plus 3, 2010 Toyota Camry - DailyTech |
- 2010 Toyota Camry - DailyTech
- Toyota's halt to sales is latest setback - Detroit Free Press
- Keys teens steal firetruck - WPTV
- Commercial Drivers Banned From Texting - WSB-TV Atlanta
| Posted: 27 Jan 2010 07:54 AM PST
"Moving Forward"... and not stopping
Toyota has built up a reputation in
American for reliability, safety, and overall quality. While many
customers and auto reviewers have noticed a slip
in interior quality of newer Toyota vehicles in recent years, the
Japanese automaker has so much goodwill built up with the public that
such findings have done little to tarnish the company's image.
However, the latest news coming from
the Toyota camp threatens to take quite a bit of wind out of the
automaker's sails. What was once thought just to be just a problem
with improperly
installed floor mats has turned into a much more complicated
issue. Last week, Toyota issued
a recall for 2.3 million vehicles to fix problems with the
accelerator pedals. Yesterday, however, Toyota took the
drastic model to announced the suspension
of sales for eight vehicle models in the U.S. -- effective
February 1 -- including the best selling car in America: the Toyota
Camry. "Toyota has investigated isolated reports of sticking
accelerator pedal mechanisms in certain vehicles without the presence
of floor mats," the company said in a press release. "There
is a possibility that certain accelerator pedal mechanisms may, in
rare instances, mechanically stick in a partially depressed position
or return slowly to the idle position." The full list of affected vehicles
includes: "This unprecedented automotive
decision indicates how serious a safety problem this is,"
Edmunds.com senior analyst Michelle Krebs told
Reuters. "We've gone from floor mats to recalls for
wear items to a full shutdown, and I can't help but think that the
company's credibility is being called into question." All affected models are either built in
the U.S. or Canada. In addition, all affected models have accelerator
pedals that come from a single supplier, CTS. Toyota is now working with CTS to fix the problem at hand so that the planned stoppage
of vehicle sales doesn't go on for too long. "In this highly competitive
market, no automaker -- not even Toyota -- can afford to stop selling
its cars and trucks for long, but perhaps Toyota is banking on the
idea that customers will appreciate the priority of their safety in
this decision," added Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica
Caldwell.
It already has caused harm. There have been two high profile cases where unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles has killed people. It was after the first crash that Toyota started reacting.
Four people dead: http://consumerist.com/2009/10/toyota-911-call-of-... Two dead, two injured:
Even worse, he was a highway patrol officer??? You'd think that someone with that level of experience would know what to do.
Some thoughts, just complete speculation on my part. Automatic transmissions are computer controlled, not by direct linkage anymore. If you're traveling at 60mph, and slap the shifter into park, nothing happens or the car stalls. It does not go into park unless the computer allows it to. Similarly neutral may be locked out if the computer decides that it can't perform that operation. If the ECU is compromised, all sorts of bad behaviour can result. My guess is that there is a problem with the pedals as mentioned, and that causes the ECU to get confused and go haywire.
Or turn the key off.
The reason is because most people are poor drivers and don't ever think about what they would do or practice what to do in bad situations. Mostly the person needs to remain calm and simply not react in a panic. I was 9 years old when I started driving tractors on the farm. The very first thing my Grandfather taught me was that when I get into trouble I should pull the engine cut-off. And one time I had to use that advice and I'm still here today because of it.
by Ristogod on January 27, 2010 at 9:25 AM
Or turn the key off. You do realize that this car didn't have a "traditional key" and had instead a push button start system? What the poor cop didn't realize to force the engine off you have to hold down the start button for a few seconds to kill the engine while it's racing.
quote: This is something the driver should absolutely NOT do. At least, not until they have steered their way to the side of the road or someplace else relatively safe. Today's modern cars have power brakes and steering that derive their power from the engine. If the engine is shut off then those two means of vehicle control are compromised. Will the steering and brakes still work? Yes, but at drastically reduced effectiveness for which most drivers would have trouble compensating.
Then she shouldn't be worried because turning the key from the run to the accessory position will only disable ignition but not decouple the engine from the transmission (which is still spinning from the moving car)
The engine will still produce power steering pressure for non electric power steering, and it will still produce vacuum for power brakes (which would operate for several successive stops after the engine is off). It is very difficult to drive a vehicle at low speed (10-15mph)without power steering unless you have some muscle. At speeds where it is dangerous and your health is a concern even that blue haired grandmother should be able to navigate a car without power steering. I have done so myself. at 15mph she will probably survive the crash. While older vehicles did not have as tight of a steering ratio, how do you think that blue haired old lady drove before the modern invention of power steering? If you need to know what to do in a stuck accelerator scenario? Personally I think the accelerator sticking on its own is concern enough for a recall and investigation. The floormat bunching underneath though? Give me a break. What about people with non factory floormats that kick them under the pedal? Are people REALLY that stupid that they cant realize it when they kick crap under their pedal? Should wal-mart stop selling floormats? "do not push floormat under pedals when driving and have no effing clue what to do about it while completely oblivious"
You do realize I could probably link 20 pages of the exact same thing happening to other various car companies, (including all of the American big 3, and every single car company has at least a few of these complaints EACH YEAR.. so I guess you won't be driving ever again.
That being said, apparently Toyota does lead the way in Acceleration complains over the past few years, with Ford following pretty closely too.. GM, Honda and Nissan were at the bottom of the list..
Not nearly in the quantities toyota is receiving them though. And no matter what toyota says, this is almost definitely a problem with the computer controlled throttle. They just don't want to say it. That is the only common thread between these vehicles. Let's face it, as the author said, they've gone from blaming floor mats, to wear parts, and now they've stopped not only sales, but they've stopped PRODUCTION of these vehicles. Something big is definitely up.
Other automakers use throttle-by-wire too, but they don't have these problems in nearly the same amount.
In the case of the current Honda Civic Si it has the same behavior in the throttle too. But is not only the DBW related to the throttle lag there are other components like injectors, ignition timing, etc. At least in the case of the Civic I can confirm that Honda did it to reduce a bit more bad emissions.
It can be fixed with a custom reflash with a Cobb AccessPort or Hondata FlashPro. In the case of the Challenger I bet is the same thing too. And there must be a way to reprogram the ECU to make it behave like a cable driven throttle.
News flash, but the modern transmission is designed to keep running for more than 4 years even when you don't shift into neutral…
Also, by shifting to neutral you are wasting gas. Today's ECUs are programmed to shut off fuel delivery to the engine when the vehicle is coasting and the transmission is forcing the engine to turn. When you put the car into neutral, the engine keeps feeding the car fuel to keep the engine idling. Lastly, just because the transmission has some small load on it, doesn't mean you are actually causing wear to the components. Sorry, but putting it into neutral when coasting down hill is doing nothing useful. Besides… all the trannies I've ever met have always been happier when they were put under a little strain… -Suntan
quote: And actually all that disconnecting and connecting from N to D while coasting probably puts more wear and tear on the transmission than just leaving the thing alone - as it was designed for. Sounds to me like this dude should have bought a manual transmission if he likes coasting so much (keep in mind in a lot of states, including mine (GA), coasting in neutral is actually illegal - not sure how anyone can enforce that however.
I have several cars with drive by wire, and none of them exhibit the behaviour you mention.
In fact, back when both cars were stock, I had a TransAm and Corvette. Both had the same engines (LS1), same transmissions (4L60E) and were similar cars. The TA has cable driven TB, while the vette was electronic. The vette had noticably better throttle response. Both cars are nowhere near resembling stock anymore, so it's not a fair comparison. :P Something is definately wrong, or it's pretty poor design.
quote: You are a moron. Though the cars/parts might be made in America, Americans don't design the parts or cars.
I have an 07 Camry with the original rubber floor mats. I checked this out once I heard about the recall. There's a good amount of gap between the floor mat and the pedal when not being used and if I stomp all the way down on it. I also played around a bit with the floor mat to see how much it could move around. Granted, it's only held on by two clips near the driver's seat, but they still cling to where they are supposed to be.
I'll still get this replaced since I have an oil change coming up, but thankfully I didn't have an issue with it. I do feel a bit disturbed that Toyota didn't do anything about this for so many models and for that number of consecutive years.
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| Toyota's halt to sales is latest setback - Detroit Free Press Posted: 27 Jan 2010 08:15 AM PST WASHINGTON -- In an unprecedented move by an automaker in the U.S., Toyota said Tuesday it was halting sales and production of eight car and truck models accounting for more than half its U.S. sales until it finds a fix for sticking accelerator pedals. The decision, which will cut production for at least a week at six Toyota assembly plants in North America, comes six days after the Japanese automaker announced the recall of 2.3 million vehicles because of the accelerator problem it first encountered in 2007. The models, including the Toyota Camry, the top-selling car in the U.S., accounted for 58% of Toyota's U.S. sales last year. • Toyotal recall affect you? Call your dealer • Sales halt could hurt dealers • Tom Walsh: Toyota can be fallible too The decision could mar a quality reputation Toyota used to become the world's largest automaker. But the automaker has some of the industry's most loyal customers, and experts said it wasn't immediately clear whether the Detroit Three or foreign automakers would benefit from Toyota's problem. Between the accelerator pedal recall and an earlier one involving the floor mats, Toyota has called back 4.8 million vehicles to fix defects that could lead to sudden acceleration. Safety advocates say the problems are linked to 19 deaths and more than 2,000 complaints. Toyota says the problem is rare, but it hasn't determined what conditions cause sticking pedals. Toyota launched a Web site last week giving consumers advice on how to stop their vehicles if a pedal sticks, including shifting into neutral and shutting off the engine. Finding a fixToyota was still working through the consequences of its decision as it struggles with complaints of sudden and uncontrolled acceleration in its vehicles. While the shutdown of plants is scheduled to last only one week, Toyota does not yet have a fix for the flaw, and would have to repair all of the vehicles on dealers' lots before it could put them back on sale, a process that could take longer. Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons said the problem was rare, and that Toyota was acting from an abundance of caution by halting sales. Lyons said customer complaints and Toyota research show the pedals, and would likely affect only older models. The models, ranging from the Corolla sedan to Tundra pickup, accounted for 10% of U.S. auto sales last year, according to Autodata Corp. With thousands of customers ready to buy a recalled model being put on indefinite hold, Toyota and its dealers faced an unusual job of pleading for time. Gary Dilts, senior vice president of global automotive operations for J.D. Power and Associates, said Toyota has some of the most devoted owners among automakers, with many on their third or fourth model, and that competitors would have a hard time peeling many buyers away. "It's not like any other car company that gets caught with this problem," Dilts said. Toyota's move adds another chapter to a growing history of sudden or unintended acceleration problems for the company. In a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last week, Toyota said consumers first began complaining about sticking accelerator pedals in Tundra pickups in March 2007. After testing a part of the pedal and finding that it could swell in humid conditions, Toyota changed the material used in the part in February 2008, but deemed the problem a "drivability issue unrelated to safety." Then in December 2008, Toyota said it began receiving similar complaints from cars in Europe. It ran a second set of tests in March 2009, and found the same part made with the new material could wear over time and cause a pedal to stick. Once again, Toyota made changes to the pedal and did not issue a recall. Finally, in October 2009, the automaker said it began receiving more reports of sticking accelerator pedals in the United States and Canada, with parts similar to the European models. Toyota said it then decided to do a voluntary recall of all pedals, including those from the 2007-08 Tundra investigation. Safety advocates maintain that Toyota has downplayed signs of widespread problems with unintended acceleration in its vehicles dating to 2003, and has yet to fully explain evidence suggesting electrical problems with the vehicles. Many of the models use drive-by-wire systems, which control the engine's throttle by a computer link with the pedal rather than a physical connection. The NHTSA investigated the Tundra in 2007 for sudden acceleration, but closed the case in September 2008 with no recall after failing to find a mechanical flaw. Toyota also had argued that many of the complaints were "inspired by publicity," and no flaws had been found in the truck. Toyota spokesman Mike Goss said production would be halted for one week starting Monday on assembly lines at six Toyota plants in North America, including the Kentucky line where Toyota builds the Camry, the nation's top-selling car. The shutdown also will affect at least two Toyota engine-supply plants in Alabama and West Virginia, along with an unknown number of other plants. It wasn't clear how many workers would be affected; Toyota paid assembly workers during plant shutdowns last year. Goss said the shutdown was scheduled for only one week at the moment, but he could not say whether Toyota would extend the stoppage if it did not have a fix by the end of that week. While stop-sale orders are not unheard of in the auto industry, most involve a far-smaller number of vehicles. Ford never ordered sales to stop during the Firestone tire recall on Ford Explorers in 1999, but did halt production for a few weeks to boost the supply of replacement tires. Toyota's recall also includes the 2009-10 models of the Pontiac Vibe, which Toyota built for General Motors at the closed GM-Toyota joint plant in Fremont, Calif. GM spokesman Alan Adler said GM could not comment on Toyota's stop-sale order, and did not know how many Vibes were left on dealer lots. There's been no evidence yet that the previous recall had sullied Toyota's sterling reputation with consumers; Consumer Reports said its recent surveys found the automaker still had the highest brand ranking among all competitors. Abimbola Esan, 33, of Eastpointe owns a Toyota Yaris, and said he thought Toyota's move was disturbing -- but added that it hasn't shaken his confidence in the automaker. "I feel they will learn from this experience," Esan said. Toyota owners with questions are advised to go to www.toyota.com or call 800-331-4431. Contact JUSTIN HYDE: 202-906-8204 or jhyde@freepress.com Jewel Gopwani contributed to this report. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | ||||||||||||||||
| Keys teens steal firetruck - WPTV Posted: 27 Jan 2010 08:15 AM PST WEST SUMMERLAND KEY, Fla. (AP) — Two 17-year-olds fled from a juvenile diversion program at a Florida Keys campground in a stolen firetruck. The teens have been arrested and charged with grand theft auto. The truck belonged to the chief of the Big Pine Key Fire Department. Authorities say a Camp Sawyer counselor called the Monroe County sheriff's office Monday morning to report that the teens were missing from the site on West Summerland Key. Deputies then learned of the missing fire truck. The boys, who were only wearing underwear, were caught 90 miles away. Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Becky Herrin says she can remember of police cars being stolen, but this is the first case of a stolen firetruck. ___ Information from: The Miami Herald, http://www.herald.com
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| Commercial Drivers Banned From Texting - WSB-TV Atlanta Posted: 27 Jan 2010 07:32 AM PST Texting While Driving Ban Applies To Interstate Bus, Truck DriversUpdated: 10:34 am EST January 27, 2010 WASHINGTON -- The Transportation Department said Tuesday it is prohibiting truck and bus drivers from sending text messages on hand-held devices while operating commercial vehicles. The prohibition, which applies to drivers of interstate buses and trucks over 10,000 pounds, is effective immediately, the department said in a statement. Truck and bus drivers who text while driving commercial vehicles may be subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750, the department said. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia already prohibit all drivers from texting behind the wheel, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Another 10 states restrict texting by novice drivers. Trucking and bus industry officials said they support the texting ban. "A lot of our members already have policies in place. It's just safe and smart," said American Bus Association President Pete Pantuso. The prohibition doesn't apply to onboard devices that allow dispatchers to send text messages to truck drivers, but most of those devices have mechanisms that prevent their use while a truck is in motion, said Clayton Boyce, a spokesman for the American Trucking Association. The trade association for the wireless industry, CTIA, also supports a ban on texting and e-mailing while driving, said Amy Storey, a spokeswoman for the association. "While mobile devices are important safety tools, there's an appropriate time and an inappropriate time to use them," Storey said. Research by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shows that drivers who send and receive text messages take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds while texting, the department said. At 55 miles per hour, this means that the driver is traveling the length of a football field, including the end zones, without looking at the road, the department said. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has been campaigning against texting and cell phone use while driving. President Barack Obama signed an executive order directing federal employees not to engage in text messaging while driving government-owned vehicles or with government-owned equipment. Federal employees were required to comply with the ban starting on Dec. 30, 2009. LaHood said enforcing restrictions on texting and cell phone use by drivers will be difficult. He urged the wireless industry to work with public officials to come up with a solution. Everyone knows texting or talking on the phone while driving is dangerous, LaHood told reporters, but people do it anyway. The Transportation Department and safety advocates have also joined forces to create FocusDriven, an organization to campaign against cell phone use or texting on handheld computers while driving. The organization will be modeled after Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, which has successfully lobbied for tougher drunk-driving laws. Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Robert Menendez of New Jersey have introduced legislation to prod states to pass laws banning texting by all drivers. The bill would reduce federal highway aid by 25 percent to states that don't enact bans. Additional Resources: Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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