Older Ford pickups could spit out an axle too,if the wheel bearings failed-Kevin(dont recall anything said about it either)
“Now the LaHood guy is saying to Congress that owners of recalled Toyota’s should not drive the cars at all until they are fixed.”
This seems like pure politics rather than an engineering decision. You can’t have unintended acceleration when your are parked.
I foresee similar problems with other electronic aids; traction/stability control etc. that are all or nothing propositions as far as the computer is concerned. How do we know that a head on collision might have been caused or aided by one inside brake being activated by the computer and not an inattentive text messenger; not that they need any help.
The take over by robots may not be as obvious as “Terminator”…maybe “Arno” is in our cars and this Toyota incident is the first abdominal birth warning. Don’t look to the skies, look to the assembly lines. It may already be too late. But the Amish still have run away horses, so who knows what the solution is ?
My issue is with the apologists who will give Toyota a free pass on this problem out of one side of their mouth but out of the other side will condemn Ford or GM for less than that.
Since I’ve mentioned for years that Asian cars have faults like all of the rest and the Asian car makers do everything they can to stonewall things consider the latest on the Toyota Prius brake problems; cut and pasted below.
Dennis Virag, president of Automotive Consulting in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said Toyota’s revelation that it had been aware of the Prius problems for months and had worked out a quiet fix on the assembly line without notifying consumers was “shocking.”
This sounds strikingly similar to Subaru covering up their steering rack pinion spring problem some years ago; a process which I actually saw repeated a number of times and when I pressed the rep who was doing this modification he admitted to me it was to avoid a paper trail and keep the Feds out of it.
No,Ford did a risk calculation and decided that fixing all the cars already sold was more expensive the compensating the families of victims killed or injured in gas tank explosions.
I had a Mercury Comet which also had a flimsy back bumper with th gas tank right behind it. I “remedied” it by installing a Class II trailer hitch which for that car was a heavy bar that went right around the bottom of the gas tank and fastened onto the body underside with 4 heavy bolts. This considerably increased the rear impact resistance.
One recall that was serious was Ford’s 1969 or so hood latches that let go without warning and the backup latch would not catch. A guy living nearby ignored the recall and took his car on vacation. On a trip to the East Coast his hood blew open and covered the windshield on winding coastal road. One reason to respond to recall notices. Ford would not pay for repairing his buckled hood.
The one guy at work whose buggin me about buying a car made in Japan jokingly asked if I got my Toyota yet. I told him it’s on the highway somewhere, with the gas pedal stuck. We both shared a good laugh at that
Seems to me Last time We saw Toyota boss Akio Toyoda he drove off in an Audi.
i have a theory on that, which also explains why despite all the overblown brouhaha, there have actually been only a HANDFUL of accidents:
quite likely, the cop stomped on the gas, probably to force a downshift. in the incidents with the sticky pedals, (some) drivers may also have pushed HARD to get past the sticky point.
in today’s dense traffic conditions, FEW actually drive like this. but frustration MAY cause some to do so. this rarity may also have made it difficult to replicate the WOT conditions by investigators.
above was in response to irlandes post, about the CHP guy who crashed.
ColdCar! It’s good to see you again. Do you still drive that old Camry?
hi jt! yes i’m back. i jumped ship from here to fora on AutoSpies.com and Motortrend.com, because the system here would not work with my old computer after a while.
it is still quite SLOOOOW, partly because i have yet to break down and get more than a dial-up! (which only costs me $7/month)
having been away, i considered adjusting my name to StillColdCar or ColderCar.
toyota is only #5 in total recalls. gm and ford both have had two larger recalls.
and, there have ONLY BEEN some 29 victims, vs. 1.400 in the explorer/firestone debacle.
you really BELIEVE toyota’s gotten a “free pass” with all the media FRENZY over these relatively LOPSIDED figures?
I agree with you totally on that point. Just today I read an article about the nations largest insurer, State Farm, saying that it had reported to the National Highway Safety Board about a upward swing in claims on the same issues being recalled for now…as early as 2003 and heavily in 2007. And now there is some ponderings as to if some in D.C. were overlooking some of these things due to jobs being created in their states/jurisdictions by the Toyota Corp having a factory there. Filthy dirty business, all around. Who can one trust anymore?
We are told: "Simply put the car into neutral then turn the engine off."
MAY NOT BE SO SIMPLE! Check out these video clips:
TESTIMONY OF TOYOTA DRIVER WHO ‘LOST ALL CONTROL’
(after putting car in neutral and unable to turn off engine!!!)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8533129.stm
and
"IS TOYOTA’S SOFTWARE TO BLAME FOR SAFETY PROBLEMS"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8535477.stm
and the CA crash:
“911 Call Released from Crash that Prompted Initial Toyota/Lexus Floor Mat Recall”
(with California Highway Patrolman driving unable to stop vehicle)
http://www.cardealerreviews.org/?p=247148
"Witnesses saw flames coming from the front and rear tires of the speeding 2009 Lexus ES 350 before it crashed Aug. 28 in Santee, suggesting ?long, constant heavy braking,? said Sgt. Scott Hill, the lead sheriff’s investigator. "
"Toyota Recalls Spur Worries"
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123341958
I bought a new 2010 Toyota Corolla in July 2010. I immediately noticed a steering problem. Toyota admitted it and gave me a new car. I have had the following problems with the second new car:
3600 miles- serpentine belt blew and tangled in air conditioner unit (I was told the part alone would have cost me $3,000, but all was replaced due to warranty.
5,000 miles- I took car in for maintenance, and was told that I did not need oil change until 10,000 as it was synthetic.
6500 miles -I had serpentine belt replaced again due to recall
10000 miles- I took in for service and was told that they should have replaced oil and filter at 5,000…they were confused. .As it turns out I have traditional oil, not synthetic!!!
I am so worried about long-term damage that may have been done to my car due to going 10.000 miles without an oil change and due to the assault on engine due to serpentine belt problem. Can you tell me what kind of long-term damage could have occurred and any ideas you have about what I should do? I have owned Toyotas since the 1970’s and am so discouraged now.
“I am so worried about long-term damage that may have been done to my car due to going 10.000 miles without an oil change.”
not to worry. with modern lubricants, 5000 ‘extra miles’ should not have caused undue 'damage.'
a while back, there was a guy who called the Brothers, and asked “what’s this oil changing business all about anyway?” he had some 125,000 miles on his honda accord, and apparently had NEVER changed the oil, or even been aware that it was necessary. fortunately, the previous owner most likely did, prior to his getting the car with ~35k on the clock. also fortunately, honda engines are quite robust and tolerant of neglect. toyotas, even more so.
that said, the FIRST oil change in a car’s life is the most critical. tiny amounts of metal that are worn off from fresh castings could get into the oil and filter, and these should be removed at the first oil change. it used to be, the first oil change was recommended at 2500 -3000 miles (in the old days, just 1000). IF that had been done, you’ve nothing to worry about – considering the caller had put on ~90,000 on one crankcasefull of oil, presumably without killing the car.
otoh, if the change at 10,000 WAS the first change on your car, there is a possibility (quite small actually) that some metal filings MAY have sneaked past a full filter, and circulated thru the engine. even then, whatever extra frictional wear that may have occurred is NOT likely to have been drastic. most new cars are ‘run in’ at the factory to wear down rough edges, so even 1st changes are not as critical as they used to be.
if you do not have ‘excessive’ oil consumption by the time you rack up say, 40 - 50k miles, consider yourself home free.
Amazing how everybody jumped on Toyota when it looked like they had the accel. problem. Now that it’s been shown to be a combination of improper mats and driver error…nada.
They also have a recall out for my 4Runner, for that runaway problem. The solution is to cut my gas pedal, and give me thinner mats. I declined. There’s about 3 inches of clearance when the pedal is on the floor, which it virtually never is. The mats are held in place by the floor clips, so it doesn’t move.
Everyone has a bias. This is a good way to find out how people lean. Personally, I like my 4Runner, but not the new ones. I don’t like the new bulbous lights, and it seems like everyone’s trying to copy everyone else. I know there’s something to be said for aerodynamics, but really. Everyone also makes mistakes…I’m still not sure it was actually a Toyota problem, but they did finally step up and claim it.