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For the first time ever, Toyota has the most vehicles affected by safety recalls of any automaker in a single year, according to a Detroit Free Press analysis of federal data.

“The Japanese automaker has struggled with the fallout from the recall of 4.3 million Toyota and Lexus models for unintended acceleration linked to fatal crashes,” the Free Press reports. That recall stemmed from a tragic crash involving the deaths of four family members.

However, though it was by far the largest, that wasn’t Toyota’s only safety recall. The Free Press continues, “While Toyota’s accelerator problem accounted for most of the nearly 4.9 million vehicles it recalled in 2009, the automaker issued eight other recalls for problems ranging from missing safety labels to corroded pickup frames that pushed it to its top spot.”

Ford came in second for the most recalled vehicles. However, the Free Press notes that 4.5 million of those vehicles were recalled because of “a problem with cruise control switches that can catch fire, a defect the automaker has struggled with for a decade that has affected 16 million vehicles.” They add, “Outside of that recall, Ford called back just 21,993 vehicles in 2009, a minuscule total for a major automaker.”

Though Toyota had the most vehicles affected by safety recalls in 2009, it didn’t actually issue the most recalls. While Toyota issued only nine, the Free Press reports that General Motors issued 17 – the most of any automaker.

In addition, Left Lane News points out that Toyota isn’t exactly alone in seeing a recall increase: “On the whole, the industry saw a marked increase in the number of recalls. Last year saw just 8.6 million recalls whereas the industry combined for 15.2 million recalls in 2009.”

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