Toyota suspends TRD sales

Toyota has imposed a "sales stop" on its new 'hotshoe' supercharged TRD Aurion. The order was imposed late last week following the failure of an engine in a dealer demonstrator.

According to Toyota spokesperson, Mike Breen, the sales stop was issued as a precaution. Only a handful of the 241kW front-wheel drive sports sedans have already been delivered to their new owners.

"Toyota is always very cautious when it comes to mechanical issues. Rather than allow more cars to be delivered to owners, we have issued a sales stop while we determine the cause of the problem," Breen told the Carsales Network.

Breen said the problem was under investigation by Toyota and TRD engineers. He said the single failure involved a conrod and piston parting company.

Toyota personnel are currently examining all completed TRD Aurions and TRD is attempting to trace the source of the fault.

At this stage Breen would not confirm when the sales stop would be lifted.

"We're confident it's an isolated case. You could say we're being overly cautious but we're launching a new brand [in TRD] and we want to make sure nothing is left to chance," Breen said.

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