Toyota recently released a commercial in response to the recalls, which you can view here.

I haven't been following the story, but I personally thought this was a great response - they admitted their mistake (haven't been living up to standards), explained what they are doing to fix the situation, and focused on their history of safety and quality.

However, I later learned that Toyota has been blasted in the media for failing to respond for two weeks after this crisis began.

In my elective class, which is a follow up to Professional Development for Leaders, we had a guest speaker who specializes in crisis communications. It seems that upfront communication is one of the most critical aspects of dealing with such a crisis. A good comparison is the difference in how David Letterman and Tiger Woods handled their extramarital affairs. Most people have forgotten about Letterman's but Tiger's is still being covered in the media.