Defective Products Archive

Your Toyota Recall Stories…Got one? Share it!

February 13th, 2010. By AbiK

Here’s what some of our readers have been experiencing with their Toyota’s and the Toyota Recall. Got a Toyota story? Share it!

From Mervin…

I have a 2010 toyoto corolla I bought it in august 2009 it is the worst money I ever spent . I have had it to the dealer about 12 times with problems . The car will just stop running and will take 45 minutes to an hour before I can gey it to start again . This happens two or three times a week if any body out there has such problems please contact me . Thank you.

From Jim…

I have 1999 Toyota Sienna that my wife and i both encountered the same problem. Once we press the gas pedal, it was stuck and wouldn’t come back, you need to repeatly press couple of times so it then can be released. We thought it is the structure defect, has more metal contact so it is not easy to return.

Now we are a little bit scared if the Sienna has the same behavior like other recalled cars, what are we going to do?

Besides, the sliding door handles are too easy to broke. We changed the handle, and it still gives us the feeling “will be broke” again.

From C.R….

With all information Toyota kept secret, who knows which cars are really affected? My niece died last month in a Toyota Yaris in a mainly residential neighborhood. No skid marks at the scene. It does make you wonder and worry for anyone driving a Toyota right now and the fix they are proposing  seems rediculous. I wouln’t trust it.

Tags: Toyota, toyota recall
Posted in Automotive, Defective Products | No Comments »

Car Recalls: Technocrats and Bureaucrats Need to put Safety First

February 12th, 2010. By Hunter West

 

If the recall troubles of Toyota and now Honda are knocking you out of your comfort zone, better get used to it. As cars become more complicated and sophisticated, recalls are going to be a fact of life. 

In other words, the more automakers do, the more they have to ‘undo.’ 

Tacked onto an MSNBC story about the recent Honda expanded recall for airbags was a comment from Yoshihiko Tabei, chief analyst at Kazaka Securities. 

“While the way automakers handle recalls is important, I think people should be careful not to overreact to every single recall,” he said. “Rather, my concern for the auto industry is their earnings for the next financial year, given the absence of the boost they enjoyed from government incentives this year.” 

Other automotive analysts agree that automakers regularly trigger recalls, although some have suggested the media reaction to the Toyota case has been overblown. That latter statement may, or may not be true depending upon one’s perspective. In the Toyota case, the story for decades has been that the Japanese automakers had it Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Automotive, Honda, Honda Recall, Toyota, toyota recall
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Video Takes on Defective Imports…Sad but True?

February 11th, 2010. By AbiK

Not so long ago Hunter had written about the questionable quality of Chinese imports–and the seeming lack of effective regulation for defective products. Well, just today, I found this one in my inbox…compliments of the Capitol Steps via youtube…

Tags: Chinese imports, Imports
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Got a Toyota Recall Story? Share it!

February 4th, 2010. By AbiK

I’m amazed at some of the stories out there from folks who are affected by this massive—hell, unprecedented—Toyota recall. There’s over 5.3 million affected Toyota owners out there, each with his or her own story of how the recall has affected them.

One I heard (or, overheard) yesterday: woman says she’s afraid she might lose her job because she doesn’t want to drive her car to work; apparently her commute is one hour each way… and I’m guessing she had no other means of getting to work other than her Toyota.

If you’ve got a Toyota recall story to share—whether it’s something that happened while you were driving, an issue you’ve had with Toyota or a Toyota dealership, or maybe just the sheer confusion you’re experiencing about whether your car is even safe to drive, let us know…

Share your Toyota Recall story

Tags: Toyota, toyota recall
Posted in Accidents, Defective Products, Emerging Issues | 2 Comments »

Toyota Recalls for Idiots

February 3rd, 2010. By AbiK

“Dummies” was already taken so I’m going with “Idiots” (no trademark infringement!). But the Toyota recall—actually make that plural: recalls—needs a down and dirty IKEA-type schematic for anyone to get what the hell is going on.

Why I Need an Idiot Guide to the Toyota Recall

See, this morning, I was tracking the latest info on the Toyota Prius. For the brakes. According to reports, at least 100 complaints have flowed into the NHTSA. About potentially poorly performing brakes. Oh, but wait a minute—didn’t we just see “Prius” listed somewhere on a recall list?

Yes! We did! That was when the Prius was recalled for risk of “floor mat entrapment of accelerator pedals”—but not for sticking accelerator pedals. Are you with me? And that’s on 2004-2009 Prius models.

Now, if we’re talking the Toyota Camry, the recalls are for the 2007-2010 models—BUT Camry Hybrids are not included in that. And if you’re Camry has a VIN that starts with lucky “J”—you’ve won a mini lottery—YOUR Camry isn’t in the sticking accelerator pedal recall. BUT otherwise (lucky “J” folks stay alert here) ALL Camry’s from 2007-2010 are part of both the floor mat recall and the sticking accelerator pedal recall.

See my confusion? So rather than go on here and try to sort out all the other models, let’s skip over to what you’re supposed to do if you have, say, a 2007-2010 Camry without a “J” VIN.

Why I Need an Idiot Guide to the Toyota Recall Remedy

Well, first up, the floor mat recall. Toyota says you’re supposed to take out any removable driver’s floor mat and not replace it with any other floor mat until you receive the vehicle-based remedy. Sounds pretty simple. Then Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Accelerator Pedal, Camry, Floormats, Prius, Toyota, toyota recall
Posted in Defective Products, Emerging Issues | No Comments »