Toyota/Lexus recall

[Emil]

Wow, that's a lot of cars, 3.8 million!

Many more than the 900,000 car previous recall in 2005 for a problem with steering rods.

It's also been mentioned that it may be more than the simple solution floormat.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090930/...oyota_recall_7

A guy I work with has a Prius and said once the brake pedal didn't work, it got was very hard and non-responsive. He did get it stopped but almost ran into the guy ahead of him.

[sjt1985]

Originally Posted by Emil

Wow, that's a lot of cars, 3.8 million!

Many more than the 900,000 car previous recall in 2005 for a problem with steering rods.

It's also been mentioned that it may be more than the simple solution floormat.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090930/...oyota_recall_7

A guy I work with has a Prius and said once the brake pedal didn't work, it got was very hard and non-responsive. He did get it stopped but almost ran into the guy ahead of him.

But Emil, the sheep have been led to believe toyotas don't have problems.

[Loves2Watch]

Every auto manufacturer has it's share of problems and Toyota is not immune...

[Cygnus]

My parents have a 2009 camry. I have noticed how the mat can easily slip and cover the pedals while driving. I told my mother about it today. She was aware of the problem too.

[daleb]

Originally Posted by Loves2Watch

Every auto manufacturer has it's share of problems and Toyota is not immune...

Very true, and there are cars with many problems that never get recalls.

The upside of a recall is that it is a problem in resolution.

[Emil]

Originally Posted by daleb

Very true, and there are cars with many problems that never get recalls.

The upside of a recall is that it is a problem in resolution.

[daleb]

Originally Posted by Emil

Why are you so surprised? You don't think there are cars on the road with recurring problems that never get recalled?
Many manufacturers have held out fixing problems until forced to recall cars.
Granted, if they are safety related issues there are legal means to get them off the dime if they don't volunteer to recall in a timely manner.

[Emil]

Sorry, I should have qualified better, I was referring to the "The upside of a recall is that it is a problem in resolution." portion.

I guess if "certain" companies can have recalls then it's ok then for all of them.

[daleb]

Originally Posted by Emil

Sorry, I should have qualified better, I was referring to the "The upside of a recall is that it is a problem in resolution." portion.

I guess if "certain" companies can have recalls then it's ok then for all of them.

A recall means the company has acknowledged a problem and is working to fix it...."certain" are your words.
All companies should volunteer recalls if there is a need for it, of course, but that has not always been the case.

Only in cases of 'safety' is it considered mandatory, and of course those problems should be a priority!

But some have had voluntary recalls in the case of workmanship errors, and others have not. This goes for ALL auto mfrs.

[Cygnus]

IMHO this recall is not a major malfunction, e.g. brakes stop working. It is a pretty easy fix: use floor mats that don't move. Thus I would not put this in the same category as other recalls.

[daleb]

Here's some recall stats.

http://www.mycarstats.com/auto_recalls/auto_recalls.asp

[Emil]

Originally Posted by Cygnus

IMHO this recall is not a major malfunction, e.g. brakes stop working. It is a pretty easy fix: use floor mats that don't move. Thus I would not put this in the same category as other recalls.

I disagree. Yes the fix is simple but the consequences are deadly.

All the cars I've had have had ample clearance between the pedal and the floor. Seems it should be obvious to do it this way.

[daleb]

Originally Posted by Emil

I disagree. Yes the fix is simple but the consequences are deadly.

All the cars I've had have had ample clearance between the pedal and the floor. Seems it should be obvious to do it this way.

Of course, there is NO excuse for the oversight.

There are enough naive owners who put cheap floor mats and other junk in their car that are potentially as dangerous. We expect automakers to be more cautious, and rightly so.

[junehhan]

I may sound cruel so forgive me, but I partially blame the drivers of these vehicles for some of the accidents that have occurred. If the accelerator gets stuck for whatever reason, you DO NOT let it go to 120mph while frantically making a call to 911. The first thing you do is try to slam on the brakes to see if it will slow down a vehicle. Even if the accelerator is stuck at WOT, the brakes will usually be able to help slow down, or minimize acceleration.

If that doesn't work, people should have put the car in neutral instead of letting it ride to 120mph. Cars like guns are deadly in the hands of people who don't know how to safely operate them. I am not defending Toyota at all as I put 75% of the blame on them, but I put the other 25% of the blame on the drivers who should have known better than let the car reach dangerous speeds. Now in low speed situations where you have almost no reaction time, that is different as people wouldn't have had to time necessary to reach such decisions.

[daleb]

Originally Posted by junehhan

I may sound cruel so forgive me, but I partially blame the drivers of these vehicles for some of the accidents that have occurred. If the accelerator gets stuck for whatever reason, you DO NOT let it go to 120mph while frantically making a call to 911. The first thing you do is try to slam on the brakes to see if it will slow down a vehicle. Even if the accelerator is stuck at WOT, the brakes will usually be able to help slow down, or minimize acceleration.

If that doesn't work, people should have put the car in neutral instead of letting it ride to 120mph. Cars like guns are deadly in the hands of people who don't know how to safely operate them. I am not defending Toyota at all as I put 75% of the blame on them, but I put the other 25% of the blame on the drivers who should have known better than let the car reach dangerous speeds. Now in low speed situations where you have almost no reaction time, that is different as people wouldn't have had to time necessary to reach such decisions.

If you have enough room, and nobody is directly behind you, you can easily put it in neutral. Just hang on while continuing to brake to safety.
It reminds me some of the ridiculous stickers on ladders so people don't try to set them in mud puddles, dog poo, or warning them to keep them level and not putting them up against power-lines, etc.

Adjusting car seats so they can see over steering wheels, reach all pedals, etc. etc. There's no end to the cautions that need to be stated to protect fools from themselves.

Going back some years, I have serious reservations how many actual 'unintended acceleration' events were not actually the result of brain freezes, or attempts of poor maintenance or reckless repairs. I know some were for real, but many were never repeatable. Of course, the ambulance-chasers were quick to jump to the cause.