Toyota

Reasons to avoid

1. Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Tourism issued a formal correction order to Toyota in July 2024 after on-site investigations uncovered widespread, intentional misconduct in vehicle safety certification across multiple models — including the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio, Yaris Cross, RAV4, Harrier, and Lexus LM — some of which were still in production. Overseas authorities were alerted.global.toyota2024-07-31
2. Toyota's subsidiary Daihatsu halted all domestic vehicle production after admitting it had forged safety test results for over 30 years. Toyota's CEO publicly apologized, acknowledging the scandal "shook the very foundations of the company."cnn.com2024-01-30
3. InfluenceMap ranked Toyota the lowest-scoring automaker in the world on climate policy — dead last among 15 major automakers — for actively lobbying against EV mandates and clean vehicle standards across the US, Europe, Australia, India, Japan, and Mexico.influencemap.org2023-10-01
4. Toyota's political action committee donated $808,500 to 207 congressional campaigns of climate change deniers between 2020 and 2024 — more than Ford and GM combined — making it the top auto industry funder of climate denial in Congress. Toyota donated $1 million to Donald Trump's 2025 inauguration.citizen.org2025-01-14
5. Toyota has recalled tens of millions of vehicles over defective Takata airbags for over a decade. In 2024, Toyota warned roughly 50,000 Corolla and RAV4 owners that airbag components could explode, causing serious injury or death.caredge.com2024-02-07