When the worlds largest car maker is forced to suspend sales and shut down manufacturing plants, this is a big, big, deal…
For many years, car makers have outsourced much of their manufacturing to outside suppliers, often the lowest bidder…I suspect this policy will come under review as the “savings” just went out the window…
It could be that Toyota has been using the manufacturer for years without any problems. We don’t know. But Toyota is the one ultimately responsible and they should step up to the plate and fix this.
Agree; this is a DESIGN problem as well as a quality control problem. If a supplier in Canada bids on making a part designed by Toyota, even with Six Sigma quality conrtrol the part may act up if it has not been designed right.
I would say Toyota’ is responsible for the problem, just as the floor mat manufacturer basically made those floor mats to Toyota’s spec.
Before you try to return the car, you owe it to Toyota to give them (or, more precisely, the Toyota dealership), the chance to make it right. The fact that they have issued a recall means they know there is a problem and they know what they need to do to fix it.
If this car had a manual transmission, and the throttle stuck or surged, you would instinctively know what to do. You would take it out of gear. Fortunately, you can do the same thing with an automatic. Regardless of the cause, if you lose control of your throttle, all you have to do is shift to neutral, pull over, and turn off the engine. Practice doing this a few times on a car not subject to the recall until you are comfortable doing it in an emergency.
Once you practice, shifting to neutral and pulling over should be something you can do without having to think about it. It is like using the engine cut-off switch on a motorcycle. If you practice enough, you can take advantage of muscle memory.
It is okay for your wife to be scared to drive the car BEFORE it is fixed. I would be nervous too. However, after Toyota fixes the problem, she will have no reason to be afraid, and knowing what to do in an emergency will help even more.
If your wife cannot manage a stuck throttle, she is not prepared to drive ANY car.
A stuck throttle can happen on ANY CAR. It is NOT AN EMERGENCY until someone ALLOWS THE CAR TO SPEED OUT OF CONTROL.
"The latest word is that the NHTSA FORCED the stop sale. "
The article provides contradictory information. While it does say that the Feds required the work stoppage, it also says:
"The new administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, David Strickland, said today Toyota’s decision to halt sales "was an aggressive one and was the legally and morally correct thing to do.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Chicago radio station WGN that the government asked Toyota to stop selling the vehicles.
LaHood said, “The reason Toyota decided to do the recall and to stop manufacturing was because we asked them to.”"
Those quotes appear to mean it was voluntary.
Of course she would have no fear of the car AFTER it’s fixed, but the fix may be months off. She needs the car, and we don’t have a spare. Anyway, I have an appointment with my dealer to discuss this. They have treated me right for years, and I suspect they will again.
Correct, a car driver must be prepared for a variety of the unexpected. Knowing that a throttle might stick and mentally preparing for that possibility is much better than being surprised by it. One has to wonder how the OP’s wife can drive in city traffic or if she would panic after a tire blowout.
One other point: The source of any defective parts is immaterial. Toyota’s incoming inspection and quality monitoring people responsible for part durability testing may have missed recognizing a potential problem. I doubt that this one will happen again assuming that the problem is mechanical and not computer related.
You might think it is obvious she won’t have any lingering fears after it is fixed, but I know people who are so paranoid they wouldn’t want to drive it even after it is fixed. The point I was trying to make though was that sometimes we treat people as though they are silly for being afraid, and if she were to still have lingering fears after it is fixed, learning how to deal with a stuck throttle can help address those fears.
Latest word is that this Recall may spread to Europe and while I’m not a gambling man at all, I’d bet 20 bucks there have some rumblings about this for a while behind closed meeting room doors.
Closed door rumblings is probably what led to a couple of Toyota execs getting arrested for conspiring to cover up a ball joint problem several years back.
Politics are just as heavy at the corporate top as they are in D.C.
. Toyota’s incoming inspection and quality monitoring people responsible for part durability testing may have missed recognizing a potential problem.
That’s NOT the way it works. The quality control has to be applied in the design and manufacturing of the product. If you’re relying on inspections to control quality it’s too late.
Agree with Mike; you have to DESIGN it right, then test it thoroughly before sending it out for bids to suppliers. The suppliers need to apply quality control in the manufacturing process, of course.
British cars in the 60s had many inspectors at the assembly line making sure the car was assembled right, never mind that the parts going ito the car were either substandard in strength or the wrong desing. The results were beautiful cars whcih did not last very long.
The car models involved all use a “fly-by-wire” throttle control system. There is NO DIRECT THROTTLE LINKAGE on these cars. This will not be an easy problem to cure as the electronics are all interconnected.
Agree with Mike; you have to DESIGN it right, then test it thoroughly before sending it out for bids to suppliers. The suppliers need to apply quality control in the manufacturing process, of course.
Which leads to the manufacturer (CTS). The Camry’s and Lexus’s built in Japan are NOT having this problem. The part is from a different manufacturer. I agree 100% Toyota is the one ultimately responsible. Doesn’t look like CTS designed/manufactured the pedal to Toyota’s specifications…OR they did but the specs were faulty. No one is ever really going to know who was at fault…Doesn’t really matter. What matters is how Toyota is going to handle it.
That’s true, if the indirect linkage turns out to be the issue. It could very easily turn out to be a mechanical issue.
When I noticed my mother’s Sienna showing symptoms of a sticky throttle, I got the throttle cleaned, and the problem went away. In her case, it was a mechanical issue.
The car models involved all use a “fly-by-wire” throttle control system. There is NO DIRECT THROTTLE LINKAGE on these cars. This will not be an easy problem to cure as the electronics are all interconnected.
It’s going to be very easy to correct. Same car built in Japan using a DIFFERENT manufacturer for this part is NOT having the problem. All Toyota has to do is replace the defective pedal with the one good one. I’m willing to bet the part is 100% interchangeable.
I wonder how many of these throttles got stuck due to flashing blue lights?
You know there has to be a sizable minority of folks claiming this to get out of a speeding ticket…
To increase her confidence, how about finding a deserted road, then ‘pretending’ the gas pedal is stuck. Show her that simply pushing the brake will keep the car from accelerating, then it can be put in neutral if need be. Maybe also show her that it’s still possible to steer if you shut it off–just a little harder to do. Then let her try it, like in Driver Ed. When I took driver education at age 16, I was lucky enough to have an instructor that would simulate things like this and show us what to do. He also let us do doughnuts in the car, showed us how to deal with brakes failing, etc. He was an odd bird (as I think all driving instructors are), but thorough, and we were better drivers as a result. Possibly he saved some lives and prevented some accidents in his career.
But seriously, the odds of the pedal sticking for her are probably akin to getting struck by lightning.
“The car models involved all use a “fly-by-wire” throttle control system. There is NO DIRECT THROTTLE LINKAGE on these cars. This will not be an easy problem to cure as the electronics are all interconnected.”
There is a mechanical linkage in the pedal that appears to be the problem. It is not electrical.
The problem shows up on very few cars, and takes a few years to develop. It is a combination of wear in the pedal mechanism and high humidity that leads to sticking. You can drive it for 3 or more years before the pedal starts to stick. Your wife can drive your car and you can drive hers.