Toyota recalls and related issues: BusinessWeek-Media owes Toyota an apology
01-29-10, 06:20 AM
#271
Super Moderator
And even if the throttle is wholly mechanical, you can still be "at the mercy of electronics" where unintended acceleration is concerned. I know, because I was on two occasions--in a 1996 Ford Ranger, which had an old-school mechanical throttle. But it also had a feature that's present in every Lexus, and nearly every Toyota affected by the recall--that being Cruise Control. In my Ranger, the CC overheated or shorted, decided I needed to be going 150mph, and took the engine to WOT without input from me. The pedal dropped to the floor and if I lifted it back up to its normal position, it didn't idle down. Let go of the pedal, and gravity dragged it back to the floor.
02-02-10, 08:12 PM
#272
Japan gets complaints on Prius brakes
And it continues . . .
Japan gets 14 complaints over Toyota Prius brakes
By SHINO YUASA
Associated Press Writer
TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese government said Wednesday it has received 14 complaints in Japan about brake problems with Toyota’s popular Prius hybrid.
The automaker’s sales are being battered in the U.S. after massive recalls of top-selling models to fix a gas pedal that can stick in the depressed position. The new Prius gas-electric hybrid, which went on sale last year, is not part of the global recalls which cover nearly 4.5 million vehicles.
The 14 complaints included an accident in July 2009, in which a Prius crashed head on into another car at an intersection. Transport ministry official Masaya Ota said two people were slightly injured in the accident.
‘‘The complaints involve the new Toyota Prius model, and the vehicles were all made in Japan,’’ Ota said. ‘‘Prius drivers complained brakes were not so sharp.’’
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received about 100 complaints involving the brakes of the Prius new model. Two involved crashes resulting in injuries.
The ministry ordered Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s No. 1 automaker, to investigate the complaints. The other 13 cases happened from December to January 2010. Ota said the ministry has yet to receive a formal report on the complaints from Toyota.
Toyota spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said the company is looking into the matter.
Toyota shares dropped 3.7 percent to 3,470 yen in the morning session Wednesday.
The Prius, now in its third generation since its 1997 introduction, is the best-selling gas-electric hybrid in the world, racking up a cumulative 1.6 million units sold so far, according to Toyota.
Hybrids, by going back and forth between a gasoline engine and electric motor, tend to offer better mileage in slow-speed and stop-and-go driving that’s common in crowded cities.
By SHINO YUASA
Associated Press Writer
TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese government said Wednesday it has received 14 complaints in Japan about brake problems with Toyota’s popular Prius hybrid.
The automaker’s sales are being battered in the U.S. after massive recalls of top-selling models to fix a gas pedal that can stick in the depressed position. The new Prius gas-electric hybrid, which went on sale last year, is not part of the global recalls which cover nearly 4.5 million vehicles.
The 14 complaints included an accident in July 2009, in which a Prius crashed head on into another car at an intersection. Transport ministry official Masaya Ota said two people were slightly injured in the accident.
‘‘The complaints involve the new Toyota Prius model, and the vehicles were all made in Japan,’’ Ota said. ‘‘Prius drivers complained brakes were not so sharp.’’
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received about 100 complaints involving the brakes of the Prius new model. Two involved crashes resulting in injuries.
The ministry ordered Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s No. 1 automaker, to investigate the complaints. The other 13 cases happened from December to January 2010. Ota said the ministry has yet to receive a formal report on the complaints from Toyota.
Toyota spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said the company is looking into the matter.
Toyota shares dropped 3.7 percent to 3,470 yen in the morning session Wednesday.
The Prius, now in its third generation since its 1997 introduction, is the best-selling gas-electric hybrid in the world, racking up a cumulative 1.6 million units sold so far, according to Toyota.
Hybrids, by going back and forth between a gasoline engine and electric motor, tend to offer better mileage in slow-speed and stop-and-go driving that’s common in crowded cities.
02-02-10, 08:29 PM
#274
Lexus Connoisseur
CNN: Steve Wozniak's Toyota Prius Problems! LOL
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2010...yota.owner.cnn
Steve Wozniak's claims about problems with his Prius have caught a lot of attention. He speaks with CNN about Toyota.
Source: CNN
Steve Wozniak's claims about problems with his Prius have caught a lot of attention. He speaks with CNN about Toyota.
Source: CNN
02-02-10, 08:55 PM
#275
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. The witchhunt continues. Karma will come back to bite the US government for this.
02-02-10, 08:58 PM
#276
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Wow, so cars are not perfect? What a concept!
This is just a snowball effect. People in Japan have heard about Toyota's current situation, are jumping on the bandwagon to report any and all problems.
It's really too bad the US media is not reporting on the numerous dangerous issues with GM, Ford, and Chrysler vehicles, or for that matter numerous issues that vehicles from other automakers have.
Yes, Toyota messed up, but this coverage and focus on Toyota is completely out of hand
.
This is just a snowball effect. People in Japan have heard about Toyota's current situation, are jumping on the bandwagon to report any and all problems.
It's really too bad the US media is not reporting on the numerous dangerous issues with GM, Ford, and Chrysler vehicles, or for that matter numerous issues that vehicles from other automakers have.
Yes, Toyota messed up, but this coverage and focus on Toyota is completely out of hand
.
02-02-10, 09:10 PM
#278
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The crazy thing is this is going to have everyone blaming Toyota for everything. Then guess what, they will blame their Ford, their GM car, their Honda, and everyone....the snowball is not limited to Toyota.
Toyota better (again) nip this in the bud b/c no matter if its a true problem or not, it is creating a mess for them.
Toyota better (again) nip this in the bud b/c no matter if its a true problem or not, it is creating a mess for them.
02-02-10, 09:34 PM
#279
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The crazy thing is this is going to have everyone blaming Toyota for everything. Then guess what, they will blame their Ford, their GM car, their Honda, and everyone....the snowball is not limited to Toyota.
Toyota better (again) nip this in the bud b/c no matter if its a true problem or not, it is creating a mess for them.
Toyota better (again) nip this in the bud b/c no matter if its a true problem or not, it is creating a mess for them.
Other automakers will only encounter problems if the media focuses on them. Right now it seems the media is way too busy focusing on Toyota.
02-02-10, 10:29 PM
#282
This is going to become like a leaky roof where once a certain hole is plugged, another opens. There is going to be seemingly endless scrutiny and media hype for the near future on any Toyota 'defect', real or not. Get ready folks, we're in for some turbulence.
That being said, I hope that Toyota gets upfront and on the consumers' side, ensuring that there are no safety issues, and if there are, correcting them and being clear with the public.
Moreover, remember the fuss over the navigation override? Kiss any chance of that being stopped in the U.S. goodbye. Brake overrides for all, and you can bet that there will be more "I agree" type warning messages (although they've gotten rid of the button, the warnings still remain), and all kinds of preventative measures.
This is shaping up to be the perfect storm of bad publicity, and recent articles suggest that the US execs were aware of the issue, but Japan HQ was not as focused on it (probably because they were plotting how to emerge from this recession). You can bet that right now they are in full crisis review mode. I just hope that something positive emerges from this.
That being said, I hope that Toyota gets upfront and on the consumers' side, ensuring that there are no safety issues, and if there are, correcting them and being clear with the public.
Moreover, remember the fuss over the navigation override? Kiss any chance of that being stopped in the U.S. goodbye. Brake overrides for all, and you can bet that there will be more "I agree" type warning messages (although they've gotten rid of the button, the warnings still remain), and all kinds of preventative measures.
This is shaping up to be the perfect storm of bad publicity, and recent articles suggest that the US execs were aware of the issue, but Japan HQ was not as focused on it (probably because they were plotting how to emerge from this recession). You can bet that right now they are in full crisis review mode. I just hope that something positive emerges from this.
02-02-10, 10:38 PM
#283
Pole Position
- The Japanese government said Wednesday it has received 14 complaints
- The NHTSA has received about 100 complaints involving the brakes
114 complaints / 208.9 thousand (Japan) + 139.7 thousand (US) sold = 114 / 348,600 = 327 DPPM
As a comparison, in the tech industry, it is not uncommon to have a chip with millions of transistors with a typical defect rate of 500 dppm as its threshold.
Food for thought....
- The NHTSA has received about 100 complaints involving the brakes
114 complaints / 208.9 thousand (Japan) + 139.7 thousand (US) sold = 114 / 348,600 = 327 DPPM
As a comparison, in the tech industry, it is not uncommon to have a chip with millions of transistors with a typical defect rate of 500 dppm as its threshold.
Food for thought....
02-02-10, 10:45 PM
#284
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This is going to become like a leaky roof where once a certain hole is plugged, another opens. There is going to be seemingly endless scrutiny and media hype for the near future on any Toyota 'defect', real or not. Get ready folks, we're in for some turbulence.
That being said, I hope that Toyota gets upfront and on the consumers' side, ensuring that there are no safety issues, and if there are, correcting them and being clear with the public.
Moreover, remember the fuss over the navigation override? Kiss any chance of that being stopped in the U.S. goodbye. Brake overrides for all, and you can bet that there will be more "I agree" type warning messages (although they've gotten rid of the button, the warnings still remain), and all kinds of preventative measures.
This is shaping up to be the perfect storm of bad publicity, and recent articles suggest that the US execs were aware of the issue, but Japan HQ was not as focused on it (probably because they were plotting how to emerge from this recession). You can bet that right now they are in full crisis review mode. I just hope that something positive emerges from this.
That being said, I hope that Toyota gets upfront and on the consumers' side, ensuring that there are no safety issues, and if there are, correcting them and being clear with the public.
Moreover, remember the fuss over the navigation override? Kiss any chance of that being stopped in the U.S. goodbye. Brake overrides for all, and you can bet that there will be more "I agree" type warning messages (although they've gotten rid of the button, the warnings still remain), and all kinds of preventative measures.
This is shaping up to be the perfect storm of bad publicity, and recent articles suggest that the US execs were aware of the issue, but Japan HQ was not as focused on it (probably because they were plotting how to emerge from this recession). You can bet that right now they are in full crisis review mode. I just hope that something positive emerges from this.
- The Japanese government said Wednesday it has received 14 complaints
- The NHTSA has received about 100 complaints involving the brakes
114 complaints / 208.9 thousand (Japan) + 139.7 thousand (US) sold = 114 / 348,600 = 327 DPPM
As a comparison, in the tech industry, it is not uncommon to have a chip with millions of transistors with a typical defect rate of 500 dppm as its threshold.
Food for thought....
- The NHTSA has received about 100 complaints involving the brakes
114 complaints / 208.9 thousand (Japan) + 139.7 thousand (US) sold = 114 / 348,600 = 327 DPPM
As a comparison, in the tech industry, it is not uncommon to have a chip with millions of transistors with a typical defect rate of 500 dppm as its threshold.
Food for thought....
If the govt chooses to, they can really ruin Toyota's rep here in the US.
02-02-10, 10:45 PM
#285
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- The Japanese government said Wednesday it has received 14 complaints
- The NHTSA has received about 100 complaints involving the brakes
114 complaints / 208.9 thousand (Japan) + 139.7 thousand (US) sold = 114 / 348,600 = 327 DPPM
As a comparison, in the tech industry, it is not uncommon to have a chip with millions of transistors with a typical defect rate of 500 dppm as its threshold.
Food for thought....
- The NHTSA has received about 100 complaints involving the brakes
114 complaints / 208.9 thousand (Japan) + 139.7 thousand (US) sold = 114 / 348,600 = 327 DPPM
As a comparison, in the tech industry, it is not uncommon to have a chip with millions of transistors with a typical defect rate of 500 dppm as its threshold.
Food for thought....
Quite frankly, all companies have issues. Hell I've never owned a perfect car.
With driver education at an all time low as far as I am concerned we are in trouble.
