecWVLQWKHDXWRPRELOHLQGXVWU\DFDVHVWXG\RIWKHUHPRWHFDXVHVDQGHIIHFWVRI7R\RWD¶V
transmission malfunctions in cars
DQG -' 3RZHUV KDGQ¶W EHHQ FRPSURPLVHG H[FHSW RQ WKH 1) Major Defects
pages of newspapers and the electronic media (Liker and x Might affect the safety of the automobile and also put other
Ogden 2011:158). road users in danger with more significant non-adherence.
The high rate of vehicle recall as a result of defects in x Making use of the affected automobile will subject to
manufacturing, has led to both manufacturers and end users limitations pending when it passes a technical audit.
suffering the brunt, in safety and financial terms. In the past, 2) Dangerous Defects
failure of products were adjudged to local or functional x Dangerous defects puts road users at instant danger.
mistakes in product design, the manufacturing process, or x Automobiles under this cartegory should be taken off the
improper use of materials used in the manufacture of parts road.
used in vehicle assembly, it is known knowledge that product Such vehicles even if repaired has to be properly re-examined,
quality and safety can have significant repercussions on an and must must pass a technical audit before been put back on
international scale (Marucheck 2007). the road.
Several researches have been done in areas of vehicle recall
over the years (Yong-Kyun and Hugo 2013), (Minhyung B. Defects in Automobiles Leading to Recall:
2010) and (Kubota 2012), but little has been done in the area The recall of automobiles by manufacturers has been
of finding out the root cause of these defects and if it is as a attributed to one form of µGHIHFW¶ or another; vehicle recalls
UHVXOWRI7R\RWD¶VPDQXIDFWXULQJVWUDWHJ\7KHREMHFWLYHRI can pose a serious problem for manufacturers (Kumar and
this study is to determLQHLIGHIHFWVDUHDVDUHVXOWRI7R\RWD¶V Schmitz 2011). This has left both regulatory agencies,
manufacturing strategy, to examine the role of suppliers in the customers and the media al a loss. Manpreet et al. (2011)
PDQXIDFWXUHRIFDUVDQGWRGHWHUPLQHWKHUROHRI7R\RWD¶V describes product recall as the withdrawal of a product from
Just-In-Time manufacturing technique. the market as it was manufactured and sold to the customer.
This paper is organised as follows, in other sections literature Their research went further to state that recalls which are
review, methodology, collection of data described and undertaken as a result of dearth in safety, implies that the
discussion, while the final section has the conclusion and product stands as a possible danger to the user, and companies
recommendation, with an added appendix which shows the make announcement advising customers to discontinue usage
case study, the swot and pest analysis of such products. In an earlier research carried out by Dawar
and Pillutla (2000:215) product µGHIHFWV¶ was defined as
A. LITERATURE REVIEW: product harm tragedy, that are discrete in nature, having good
publicity in which products are found to be µGDQJHURXV¶ and
The United States alone accounts for 22,000 deaths, about µGHIHFWLYH¶ The FDA U.S defines product recall as the
29.5 million injuries, and over 700 billion dollars in losses as correction or removal of a marketed product; the FDA feels
D UHVXOW RI µXQVDIH¶ DQG µGHIHFWLYH¶ SURGXFWV VWDWLVWLFV KDV are in violation of the laws of the United States of America,
shown (Xiuli, Baozhi and Hanqing 2012). According to while the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Europa (1985) a defective product is WKDW ZKLFK GRHVQ¶W covered by an Act of the U.S. Congress (National Traffic and
deliver the necessary safety that an individual is expected to Motor Vehicle Safety Act 15 U.S.C. 1381 OF 1966) to
get from every product he or she purchases, while taking the enforce safety standards of vehicle manufactured in the U.S.
following into consideration: or imported into the U.S. for use, defines recalls as;
How the product is presented. x When a motor vehicle equipment or motor vehicle fails to
How the product is put into use. act in accordance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
How long it takes to circulate the product. Standard.
James R. Evans and William M. Lindsay (2005) defines x When the vehicle or equipment has µGHIHFW¶ present in it.
³GHIHFW´as a distinct abnormal characteristics of a According to Nader (1966:41), the manufacture of
manufactured item with respect to its quality. While Crosby automobiles using defective and substandard parts and
(2005) looking into defects defined it to mean when components is conventional fact to industry watchers and
manufactured products, do not conform to the expected or ZRUNHUVZLWK³GHIHFW´ ranging from windows falling off its
accepted standard of quality but does not necessarily mean a channel, handles of doors falling off, oil leaking from engines,
failure of that product. The European Union (EU 2010) in its wheels of manufactured cars falling out of alignment, coupled
DVVHVVPHQW RI µ¶GHIHFWV¶¶ FDWHJRULVHG LW LQWR WKUHH QDPHO\ with damaged head-lights. In the result of a product failing, it
µ¶PLQRUGHIHFWV¶¶, ³PDMRUGHIHFWV´ DQG³GDQJHURXVGHIHFWV´ must either be fixed or replaced, in any of the cases the
According to VOSA (2013) a vehicle is said to be defective if product must be tracked, transported and the manufacturer
a piece of its design or manufactured part is likely to bring must apologize for the error (Genichi Taguchi and Don
about a major threat of death or injury to the user. The United Clausing 1990). Young-Kyun and Hugo (2011) in there
States Code for Motor Vehicle Safety (Title 49, Chapter 301) research added that when a defect is found out by the
GHILQHV³GHIHFW´ as every form of deficiency associated with manufacturer or regulatory agency, which in the case of the
the construction, component and performance of automobile United State of America is the National Highway Traffic
or automobile equipment (Safercar.gov 2010). Safety Administration,(NHTSA) a decision has to be taken
Minor Defects (As defined by the EU 2010) whether a recall will be issued, and how many units and
x When there is no meaningful consequence on the models that will be affected. Due to the heterogenous nature
well-being of the passanger and automobile. of vehicle recalls due to defects, each defective unit is known
x When a reassessment is not essentially vital. to have a different threat level. In the words of Southworth
(2010) Toyota as an organization or certain people inside
Toyota have wandered away from the guiding principles of
16 www.ijeas.org
International Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences (IJEAS)
ISSN: 2394-3661, Volume-2, Issue-8, August 2015
the company, and the issues affecting Toyota can only be 1986 to 1991 model years, in the Acura line. The seat belts in
explained by those people. the models recalled had the possibility of breakage.
1) Recall from other Manufacturers: x Ford Motors (1996): Ford Motors in 1996 recalled over
Below is a brakedown of the biggest recalls of all time in the seven million cars and trucks as a result of µGHIHFWLYH¶ignition
automobile industry as published by Sauter et al. (2013) in the switch, which resulted in the vehicle short circuiting. The
Wall Street Journal and Fox Business (2010). µGHIHFW¶ was capable of causing fire in the vehicle steering
x General Motors (1971): The recall of over 6.7 million column. Vehicles affected were the Mercury and Lincoln
cars covering the period between 1965 and 1970. The recalls manufactured from 1988 through 1993. The Los Angeles
were as a result of seperated motor mount which permit s the Times in its 1996 article reported that most of the fires
car engine to elate and cloud thereby making the throttle of the affected vehicles that were parked, and had been shut off for
car to increase momentarily. Company officials initially hours.
denied the existence of any µGHIHFW¶ . Not until a letter from x Ford Motors (1999-2009): After issuing a recall in 1999
consumer advocate Ralph Nader to then GM Chairman, to address issues relating to short circuiting affecting its speed
informing him that the motor mount failure leads to vehicle control system, the report of the recall noted that it could lead
accelerator been jammed, shifting of gears, and power loss in to under hood fire in three different models manufactured
the braking and steering system. from 1992 through 1993. In 2005 problems with the speed
x Volkswagen (1972): In conjunction with NHTSA, control deactivation still led to more recalls, which affected
Volkswagen recalled 3.7 million cars as a result of the about five million, two hundred thousand SUVS and pickup
loosening of the screws securing car windshield wipers of trucks. The recalls were followed by subsequent ones in 2006,
model manufactured from 1949 to 1969, which made drivers 2007 and 2008.
to struggle during snowy conditions and rain storms.
x Ford (1972):As a result ofseat belt webbing braking from
its connection Ford Motors recalled over four million vehicles
for fixing. The resultant result of this µGHIHFW¶ is that driver
will not be able to lock in the shoulder harness as a result of
brakage of the grommet. This recall affected vechile models
manufactured in Fords factory lines in the U.S. from 1970 to
1971.
x General Motors (1973): In 1973 G.M once again issued
recalls for over three million vehicles, from the Oldsmobile,
Chevrolet, Pointac and Buick lines. The drivers ability to
steer the vehicle became an issue due to stones finding there
way into the engine compartment and getting stuck. General
0RWRUVLQFRUUHFWLQJWKLVµGHIHFW¶KDGWRFRQVWUXFWDJUDYHO
shield over the steering coupling of the car. Figure 1: Toyota, Honda and Nissan¶VRYHUVHDVSURGXFWLRQ
x General Motors (1981): In 1981 over five million and Recalls (Minhyung 2010).
vehicles were recalled by General Motors for its Chevy
Malibus and Buick Regals brands, as a result of damage done Figure 1 shows the overseas production and recalls for
to the car frame and lower rear control from the fracturing of Toyota, Nissan and Honda. From 2000 through 2009, there is
the bolts, which in turn affects the car suspension system. All a steady increase in the production of cars and also recall from
vehicles affected were manufactured from 1970 to the early Toyota Recalls (Minhyung 2010).
1980s. In caseswhere the bolts fracture, the vehicle control
arm will be released from the car, bringing about a loss in 2) Recalls from Toyota:
control. The tragic accident in 2009, in San Diego, California in which
x Ford Motors (1981): Ford Motors recalled over the Saylor family comprising Mark Saylor, his wife, his
twenty-one millionvehicles of itsMercury and Lincoln brands daughter and brother-in-law lost their lives, when the Lexus in
from 1970 through 1980. The recall was made as a result of which they were travelling careened out of control at over
µGHIHFWLYH¶ parking gear that could refuse to engage, even 100mph, and plunged into a ravine after colliding with an
after the driver of the vehicle has engaged the car to park and oncoming car, (Liker and Ogden 2011:60-61) has once more
the indicator lights showing the car to be in park. As a result of brought Toyota to the public glare with issues of µGHIHFWV¶
WKLVµGHIHFW¶RYHUVL[WKRXVDQGDFFLGHQWVRQHWKRXVDQGVHYHQ leading to a recall. There is no gainsaying that Toyota has
hundred and ten injuries and ninety-eight fatalities, that were brought this upon its own head, while noting that recall is a
attrubuted directly to transmission slippage. common phenomenon in production, the mere fact that
x Audi 5000 (1978-1986): /RQJEHIRUH7R\RWD¶VXQLQWHQGHG Toyota allows cars it has manufactured to go out with
acceleration surfaced, Audi recalled over three hundred and µGHIHFWLYH¶ brakes and accelerators shows that something is
eighty-nine thousand,one hundred and two cars manufactured wrong (Pilling, 2010). Liker and Ogden (2011:69) described
between 1978 through to 1986 as a result of unintended as an overreaction the recall Toyota made on the issue of floor
acceleration. mats leading to unintended acceleration, that it was not the
x Honda Motors (1995): As a result of belt buckle failure, floor mat in general that caused the death of the Saylor family.
Honda Motors was forced by the National Highway Transport While differing from the position of Liker and Ogden,
Safety Administration (NHTSA) to recall over three million Lehane, Fabiani and Guttentag (2012:96) averred that at the
cars in 1995. The recall affected vehicles manufactured from time of the Saylor accident Toyota was well aware of safety
and quality issues with unintended acceleration, citing a 2009
17 www.ijeas.org
Manufacturing defecWVLQWKHDXWRPRELOHLQGXVWU\DFDVHVWXG\RIWKHUHPRWHFDXVHVDQGHIIHFWVRI7R\RWD¶V
transmission malfunctions in cars
Los Angeles Times report in which the paper investigated particular recall affected its Lexus RX350, RX400h, ES, IS,
ToyRWD¶VTXDOLW\DQGVDIHW\SUDFWLFHVLQZKLFKWKHXQGHUOLVWHG others are Toyota Camry, Avalon, Tacoma, Tundra and the
results were gotten; Hybrid Prius all 2010 models. Toyota earlier in 2009 had
x The installation of drive by wire systems dating back to issued similar recalls for the above vehicles. August 2012 saw
ZDVWKHEHJLQQLQJRI7R\RWD¶VDFFHOHUDWLRQLVVXHV Toyota issue another set of recalls for its RAV4 manufactured
x A total of 1, 200 complaints was received from Toyota from 2006 to early 2011and the Lexus HS250h sedans 2010
customers for uncontrolled acceleration and unintended model, as a result of glitches with the rear suspension arm.
acceleration even after the floor mats were replaced. Toyota warned its customer to ensure that the nuts on the rear
x Toyota tried to stop the release of the data gotten from suspension is properly tightened, to avoid rusting that may in
on-board vehicle recorders that had experienced uncontrolled turn make the arm to separate. Figure 2 shows the pedal
acceleration. assembly with the µGHIHFW¶ as shown in the circle on the left
x There has been more recorded death from uncontrolled hand side. Toyota added a precision reinforced bar to stop the
acceleration involving Toyota car than all other car pedal lock.
manufacturers put together.
7KLV JRHV FRQWUDU\ WR WKH 7R\RWD¶V 3URGXFWLRQ 6\VWHP
according to Monden (2012:219) the satisfaction of the
customer and the quality of the manufactured product is and
end in itself in Toyota, while noting that product quality is an
essential part of the TPS. In a related development Liker
(2010) while describing the issues of recall with Toyota put it
LQDPRUHVXEWOHZD\WKDWLQFLGHQWV¶OHDGLQJ to each recall
made by Toyota is small. In a later research by Cole (2011)
the researcher averred that recalls associated with the quality
DQGVDIHW\ RI 7R\RWD¶VSURGXFWVZDVRQWKHLQFUHDVHWKDW
between February to August 2010, Toyota made thirteen
distinct recalls, which affected both new and old models
having issues relating to fuel leakage and steering control.
According to Lehane, Fabiani and Guttentag (2012:95-101)
the exact issues with Toyota whether technically called a
³GHIHFW´ or not, the basic fact was that the self-acceleration of
vehicles actually happened, in some cases leading to fatalities.
In the words of the researcher Toyota needed to tackle the Figure 2 Show the recalled pedal and the replacement pedal
problem as it arose, instead of insisting that there was no (Cars UK 2010)
technical defect, rather than trying to construe the main reason
as to why the accidents were happening, in other to stay away The recall of vehicles continued in October 2012, with Toyota
IURPWKHIHDUHGZRUG³GHIHFW´ announcing the recall in the United States of about 2.47
7R\RWD¶VLPDJHDPRQJLWVFXVWRPHUVFOHDUO\VXIIHUHGZLWKWKH million vehicles, to repair µGHIHFWV¶ with power window
recalls, the release of several survey data reports swelled by switches that might cause a fire threat. The recalls affected the
media reports have not helped the Toyota brand name (Cole Toyota and Scion models manufactured between, 2007-2009,
2011), a negative effect on stock price and adverse media the Camry Hybrid, RAV4, Yaris, Scion XD, Scion XA,
reports for publicly managed companies can cause a major Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Corolla and Matrix. The
crisis for manufacturers (Kumar and Schmitz 2011). In the SRZHUZLQGRZLQWKHGULYHU¶VVLGHPLJKWEHFRPHVWLFN\LQWKH
year 2007 Toyota recalled over five million cars as a result of event of the driver using a commercial lubricant to remedy the
its all-weather floor mats sold in its Lexus ES 350 and Camry situation, might lead to fire. Toyota has to provide special
2007 to 2008 models. The all-weather floor mats could shift grease to its dealers to address this particular defect. By
forward as the vehicle is in motion, thereby making the November 2012, Toyota recalled over 670,000 in the United
accelerator pedal to become stuck. Toyota issued another States for its popular hybrid car the Prius, to fix µGHIHFWV¶ with
recall in 2009, for it Toyota Sienna 2004 model for carpet water pumps and steering. Of the 670,000 recalled, about
covers that also become stuck to the pedals leading to 350,000 were for defective electric water pumps, the work of
unanticipated acceleration. The following year 2005 saw the pump was to circulate engine coolant, through the
another 1.1 million cars to the recalled by Toyota (Sauter et drivetrain component of the car, which it was not doing
al. 2013).In the year 2012 Toyota made several recalls properly, which in turn stops the hybrid powertrain when the
affecting its Lexus RX350,Lexus RX400h, Lexus ES,Lexus car is in motion. The steering defect had to do with the splines
IS, Tacoma, Camry, RAV4, Scion iQ, and Veneza. According linking the steering shaft to the steering gear box which could
to Stoy (2012) in March 2012 Toyota recalled around bend sooner or later with vigorous steering. This recall also
682,000 vehicles, comprising 495,000 of its Tacoma trucks as affected over 2.77 million globally. In the early days of the
a result of µGHIHFWLYH¶ GULYHU¶VVLGHDLUEDJVWKDWPD\SRVVLEO\ month of November, 2012 Toyota recalled almost 11,200
fail to deploy and approximately 187,000 Veneza crossover Scion IQ vehicles to examine the fore passenger
wagons and Camry Sedans, as a result of brake light problems occupant-classification system (OCS) weight sensor cables
because of glitches during the production process. In June and fix brand-new protective covers over the sensors. In a
2012 Toyota again made another recall of nearly 3.8million press release issues by Toyota, it informed its customers that
vehicle to address issues with floor mat entrapment, this there was an object close to the cables under the fore
18 www.ijeas.org
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