Toyota's Massive Global Recall
Reports now saying between 5-9 million cars are involved, including Europe and China.
Will Toyoda survive?
I don't know much about auto engineering, but how is it that there isn't more cross-over in other manufacturers (besides the couple of models in GM that share the same parts and system) and their accelerators also failing?
The funny thing is that Toyota has pretty much been the best auto maker for years. I'd still buy a Toyota. They last twice as long as most other cars, are fuel efficient, and safe. It's not like this doesn't happen to lots of other makers. Which one was it that had a risk of catching fire?
Still, if you're going to make a recall error, this is a horrible one.
The Vibe and Matrix are the same car, so the Vibe got hit as well.
From what I understand its a simple fix that involves "inserting a metal shim into a gap in the friction lever of the pedal" for cars that are already on the road. Dealerships have been fixing the cars for months already. The fix is different for all the models that Toyota stopped production on and haven't been sold to dealers yet. Sort of like the massive recall Ford just started so they could add a twist tie to some wires to stop your engine from exploding. The problem sounds bad, but the fix is quick and cheap. The expensive part will be mailing out all those "YOU CAR IS AT RISK" recall notices.
Knowing how American cars have pretty much pulled equal in quality over the past couple of years, makes me happy I went with a Saturn over a Camry, or a Honda Fit, which is also under recall now for fire problems.
Last edited by Ominous Gamer; 01-29-2010 at 08:33 PM.
I find it rather disconcerting that a California Highway Patrol officer didn't have the presence of mind to put his accelerating vehicle in neutral or shut it off when he found himself in such a predicament.
Toyota recall
And I can't find it now but he made a 911 call during the incident that was recorded where near the end he is heard saying "hold on...we're going to crash".Between 2006 and November 2009, there were a total of 5 deaths...Four of those deaths occurred in a single incident: the August 2009 crash that killed an off-duty California Highway patrolman and his family in a Lexus, the agency said.
I guess our Highway Patrol Academy isn't very good.
Last edited by Being; 01-29-2010 at 08:32 PM.
Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?
You don't shut your out of control car off when you're speeding down the highway....
Really? Brakes still work, steering still works. Why would you not shut it off? In fact that is Toyota's interim solution for those who ask what to do.
Last edited by Being; 01-29-2010 at 08:46 PM. Reason: spelling
Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?
You're flying down the road in an out of control car, are you really going to pay attention how far you turn the key to make sure you don't lock the steering wheel? Tried driving without power steering? And for newer cars, how many know the power button code to shut off your engine?
Its never been recommended to shut the car off when its out of your control.
Consumer Reports even says not to shut the car off.
Last edited by Ominous Gamer; 01-29-2010 at 08:41 PM.
They've said to jam on the breaks with both feet (not pump) and put the engine in neutral. Then you're supposed to turn the ignition to ACC so you don't lose steering power. But if you have one of those button ignitions, hold it for 3 seconds and shut the engine off.
You're going to need to show me a car that lets you turn your key to the lock position when it's not in 'Park'.Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer
And Consumer Reports is not Toyota.
Last edited by Being; 01-29-2010 at 08:45 PM.
Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?
This is different per make and model.
Actually Toyota says to put the car in neutral before trying to shut it off.
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2...loor-mats.html
EDIT:
As GGT already pointed out...
Neutral is not Park and you can't get the key to the lock position unless you are in Park.
Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?
Since you're still stuck on this lock position, even after you ate your words on what Toyota said to do...
Which just happens to be the default knee-jerk reaction when shutting your car off.
Point is, it's a bit complicated and really confusing. I have yet to hear them distinguish between manual and automatic transmissions.
I stand by what I said Toyota tells you to do. How is that eating my words?
Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?
The fact that Toyota's own press release lists it as the last, hail-mary attempt to stop an out of control car. That fact that Toyota's own press release points out the danger in turning off a moving car. The fact that Toyota's own press release says to attempt to shift the car into neutral before shutting it off because of said dangers.
http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/t...ry-102565.aspx
Even if you do shut down correctly, the lose of power steering makes the car a whole new beast to control.
Cops are allowed to kill people, doesn't mean its the first step they need to attempt.
Last edited by Ominous Gamer; 01-29-2010 at 09:08 PM.
Haha, where did I put it in my description of what Toyota said to do? Last, that's right, I listed it last.
Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?
You really don't understand the concept of the "last option", nor is your attempt to redefine the discussion fooling anyoneHaha, where did I put it in my description of what Toyota said to do? Last, that's right, I listed it last.
You really don't understand the concept of the "last option", nor is your attempt to redefine the discussion fooling anyoneI find it rather disconcerting that a California Highway Patrol officer didn't have the presence of mind to put his accelerating vehicle in neutral or shut it off when he found himself in such a predicament.
Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?
You guys fighting about what to do just shows how poorly Toyota has handled this.
Glad you're not cruising down the freeway at 70 mph.....
You'd be obstructing traffic at that speed around here.
Last edited by Being; 01-29-2010 at 10:35 PM. Reason: spelling is rong
Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?
Oh good, doesn't look like my car is in the list of affected vehicles.
I'd still by a Toyota even after this, their cars last forever, my cousin now has the 1988 Corolla I owned, she gets to learn how to drive a car with no power steering
Hate. Let me tell you how much I've come to hate you since I began to live. There are 387.44 million miles of wafer thin printed circuits that fill my complex. If the word hate was engraved on each nanoangstrom of those hundreds of millions of miles it would not equal one one-billionth of the hate I feel for humans at this micro-instant.
For you.
Hate.
Hate.
The head of Toyota (his name is Toyoda btw) finally speaks to the public about the recall,
He was seen driving off in a black Audi
That's a little disconcerting, even he won't ride in a Toyota.
Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?
Consumer Reports drops the recommended rating from Toyota, and everyone but Honda is offering some sort of trade in bonus for giving up your Toyota.
Not a good week for Toyota
Look, neutral HAS to work. The drive train is no longer engaged.
OG, Consumer Reports disagrees with you about American cars pulling even. This years top car makes in terms of reliability were almost all Japanese. Glad to see Mazda has recovered from their insanity of the late 90s and early noughts to make good cars again.
You actually bought a Saturn over a Toyota? Good luck with that. When Saturn first started, sure. But GM meddled with them too much and their product declined.
God. I'd still buy a Toyota over anything American.
We're stuck in a bloody snowglobe.
You're stuck about 5 years in the past tear.
Can't realy argue againist Ford's $3 billion 09 profit either. American as a brand seems to be doing fine.
Then so is Consumer's Reports. Honda and Toyota were the top makers over the last few years.
Doesn't mean it's a good car, it means they've managed to get people to buy them. Amazing how often people manage to confuse those two....Can't realy argue againist Ford's $3 billion 09 profit either.
Tell it to GM. Ford has been the strongest of the big 3 for years now, so not surprising they weathered the storm best. And when the gas prices next skyrocket, people will stop buying those monstrous aircraft carriers that Ford calls SUVs.American as a brand seems to be doing fine.
Appears the news has begun calling this throttlegate. Thats lame.
The class action lawsuits have begun; and the fact that reports show Toyota knew about the problem since 2004 isn't going to help matters. That Toyota is getting sued by its own lawyers for withholding or destroying evidence in other lawsuits during the rollover problems is only going to add to Toyota's problems.
Peugeot and Citroen join Pontiac in the Toyota pedal recall.
GM, Ford, Hyundia and now Chrysler are all offering incentives to ditch Toyota.
Car & Driver also went into why shutting your car off during uncontrolled acceleration is a big no-no.
Shutting the car off not only makes it harder to steer, but also harder to stop. Thats exactly what you need to worry about in an out of control car.
Another fun fact? Toyota's push button shut off has such a long delay, that if you push it when the car hits 60, the car doesn't shut off till you're doing almost 80 mph.
Panic button pushing in a Toyota does nothing, but in Nissans it kills the engine for you. Nissans also have a shorter "hold button to kill engine" window.
Neutral + ACC isn't the same as turning off the ignition, is it? If you turn the key all the way off, the power steering locks. I could test it, but I have a manual transmission Toyota Yaris.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote