The sticking gas pedal problem has exploded from a huge recall to a sales suspension…
The Japanese automaker says the sales suspension includes the 2009-2010 RAV4, the 2009-2010 Corolla, the 2009-2010 Matrix, the 2005-2010 Avalon, the 2007-2010 Camry, the 2010 Highlander, the 2007-2010 Tundra and the 2008-2010 Sequoia.
Proof that all car companies can and do manufacture vehicles with problems. Some have better overall track records than others but none are perfect.
The sales suspension actually makes sense.
If Toyota is scrambling to manufacture and distribute revised parts for the throttle linkage or throttle body (or whatever it is that causes the problem), keeping additional vehicles out of the hands of drivers will lessen their liability. Right now, anybody who has a “stuck accelerator accident” with one of these recalled models has as much of slam-dunk product liability case against Toyota as could possibly exist.
By limiting the number of flawed cars that go onto the road until their parts distribution system can catch up with the huge need for the revised parts, Toyota is doing a very smart thing. Losing sales is bad, but that is preferable to more bad press from more dead bodies.
An unfortunate event, It appears to be due to a failure in the gas throttle control mechanism that can wear and stick. So much for floor mats and carpet padding, and brake override of throttle control. My biggest beef is there was probably a million dollar bonus for the guy that saved $2.00 per vehicle by this change in quality.
A feeding frenzy for lawyers…This will be a big setback for Toyota…
"WASHINGTON ? Toyota Motor Co. said Tuesday it was suspending U.S. sales of eight recalled models to fix accelerator pedals that stick, the latest quality problem to confront the world’s No. 1 automaker.
The “stop sale” involves a significant portion of Toyota’s fleet and some of its most popular vehicles, including the Camry and Corolla. As part of the plan, Toyota is halting production at five manufacturing facilities for the week of Feb. 1 “to assess and coordinate activities.” There are 2.3 million vehicles involved in the recall, which was announced last week."
This is separate from the floor mat problems, which affect about 4 million vehicles. Last week’s recall of 2.3 million vehicles, the suspension of sales of the 8 models affected, and the likely shut down of 5 assembly lines next week are related to the sticking accelerator mechanism. Here’s an article that explains the issue.
So, basically, it’s just the Tacoma and Venza they can sell now huh? 
Here is company with a known safety defect that is willing to stop selling the defective cars. That sounds like a responsible action in the face of lost revenue and profit. Toyota will take a hit, but to me they are doing the right thing. Perhaps other car companies will follow suit. Ford sold a lot of Pintos with exploding gas tanks and didn’t stop making them until sales fell to nill.
Kudo’s to Toyota for doing more than a government agency demanded they do.
I remember Ford had an unintended acceleration issue in the 80s or early 90s. I think it may have been cars that were running in park. Anyhow, it was years before I walked between a parked Ford and a wall without quickening my pace.
I remember audi with a brake problem. Owners were advised to stop in at the dealer, but were unable to!
Good clarification of my post, thanks
Cant wait for steer by wire seeing who well drive by wire throttle works!!! It just seems like a accident waiting to happen.
I can see brake interlock becoming mandatory with drive by wire throttle.
Every time I get on an Airbus aircraft, I get that same feeling…At least they have two back-up systems standing by…I guess the newer Boeing stuff is fly-by wire too…
Yes, the new planes are all fly by wire, but there are some differences.
On the Airbus, the computer can override the pilot.
On the Boeing, the pilot can override the computer.
Consumer Reports takes a hit on this too as their reliability predicting capability takes a nosedive.
Nonsense. Toyota has been hiding safety flaws for years!
Why’s that ? They only report based upon reader survey’s. If with the recall problems, it still requires less service than most other cars, it still will be rated higher. I like a recall now and then because it may mean there’s more room to bargain when buying one. People will still prefer them and the older models w/o problems will increase in value.
To further muddy the waters, an article in today’s news quotes a Toyota spokesman as saying that the problem “is rare and is confined to older models”. Thus, owners of Toyotas that have not yet been recalled may have something to worry about even more than those who bought the recently recalled '09-'10 models.
The article goes on to state that the problem was first brought to Toyota’s attention by owners of '07 Tundra trucks. Following a change in a part of the accelerator that “could swell in humid weather”, Toyota deemed the issue to be one of driveability, rather than a safety issue.
Then in December, 2008, they began to get similar complaints from European Toyota owners. In March, 2009, further testing showed that the “new” accelerator materials could wear excessively and that this wear could lead to a sticking accelerator. This led to further changes in materials, but subsequently more complaints were received relative to the new materials, it seems. Perhaps the most disturbing part of this whole scenario is that Toyota apparently does not yet know what causes the problem.
A couple of weeks ago, Business Week had an article detailing how VW was planning to supplant Toyota as the biggest car maker, and it noted that VW would try to capitalize on Toyota’s recent recalls to taint Toyota’s image of automotive perfection (despite VW’s checkered history of poor quality and rampant electronic “bugs”). When I read the article, my reaction was one of doubt that Toyota would suffer an image problem. Now, I am not so sure about my initial reaction. This is a true PR nightmare for Toyota.
CR will only take a hit if their new ratings don’t reflect this problem. They aren’t clairvoyant.