Another massive toyota recall

[black bart]

Massive recall of Toyota vehicles is expanded

Updated: Thu Jan. 28 2010 11:31:38 AM
ctvmontreal.ca

The crisis facing Toyota Motor Corp. deepened Thursday as the world`s top automaker announced its recall due to faulty accelerators and floor mats was expanding to include Europe and China.

Toyota says it is still unsure how many vehicles in Europe are affected, but it says it has already brought in new parts so that production in Europe will continue as normal.

Thats in contrast to Canada and the U.S., where both production and sales of new vehicles has been halted for at least a week, as the embattled carmaker works on a fix.

In China, Toyota will start a recall in February for 75,500 RAV4 SUVs manufactured there between March 2009 and January 2010. The vehicles there use the same problem accelerator parts that have caused the recent recalls in Canada and the U.S.

Also in China, Ford said it has halted production of some of its full-sized commercial vehicles, because they contain the same gas pedals that are part of the Toyota recall. Ford said the diesel version of its Transit Classic, built by a Chinese joint venture, is the only Ford vehicle involved in the production halt. The Transit Classics are not being recalled.

The announcements Thursday come one day after the company announced an additional recall of 1.09 million vehicles in the United States covering five models:

* 2008-2010 Highlander

* 2009-2010 Corolla,

* 2009-2010 Venza,

* 2009-2010 Matrix

* 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe (both the Matrix and the Vibe were joint ventures between Toyota and General Motors)

Thats on top of the recall issued last week affecting eight models, including 270,000 vehicles in Canada and 2.3 million in the U.S.
That recall included Toyota`s:

* 2009-2010 RAV4, Corolla and Matrix

* 2005-2010 Avalon

* 2010 Highlander

* 2007-2010 Tundra

* 2008-2010 Sequoia

* some 2007-2010 Camrys

And all of this weeks recalls come on top of a recall in late 2009 involving 4.2 million vehicles over concerns that floor mats could bend across gas pedals, causing sudden acceleration.

Some of the vehicles in this months recall were already included in the original 4.2 million vehicle recall. Altogether, Toyota has recalled nearly 7 million vehicles across its lineup, a huge blow to the reputation of the long-respected carmaker, says auto industry analyst Tony Faria.

It`s an absolute disaster for Toyota which once had this image of being good quality and no problems, Faria told CTVs Canada AM from Windsor.

Now, people are seeing in the media day after day, ongoing problems. And thats raising a lot of doubts in peoples minds, in particular in those 7 million Toyota owners whom this recall affects. Thats 7 million people who might not be buying more Toyota vehicles in the future.

Toyota initially thought the problems it had been hearing about since 2007 were caused by floor mats jamming up against the vehicles accelerator pedals. But Toyota then began receiving reports of sticking accelerator pedal mechanisms in vehicles that didn`t have the floor mats installed. There are now concerns that the accelerator pedal itself may be the cause of some problems.

Possibly faulty part made in Ontario

The possibly faulty gas pedal, which has a tendency to stick over time, was manufactured in a plant in Mississauga, Ont. owned by Toyota supplier CTS Corp., according to a report Toyota submitted to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last week.

CTS Corp., based in Elkhart, Ind., says it knows of only a few cases of drivers having problems with accelerators. CTS, which has more than 5,000 employees, says it is working with Toyota to figure out the problem and design a new pedal.

Even as Toyota continues to pinpoint the precise source of this disaster, the effects of the recall continue to snowball.

A number of U.S. car rental companies announced this week they are pulling thousands of Toyotas from their fleets because of the recalls. And GM in the U.S. is offering $1,000 incentives and low financing rates specifically for Toyota customers worried about their recalled vehicles.

Meanwhile, shares of Toyota -- whose earnings only recently returned to the black have been hit hard for the PR disaster.

Toyota insists that the problem being reported with accelerator pedals and floor mats are rare.

They are absolutely safe to drive, Toyota spokeswoman Sandy de Felice told CTV Toronto. Its a very gradual condition that occurs over long usage of your driving in the vehicle.

We remain absolutely confident in our product and in our brand.

What drivers should know

The company is promising to fix or replace the accelerator pedals for the recalled vehicles to avoid the risk of floor mat entrapment. It will also replace floor mats as well for the latest recalled vehicles.

CTV Toronto consumer reporter Pat Foran says the problem with the accelerator appears slowly over time. Some owners have found the pedal becomes gradually harder to push down and then slower to come back up after they release their foot.

Toyota says these cars are safe. But if you feel any friction with your accelerator, where its not popping back as soon as it should, you could have a problem, he said.

In that case, drivers should stop using the vehicle immediately and take it to a dealer to have it inspected.

If the worst-case scenario happens the accelerator gets so stuck, the car keeps accelerating even after you take the foot off the gas -- hit the brakes as hard as you can, put the car in neutral and pull over to the side of the road, Foran advises.

What you should not do is shut your car off while youre driving, because you could lose your power steering and brakes,; he said.

The company says that customers who are concerned that their vehicle may be affected should contact customer service now, before recall instructions are issued.

The Toyota Customer Care Hotline is: 1-800-331-4331. Toyota also has a "Customer Interaction Centre" at 1-888-TOYOTA-8 (1-888-869-6828)

[JaredPointer]

I mentioned this yesterday (or the day before) about Europe and China. Also affected was Ford (recalled some models of trucks), who used pedal assemblies by the same manufacturer.

[black bart]

I mentioned this yesterday (or the day before) about Europe and China. Also affected was Ford (recalled some models of trucks), who used pedal assemblies by the same manufacturer.

Toyota just recalled these cars sold in europe today.

Ford did not recall anything because they have not had a problem yet but they halted production on a joint venture with the Chinese on a commercial vehicle that uses the same throttle as Toyota.

Honda and Nissan also uses this throttle.

Ford is stopping production while they investigate the throttle.
It will be interesting to see what conclusion they come too.

Personally I think that it is a software issue that would explain why ford and GM isn`t seeing this problem they use a fault override like I mention in the other thread.
Also saw today that a doctor told ABC that his Prius suddenly ran away with him so more recalls may be coming.

Regardless of what the problem is I don`t know why Toyota don`t install a brake override into the computer system when they recall those vehicles if they still have the problem at least when you apply the brake it will shut down the engine and you could stop.
CTS who built the throttle pedal claims that is not the problem and I think they may be right.

[Len_nA]

It should be noted that since 2001, not only has Toyota racked up more unintended acceleration complaints (with NHTSA) than any other automaker, Toyota racked up more than all the other automakers put together.

I, too, think Toyota`s in for more recalls.

[OCDinPDX]

It should be noted that since 2001, not only has Toyota racked up more unintended acceleration complaints (with NHTSA) than any other automaker, Toyota racked up more than all the other automakers put together.

I, too, think Toyota`s in for more recalls.

Yep...took the words right out of my mouth.

The Portland Auto Show started on Thursday and I can say that the mood in the Toyota display was very somber. Not many people were hanging around, either. I spoke with one guy looking at the Tundra who said he was going to test drive one but is now going to look at other trucks. This can of worms has the potential to make life very difficult for Toyota for at least the next decade or so and will require a complete rebirth of the company from image to sales to service. People are starting to put it together, too. Well, if the floor mats aren`t to blame and the slow-to-release gas pedal isn`t to blame, what else is there that could cause this? What about that fancy throttle computer that, strangely enough, upon its 2002 introduction brought with it an exponential increase in unintended acceleration? Hmmmm....

Honda uses Honda drive by wire and the CTS pedals - No unintended acceleration
Ford uses Ford drive by wire and the CTS pedals - No unintended acceleration
Toyota uses Denso drive by wire and the CTS pedals - You are the weakest link...goodbye.

If Toyota planned on using CTS as a scapegoat, it was a pretty poorly thought out plan. People are mostly stupid but if you give them enough time, they`ll figure it out, especially when it`s this blatant.

[black bart]

CTS did not design this throttle switch the auto manufactures engineers supply the blue prints and specs as to how they want it built.

This explains why other manufactures can use a CTS throttle and not have a problem.

Toyota still is not admitting their mistake and they want the public to think they were ambushed by CTS.

While that is not how it works I`ll bet a large segment of the public don``t know this and that is what Toyota is counting on.

After 5 years of Toyota ignoring it NHTSA was on them and they blamed the owner for being too stupid to put the mats in correctly.

The recall came 1 day before ABC news planned to air a special about it so Toyota announced the recall but they are trying to save face by blaming CTS.

The CEO at Toyota should resign this sort of thing comes from the top their is no way they did not know for all these years that this problem existed.

[Len_nA]

Doubt cast on Toyota`s decision to blame sudden acceleration on gas pedal defect

The pedal maker denies that its products are at fault. Some independent safety experts also are skeptical of Toyota`s explanations. `We know this recall is a red herring,` one says.

[PA DETAILER]

my new fj cruiser did not fall under the recall. must be a different set up.

[Bunky]

My guess is there are multiple problems. Toyota will have to address ALL of them as it prepares for the recall and eventual lawsuits. It is not good enough to fix the primary one and not fix others. I am sure the problem is very hard to troubleshoot especially when there be more than one issue (pedal, intermittent electronics, etc).

[black bart]

My guess is there are multiple problems. Toyota will have to address ALL of them as it prepares for the recall and eventual lawsuits. It is not good enough to fix the primary one and not fix others. I am sure the problem is very hard to troubleshoot especially when there be more than one issue (pedal, intermittent electronics, etc).

I saw on the news that Toyota has the cure they say that a steel shaft rotating in a bronze bushing is causing galvanic corrosion.
Never putting dissimilar metal together is chemistry 101 but they say the will put a small SHIM in the throttle assembly for a fix.
All I can say is time will tell I`m betting we hear a lot more before this goes away
Anyone that believes this is the fix drop a nickel in my pocket.

[CharlesW]

I saw on the news that Toyota has the cure they say that a steel shaft rotating in a bronze bushing is causing galvanic corrosion.
Never putting dissimilar metal together is chemistry 101 but they say the will put a small SHIM in the throttle assembly for a fix.
All I can say is time will tell I`m betting we hear a lot more before this goes away
Anyone that believes this is the fix drop a nickel in my pocket.

It`s quite possible my memory is incorrect, but steel shafts rotating in bronze bushings is something I seem to remember as being common for many years.

[Len_nA]

I saw on the news that Toyota has the cure they say that a steel shaft rotating in a bronze bushing is causing galvanic corrosion.
Never putting dissimilar metal together is chemistry 101 but they say the will put a small SHIM in the throttle assembly for a fix.
All I can say is time will tell I`m betting we hear a lot more before this goes away
Anyone that believes this is the fix drop a nickel in my pocket.

I don`t believe for half a minute that this fix is going to work, because I think it`s a software glitch, coupled with the fact that Toyota is the only drive-by-wire system that doesn`t have a brake cutoff override to throttle the engine down.

[G.T.Subie]

My MIL just got a Rav 4 which was part of this recall, she hasn`t brought it yet.