More tales of Toyota's long running Safety issues

[RicanMe]

I own a toyota that is currently being recalled.. This recall is a hassle and toyota continues to switch up the story I received an email today telling me to make an appointment to correct the issue finally.... but since they have so many to fix it will still be awhile until it is handled.... I understand my car is not the only one affected but really the sudden changes and run-arounds are getting to be a bit much

[One Mean Chevy]

I just check out toyotanation.com to see what they have to say about all this. 6 differ posts and a grand total of 11 replies, 4 of them have 0 replies.

[Super83Z]

Looks like its about to get a whole lot worse

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35334990/ns/business-autos/

WASHINGTON/DETROIT - As the U.S. Congress gears up to delve into Toyota Motor Corp's massive global vehicle recall, the question they face is whether the automaker and regulators misread or ignored rising consumer complaints.

Complaints about unintended acceleration rose sharply from model years 2002 to 2007 -- a period when Toyota expanded its use of electronic throttle controls, according to an analysis of data compiled by Safety Research and Strategies.

Potentially more worrying for regulators and consumers: More than half of the 2,262 complaints compiled by Safety Research involve vehicles that Toyota has not recalled.


Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide for problems with either floor mats, which can trap a gas pedal, or a mechanical glitch in the accelerator, which can cause the pedal to become stuck.

But safety advocates and lawyers for a Michigan woman killed in a high-speed wreck in April 2008 argue that evidence suggests electronic throttle controls are at fault, not floor mats or "sticky pedals.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in early February it would review the past probes that found no problems with electronic throttle systems even though complaints had grown steadily during times of those reviews.

What appears crucial is the role of Toyota and U.S. regulators in narrowing the focus of earlier safety investigations.

In one case Chris Santucci, a former U.S. safety regulator hired by Toyota in 2003, played a role in discussions with NHTSA during a 2004 probe in which the agency sharply narrowed the scope of its inquiry, according to his deposition in a lawsuit seeking damages from the Michigan crash.

The substance of the discussions between the Toyota representatives and NHTSA investigators was unclear.

In that instance, NHTSA agreed to exclude from consideration reports of uncontrolled acceleration in Toyota vehicles where the incident lasted more than a few seconds or the driver hit the brakes.

As a result, Toyota did not provide information to the U.S. government about reports it had taken about such cases.





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Under the narrower scope of the investigation, NHTSA eliminated nearly all of the 260 complaints it received and closed the investigation without taking action in July 2004.

Toyota defended Santucci.

"Mr. Santucci has an exemplary professional reputation that he earned by working diligently on safety issues at NHTSA as well as here at Toyota," Toyota spokeswoman Martha Voss said in a statement.

"Industry professionals across the spectrum who know Mr. Santucci would agree that any insinuation that he violated federal ethics laws or that he did not live up to the highest professional standards is reckless and without merit."

Critics say NHTSA has a number of tools that have gone unused. Supporters say regulators are overwhelmed by 30,000 complaints per year and a mandate that forces them to confront deep-pocketed automakers loaded with engineers, technical analysts, lawyers and political muscle.

Two U.S. House of Representatives committees want to examine the government's response to the Toyota recalls and get a better understanding of what is behind unintended acceleration.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, NHTSA Administrator David Strickland and Toyota's top North American executive Yoshi Inaba are due to testify at one hearing on February 24. The second is also expected to draw a heavyweight witness list.



In a statement published in the Washington Post on Tuesday, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said he had personally assured LaHood "that lines of communications with safety agencies and regulators will be kept open ... and that we will be more vigilant in responding to those officials on all matters."

Toyota began using electronic throttle controls, or a drive-by-wire system, in U.S.-sold vehicles with 1998 models and expanded their use with 2002 models.

Complaints of sudden acceleration soared more than tenfold when Toyota switched to an electronic throttle for the 2002 model year Camry, its best-selling vehicle, according to data compiled by Safety Research.


Interactive


Toyota recall timeline
Toyota is facing the biggest recalls in its history after uncovering widespread problems with several aspects of its vehicles.
The founder of the firm, Sean Kane, has been called as an expert witness in one of the congressional hearings.

The spike in complaints about Toyota vehicles coincided with a growth spurt for the automaker, which roughly doubled its U.S. market share and saw sales leap nearly 80 percent from 1999 to 2006.

Safety Research puts the number of unintended acceleration cases at over 2,200, including 26 reported deaths.

Toyota "has employed several strategies to deflect the agency investigations," Kane said in a report on Friday.

The automaker declined to comment on Kane's report.

LaHood has said NHTSA has the tools to do a thorough review of safety issues related to the electronic controls on Toyota ca

[THUMPER20X]

Im still standing by a throttle by wire issue. I hate it, I wish the Camaro was cable. If it breaks you just slow down. Also my buddy is a toyota tech and says there have been some attention paid to throttle plates sticking. I honestly think they dont know or there really are several problems and its a crapshoot for what causes it. I do a ton of work for Lexus and Toyota and a RX with the two floor mats did cause the bottom of the pedal to clip the raised edge of the mat.

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by THUMPER20X

Im still standing by a throttle by wire issue. I hate it, I wish the Camaro was cable. If it breaks you just slow down. Also my buddy is a toyota tech and says there have been some attention paid to throttle plates sticking. I honestly think they dont know or there really are several problems and its a crapshoot for what causes it. I do a ton of work for Lexus and Toyota and a RX with the two floor mats did cause the bottom of the pedal to clip the raised edge of the mat.

I have had several GM vehicles with the throttle by wire and never had any issues with any of them...

[Black5thgen]

I went to pick my Dad up from the Toyota dealership yesterday. He was dropping his Prius off for the recall work (no laughing please) and to hear what these service writers were saying was a joke. They didn't even want to listen to what my Dad had to say and kept telling him the recall will cover everything. He was complaining about a noise in the engine. I think Toyota has really screwed up and I hope people just go into a GM or ford dealership and see that it's not the same old companies.

[FxsX24]

to add to the fire

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/11/pri...ex.html?hpt=T2

[Axe]

And yet.....

According to the study, Toyota had fewer complaints than its American rivals. Ford was number 10 on the list, while General Motors came in at number 11.

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/auto...-about-toyota/

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by Axe

And yet.....

According to the study, Toyota had fewer complaints than its American rivals. Ford was number 10 on the list, while General Motors came in at number 11.

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/auto...-about-toyota/

And they also have greater than 50% of all unintended acceleration complaints. But hey, a lose piece of interior plastic is just as important ... each one is a single complaint.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

And they also have greater than 50% of all unintended acceleration complaints. But hey, a lose piece of interior plastic is just as important ... each one is a single complaint.

This (^)

They don't weight the complaints....nevertheless -- GM has replaced their warranty claims significantly in the past years. And that's more important than constantly comparing them to crooks and cheats like toyota.

In fact: "In the month of January, 99.3 percent of the 1.8 million Chevrolet vehicles enrolled in OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics reported that there were no issues with the key components of their engine and transmission systems."
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