Posts Tagged ‘ toyota recall ’

Federal Regulators Must Share Some Blame for Toyota Recall Delays

April 15th, 2010. By Hunter West

Much has been made about the delays attributed to Toyota for acting on safety deficiencies with its vehicles—delays that didn’t appear to affect consumers in Europe and Canada but impacted those in the US. And while James Lentz, the president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA, stated in Congress in February that he did not know of reports of sticking pedals in Europe until the month prior (January, 2010), documents showed that engineers in the US were told about the sticking pedals as early as April, 2009. 

That said, US safety regulators—which have been famously holding Toyota’s feet to the fire throughout the recall process—couldn’t escape blame either. If Toyota is to blame for dragging its feet, so too did federal safety regulators. 

Case in point: according to the April 11th issue of The New York Times, officials from Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) met in Washington to discuss the accelerator pedals and floor mats issue—an issue linked to a fiery crash in California the previous month that killed four members of one family. At the meeting, the agency also pressed the automaker to announce just how it intended to fix the problem. 

Toyota made that announcement on November 25^th. However the meeting took place September 28^th. Two months went by before the announcement was made. 

There are those who feel the agency could have pressed Toyota to act sooner, or at the very least keep up the pressure. 

Recent federal fines levied against Toyota cite the breach in protocol that requires, by law, an automotive manufacturer to report a product safety deficit to federal regulators within a handful of business days. And yet while the Transportation Secretary was vowing to hold Toyota’s “feet to the fire” for delays in bringing the US into a loop that had already included Canada and Europe months earlier, the question remains why the NHTSA allowed Toyota so much lead time up to November 25^th. 

Since then there has been a steady diet of sensational media headlines and stories, congressional hearings and angry congressmen playing the role of protector to the American consumer. Toyota missed the deadline. Toyota allegedly withheld information. Toyota’s feet must be held to the fire for delays. Hardly a day has passed without some story on Toyota accompanied by a talking head from Washington crying foul. 

But for two months, Washington appeared to stand at the sidelines while Toyota sorted all this out. 

Says Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for Representative Darrell Issa, the ranking Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, “The bottom line is that both industry and regulators failed.” 

And in so doing, the regulators appear to be talking from both sides of their mouths.

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

Vintage Cars Rock as Hard Drive on Wheels may be Hell on Wheels

March 12th, 2010. By Hunter West

I have a prediction: this whole Toyota mess is going to spawn a re-birth of vintage cars.

 

I have a friend who has a vintage Volkswagen Beetle. An original Veedub. It was made at the original Wolfsburg factory in Germany, has a carburetor and no pollution controls. It coughs, and wheezes. Despite the obvious fact that it’s loads of fun to drive, my pal has had it parked for a few years now due to his attempt to respect the environment—even though legally he can drive it as is—given the fact the car is so old it is grandfathered and is not governed by modern-day pollution control standards. 

He would sit there, at the red light, an obvious Old-World stench belching from the exhaust pipe, cowering under the scorn of other drivers sitting behind the wheels of their gleaming Toyotas that didn’t stink so much. 

So he parked the car. There it sits in the garage, replaced by a more modern vehicle. He’s aware there are others in the vintage car communities who have done the same. They’re driving their vintage cars less, if at all, out of respect for the environment. Besides, newer cars are that much safer. 

Or, are they?

Don’t be surprised if you see more old cars out on the road now. Cars that drive by mechanics, not electronics. The only circuit you’ll find is the battery that connects the starter, the headlights, the horn, the wipers and the radio.

That’s it. Cars according to KISS: ‘keep it simple, stupid…” 

Are cars getting too complicated? 

Toyota has been beleaguered with trouble. We all know that. We’ve all heard about the recall, and the sticky pedals. We’ve all heard that Toyota said it was NOT electronics that were at fault, then say they weren’t sure, and then say again as late as this week that in their view the electronics are fine. It’s sticking pedals and floor mats that are causing unexplained acceleration. 

And yet we hear of reports where Toyota owners have experienced more incidents whereby their recalled cars have sped away seemingly under their own power AFTER the safety repairs were made. This week a guy driving a Prius is lucky to be alive after his car sped up along a California Interstate. He said the pedal stuck and wouldn’t let go. He even tried to pry it free with his hand. It wouldn’t budge. Floor mats were not the issue.

His car wasn’t on the recall list. 

On Wednesday a woman was just heading out of her driveway when her Toyota suddenly lurched forward, sped up and she slammed into a retaining wall across from her property. 

Okay, so is the problem mechanical? Or electronic? Or a combination of both? Do you ever recall a 1964 Impala doing this kind of stuff?

Most agree that cars are getting increasingly complicated. Some say, too much so. Well if that’s you, then you don’t want to ever meet up with the 2010 Lexus HS 250h, manufactured by Toyota. 

More computing power than a moonshot 

Here is a car that can literally drive itself. Roman Mica, a reporter and producer for CNN reviewed Toyota’s latest marvel, calling the Lexus HS 250h a technological ‘tour de force.’ You don’t drive the car any more, Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Toyota, toyota recall
Posted in Accidents, Automotive, Emerging Issues | 1 Comment »

Cuomo’s Helping Hand to NY for Toyota Recall

February 24th, 2010. By AbiK

This just in…been affected by the Toyota recall mess and live in New York? NY State Attorney General Cuomo’s got your back—at least when it comes to making the process of getting your car repaired a bit easier.

According to nypost.com this morning, Toyota has agreed to guarantee New Yorkers who’ve been thrown into the recall mess the following:

• Pick up of the vehicle at the owner’s home
• Return the vehicle after it’s been repaired
• Pay for out-of-pocket transportation costs
• Offer drivers free rental cars during repairs

That’s good news especially considering the number of emails and comments we’ve received from Toyota drivers who are concerned about driving their cars–even to the dealership–until the repairs are made. Cuomo, himself, gave a nod to this very issue in his prepared statement:

“It is unacceptable that New York consumers should face additional burdens when dealing with a safety problem that is Toyota’s responsibility,” Cuomo said in a prepared statement obtained by the AP before a scheduled noon announcement. “New Yorkers who own recalled vehicles understandably may be reluctant to drive their cars and assume the risk of harm to themselves and others on the road.”

If you’re in NY and you’ve got a recalled Toyota sitting in your drive, there’s also a website that’s been set up to provide further information: nytoyotahelp.com.

Tags: Cuomo, NY, Toyota, toyota recall
Posted in Automotive, Defective Products, Emerging Issues | No Comments »

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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