Toyota Recalls More Cars, But Customers Stay Loyal

Feb. 9, 2010 — -- Toyota said today is recalling 437,000 of its fuel-efficient Prius and other cars due to brake problems, the latest in a string of safety woes at the embattled automaker.

While company officials scrambled to save face and reassure customers in the face of the new recall and that of more than 8 million other Toyota vehicles, some owners are loyally standing pat.

Dozens of ABCNews.com readers sent messages Monday in defense of the brand.

"I will be as loyal and supportive to them as they have been to me," said Gilbert Villanueva, of Northridge, Calif. Villanueva said he has owned Toyotas for 32 years and currently a drives a 1993 Toyota truck and a 2007 Camry that has been recalled.

"They never let me down before," he said. "I am confident of their solution."

Toyota has reportedly recalled some 8 million vehicles worldwide, including 2.3 million in the U.S. following concerns of sticking gas pedals that lead to random acceleration. (Click here for Toyota's latest list of recalled vehicles.) Last fall, Toyota recalled millions of vehicles due to ill-fitting floor mats that also affected gas pedals.

"This is just a blip for Toyota," said Denise Mangini, a Parkland, Fla. resident and the owner of both a Toyota Camry, which is on the recall list, and a Toyota 4Runner, which is not. "They still make the safest vehicles on the road."

Michael Quincy, an automotive specialist at "Consumer Reports," said he's not surprised that Toyota customers are standing by their cars.

"I think Toyota has a very feverish following," he said, noting that the automaker has scored points with consumers for both its trendy Prius models and, notwithstanding the recalls, its safety record.

Toyota models, he said, perform well in crash tests run by the government and by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Drivers responding to Consumer Reports' satisfaction survey, meanwhile, rated the Prius as the top-scoring car for five years straight before it lost the title to the Dodge Challenger last month. The Prius' satisfaction rating is still 88 percent, Quincy said.