Why didn’t Toyota recall the Yaris when the sticking accelerator problem arose? Do they have a different technology than the bigger Toyotas, or are there just so few in the US there weren’t any problem models?
You are putting the cart before the horse. There has to be a widespread problem with the Yaris before a recall is initiated. I have not heard of a Yaris with an accelerator problem. Maybe someone else has and they will respond if that’s the case.
The Yaris is made in Japan without the part from Gary Indiana.
Unfortunately, so was the Lexus that crashed in the very highly publicized case from California.
No point in speculating. Yaris is made in Japan and MAY not have a drive by wire system, and is very different from a Lexus. When a vehicle performs well with no problems it’s foolish to recall it because some other vehicle is having problems.
In another situation, GM not recalling Saturns with the same electric steering units as the Cobalt does smack of negligence, Unless they can prove that somehow this unit is different. Saturns should be recalled in spite of the division being shut down. The bailout provisons by the governemnt were that all warranty and after-sales service would be retained so that Saturn and Pontiac onwners would not be penalized.
The Yaris is a cheapo car, so it might not have all the fancy stuff that even a Corolla Isn’t the 0-60 time for a Yaris “eventually”? 
I think so. The alternative way to time Yaris acceleration is with a calendar.
That has yet to be determined by Toyota or the NHTSB as to what caused that crash. I’m waiting anxiously to hear the outcome…because we have the exact same car.
“In another situation, GM not recalling Saturns with the same electric steering units as the Cobalt does smack of negligence…”
It’s not clear what Cobalts are involved. I looked at the safercar.gov site and GM did not give VINs in the first notice to the NHTSA; there were total numbers by model year. It is not clear whether our 2009 Cobalt is involved, though my daughter said the steering shows no glitches. The recall was initiated 3/1/2010 for G5 and Cobalt. Also, was it the Aura? That’s more closely related to the Malibu, and Malibu has not bee recalled, either.
Update: I found the complaint by a recent poster, and her car was an Ion. It does appear that the electric motor for steering is the same, as I found an interchangeable part for sale on line.
The Yaris has no direct mechanical link between the gas pedal and the throttle. It also doesn’t seem to have any link between the gas pedal and reality.
Yeah. The only sure way to know that you are moving faster in a Yaris is by the more frequent pounding that the suspension subjects you to to as the car speeds up.