If you have been listening to the national news lately you have probably heard about the Prius in San Diego/El Cahon which supposedly had a stuck gas pedal and got up to 94 MPH.
As Stossel would say, "Give me a break!" This guy ought to be in jail. His story is a bunch of bull****.
I have heard the 911 call and the operator asks, "Can you put it into neutral." His reply, "No." Can you press the Start Button. Inaudible (No).
In other reports he says he put it into neutral and it kept going. Impossible.
He is ticked because he went to a dealer and they told him his car was not on the floormat recall.
Almost as bad as the truck owner who purposely crashed his Tundra into the dealer's building.
These people should not have driver's licenses.
Let's see how many people disagree with me. :)
This reminds me of back in the day when people were tampering with packages in stores and there was this big scare. Lots of time/money was spent tracking down the actual criminals/terrorists. Enter the copycats. One guy in particular I remember put some kind of chemical in his eye, claimed his eye drops had been tampered with, just so he could get on the news and maybe get some money out of the deal.
Sad. :-\
I have been wondering since this started how people can not know how to drive. I remember all the old junk we used to drive. Had more than one throttle spring come off and run wide open. Pulling a hill in a truck and the motor mount give out and start down the other side wide open.
Who cares about RPM's, shove it in neutral, get it to the side, then shut it off. So what if you blow an engine, a lot better than hitting something.
I have tried to teach my girls that the gear shift was as useful as the brake or throttle.
Doug, I've had this feeling the guy is trying to pull something too. If it turns out he is, he's not the only criminal. So are the news outlets that enabled him.
We'll never know the truth, since they took the car straight to the dealer to have it checked out. It should have gone to the NTSB. Something is wrong with those cars and it has nothing to do with floor mats. I have no reason to seriously doubt the guy's story, which was backed up by the cop that assisted him, nor do I have particular reason to believe it. I see no reason to speculate about it. ::)
It is sad today that there are an abundance of people who are looing for big lawsuit settlements. I heard on the news that Toyota was sending a tech to inspect the car, should they not find something wrong the man should be arrested for putting the police officer and the public in danger. He is no better than a terrorist.
Randy
if the guy is lying he only learned from the exec's at toyota, and most guys driving a prius should have their man card taken away. I just don't understand why people believe this floormat scam, maybe the exec's from toyota should be the one's locked up for putting us all at danger and blaming a floormat.
The only thing the cop can back up is that the car was going too fast and his breaks were smoking. I could make that happen, but yer right Dang, no reason to speculate either way other then I just have the gut feeling there was more to the story.
If one might speculate in paranoia... The ability for a hacker to wirelessly hack into an automobiles computer controlled systems and manipulate them from another vehicle or even home. I don't know if Toyota has anything like onstar or Lojack, but could you imagine?
There are companies that create ways to control auto systems remotely already, perhaps Toyota may have some things built into their software that no one knows about yet. Almost no one... EVIL LAUGH
http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2007/03/track-and-control-your-car-via-the-web.html
First comment on this Blog Posting? "That's just begging to be hacked."
http://www.inilex.com/
I'll believe it when they prove it. Sounds like another "Balloon Boy" to me..... :-\
I've heard a couple of (news) stories where a knowledgable engineer was able to replicate the situation across a number of makes of vehicles. They were deliberately shorting a couple of sensors out and it was causing the motor to run wild. I have personally witnessed a GM diesel self destruct when it ran wild (It was one of the Oldsmobile 350 engines from the late 80's that was converted to diesel - basically a gas engine with an injector pump stuck down the distributor). It was sitting in the yard at the time and nothing we did had any effect.
These new vehicles have so many electronics, that I am not sure if there is a mechanical shift linkage on them or not. I have a new Ford Truck and know that the shift points are computer controlled. Can anybody tell me if there is a mechanical linkage to the trans or is the shifter telling the computer what it is supposed to do? I guess anything is possible.
Wudman
I'm not personally speculating on any of this, but with all the Toyota's I see around me on the roads I have never heard of any of these problems being reported. I'm sure there the possibility it wouldn't be anyway because of privacy issues. But heck, in my family we have 3 of'm and no one complained yet. 8) I have been on some nasty back roads with my RAV 4 during thinning and the only problems is tires, can only get 4 ply on car frame vehicles. The car will go anywhere. I had a Dodge that fell apart long before the mileage I got on my RAV, got tired of $700-900 every visit to the garage 1 or 2 times a year. ;D
There, said my piece. And besides I don't put a lot of stock in all that media fluff. :D
Maybe Toyota PO'd the US gov't and this is a media blitz to destroy them.
The toyota stuck accelerator has killed more people than the pinto gas tanks did.
This is a serious problem, regardless of the cause of it. Whether or not the latest example is true or not remains to be seen.
Oh yeah!?!? Well, That's nothing! This morning I was sawing some extra hard hickory with my Baker 3638 when the engine ran away. It was screaming !! I couldn't get it to shut down. The hydraulics acted as if they had a mind of their own. The thing just kept loading logs and running the blade through them till I finally ran out of logs at noon. Thirty-three thousand feet of 1x4's. It almost killed me. I don't know if I'll be able to saw again for at least a couple of days. Good thing I ran out of logs when I did too. I could have starved to death.
We would have been covered up with sawdust and suffocated if my granddaughter hadn't had her Tonka dump truck out there. Wonders never cease. She kept up with it the whole time, though she didn't gain on it much.
The mill is still sitting there in the woods, but all the lumber has been picked up and sawdust was taken away by fellow from Michigan who has a OWB. You should have seen the blade before we sent it to the scrapper. It didn't have any teeth left on it at all.
I sure hope that doesn't happen again. I might have to call CEO, Mike, at Baker in Ellington, and tell him that their Dang mill is cutting too much. I don't know if they realize the liability or not, but my lawyer will let them know. Heck! my blisters have blisters.
You never know what could have happened if it had slid off of the legs and gotten into the swamp. It would have probably sawed up all of my live oak, white oak, water oak and pine.
I tried to turn the key off, but I couldn't catch it. :-\
Don't ya just hate when that happens? :D
Quote from: Jeff on March 10, 2010, 03:37:32 PM
There are companies that create ways to control auto systems remotely already, perhaps Toyota may have some things built into their software that no one knows about yet. Almost no one... EVIL LAUGH
Yeah my wife's car had a remote kill switch that GM could control from head office when she missed a payment. No joke, I was driving her car down the road and it shut off. :D I called her and she told me she missed a payment and we had to call to get the thing turned on again. :D
I took note after that to never drive her car again and I also took note to buy the car and not let her go on these credit sprees. :D
that guy that was driving the toyota seemed too calm and collected to have just taken the ride he supposedly did. also the policeman claimed he slowed in front of the toyota to help bring it to a stop. why was there no apparent damage to either car?
This guy in the prius may or my not be telling the truth but we will se alot of untruths when people get tired of paying car payments and decide to run thier yota into a tree and blame it on a stuck pedal. I am pretty sure turning the key to the off (not lock) position will slow you down. 94 down the freeway ain't that fast that's just keeping up with traffic on I-75.
In the story, the policeman said that he got in front with the intention of slowing the car down, but the car was already slowing down after he told the driver to use the brake and emergency brake simultaneously.
I'm not going to guess. The experts will figure it out. I have the faith of a mustard seed. :D
If Toyota had taken bail out money they would not be having all these problems. Just last year GM had to recall 1.5 million cars for the engine catching on fire. :o I did not hear about that in the news much. But by then Obama owned GM and I did not see him in front of Congress saying it would be OK and he would have the cars fixed. I worked at a Chrylser Dealership for years and we were always doing recalls. We also sold Volkswagons and Jeeps and they too were recalled. One time I was doing recalls on Renualts and the owners got a check for the inconvience. We had 3 cars towed in from a junk yard so the owner could get the check and I put heater cores in cars that had not run in years and one did not even have an engine.
I do not think the cars are all that unsafe or causing all these problems. Sure some may have stuck or the floor mat got in the way. I know of people who have gotten rattled and hit the gas instead of the brakes. A short in a cruise control system could casue the car to speed up. If ON STAR and kill the engine and flash the lights for the cops there is no limit to what the computer can do to a car. But most cars retain the information or can have a devicce put in that will monitor everything.
The more the media talk about this the less I hear about health care. Just they are trying to shove it down our throats. One Dem is being kicked out because he would not vote for it. So now they have him on charges for messing around with a male aide. Wonder where their high standards were when Bill C. was in the White House messing around with the help?
Its a distraction, since all the recalls i havent heard a thing about a toyota diesel pickup. seems like it would be easier to just to release a torkey tacoma diesel.
But why dont they put it in neutral, simple man, it dont even take common sense
:D :D :D :D Between Tom and Arky your both going to have to get me up off the floor. ;) ;D
Oh wait, I think it's bed time. Lights out. ;D
Not to worry.. Not to worry.. I head a little blip on the radio the other day that one of our leaders in Washington was going to fix the problem. He had introduced (or proposed) some legislation that would require all manufactures to install some kind of anti-runaway device on all cars and trucks sold in the USA. I'm not making this up. But that's all I heard about it kind of on the tail end of a Toyota report.
Reminds me of the time when a 67 Plymouth Belvidere GTX 426 Hemi went full throttle on Town Hill. The guy's wife was driving it at the time. He had put all kinds of mods on it to try to beat a 67 Chevy II with 350hp 327 in a 1/4 drag race (as far as I know, he never did). He had installed some kind of roller linkage throttle system on the carburetors and the linkage came apart somehow. I understood that it got a bit sideways until she clutched it and turned off the key. It ended up in a yard causing no damage other than bending all the pushrods in the engine. :o
This is not new. Remember Audi back in the 80's
Stonebroke
All auto manufacturers have defects leading to recalls. Some are more proactive and forthright about getting them rectified.
Captain
Some take the wait and see approach to know what they are about to get into. :D
Cigarettes don't cause cancer or heart disease and aren't addictive. I heard that a few times in my life. ;)
My mother and grand parents buried two brothers before they got a lick of retirement pension.
I know it sounds silly, Bibbyman, but given the current reliance on computers to control every aspect of cars, I think a manual kill switch would be a good idea. If I had a Toyota, it would have one by now. We are all familiar with the mystifying problems computers can come up with. All it would take is one weak component in the fuel control segment of the computer to cause all these problems we're seeing.
To all of you who are so roundly criticizing the drivers, you must not have driven a vehicle later than the 70's. There ain't no clutch anymore. The auto tranny is shifted electrically on most of them, and there is an interlock to prevent turning off the key when in gear. Basically, you don't actually drive these cars anymore. You just file an application for the computer to have the car do what you want it to do. Apparently, these applications are sometimes denied. :-\
As far as I knew if you don't touch the brake peddle she don't shift from park. I remember reading that in owners manuals and you can shift into N from any drive gear while rolling down the road. Says so in my manual anyway.
I don't believe you can shift into neutral. You can tell the computer to shift into neutral and if it wants to, it will. The same thing about turning the ignition switch off. I believe all vehicles need a shutoff switch that will kill the engine without any getting in the way. Something like a manual switch that will turn off the electrical power to the fuel pump or will turn off ALL electrical power to the engine. Many times when a computer crashes, it keeps on doing what it was doing when it crashed. Some times the only recovery is to pull the plug.
I'm a firm believer in buying american cars, if you pull up to the job site with a toyota pick up seems the the throttle might stick on the dozer and head right for that truck or car.
Toyota Trucks are American Made.
even though the trucks are made here I still believe in backing the us based companies, I grew up in a family where everyone worked for ford, the street lived on everyone worked for the big three, didn't see many foreign brands around, now alot of friends and family still work for ford and gm, being about 90 miles from detroit alot of the folks around here are affected by the auto industry, sorry to be long winded about it but livin in michigan the big three affects everday life for many of us, and lately the affects are terrible.
I live and grew up in Michigan, and drive a chevy truck, however I would not rule out a Toyota as an option if I were to ever buy another. By the way, the Tundra was designed in Ann Arbor.
Our Dodge 3500 was built in Mexico. The other place they built them was in St. Louis, MO. 140 miles away. We had a Plymouth mini-van and it was assembled in Kansas City out of parts made all over the world - body in Canada, engine in Japan, etc.
I guess being a union member I'd rather see the profit of the companies stay in the us, the tundra is a great truck, but I personally would never buy one, didn't know the tundra was designed here, ya learn something new everyday, sorry to get off topic.
I actually had something happen within our family that just about sealed the deal on my not buying a Chevy truck next time and it has to do with one of those nice gm autoworkers.
This last year my Sister Lynda, her daughter Sonja, and her daughter went to see a hot air balloon show in Midland Michigan. It was an evening event where the balloons did not launch, but just ran their burners to light up the balloons and the sky. After the show, there was the typical event parking thing, where everyone was trying to leave, but were limited to waiting until others had. Sonya was driving her car. She was parked in a double row, facing out with a car tight to her bumper so she could not back up. As it was, she did not need to go the way the traffic was going, but the other way across this huge parking area, and to another building where a school event was going on that her daughter needed to be at.
As she was getting ready to leave, a chevy truck stopped right in front of her. She patiently waited for it to move, but the guy and his passenger, a woman just set there blocking her exit, even though the cars in front of him were now many car lengths away. Sonja motioned that she needed to go the other way. The guy opened his truck door, walked over to the front of her car, pointed at the "Nissan" emblem, then got back in has truck and just stayed there. They waited another minute or two, and Lynda got out of the truck to explain that they needed to go to get Lindsay to her event. She got about have way to the fellows truck and he shouted to her, You people drive a Nissan. You are not going anywhere before a general motors worker does. People like you are screwing (did not use the word screwing) my family, so get back in your ******* tin can, sit there and SHUT THE **** UP.
Lynda said he spoke viciously and she had no doubt that he meant it. So she did. She said he sat there for probably another minute then finally and slowly pulled off letting them go. They were all so scared by the incident that none of them thought to get his plate number as he went by, they just got away as soon as possible.
So, this is the kind of person that we should worry about? Yea I know, one guy, a unique event. But you know what they say about one bad apple. He sure soured me. I wish Pete and I could have been there. >:(
And now I see the ABC has admitted to faking the visuals in a "World News" report. They showed the effect of an intentionally created short circuit in the accelerator. Part way into the demo, the camera focused on the tachometer, winding around as the motor revved out of control.
Several folks watching that segment (including Toyota engineers) noticed that the tach was starting from an idle position, the handbrake was on, and the driver's seatbelt wasn't buckled, even though other shots showed him belted up.
ABC says they had to shoot that sequence in a parked car because there was too much vibration in the actual demo to get a clear shot of the tach.
Toyota has pointed out that the engine could not possible rev that fast if it was actually powering the car.
Quote from: DanG on March 11, 2010, 07:21:46 AM
To all of you who are so roundly criticizing the drivers, you must not have driven a vehicle later than the 70's. There ain't no clutch anymore.
Don't know about the other makes, but my '94 Cavalier had a clutch and my daughter's '99 Cavalier has a clutch.
My 2005 Smart car has a six-speed manual transmission that has a centrifugal clutch (no clutch pedal) and an electronic shift where you just bump the shift lever forward to move up to the next gear and backward to shift down a gear. It's also got a pair of paddles behind the steering wheel that shift up and down. You can put the car in "automatic" mode so it will shift just like an automatic. Even in regular mode, if your rev's get way too high the transmission will shift up automatically. So there's definitely some electronics in there.
Last fall Barb was teaching a course out of town and called home to say the paddles had stopped shifting, but the shift lever still worked. I checked with the dealer and found out that while the shifting is done electronically from the paddles or the engine speed monitor, the actual shift lever is connected via a linkage.
Quote
Basically, you don't actually drive these cars anymore. You just file an application for the computer to have the car do what you want it to do. Apparently, these applications are sometimes denied. :-\
Now that describes it in a nutshell :D :D.
Jeff, they're out numbered in these parts. ;)
Quote from: DanG on March 11, 2010, 07:21:46 AM
The auto tranny is shifted electrically on most of them, and there is an interlock to prevent turning off the key when in gear.
I was just out with my son a few minutes ago in his 2006 Chrysler 300 with auto trans and he could shut the key off in forward or reverse at slow speed or fast and could kick it into neutral even at 50 mph.No problem with control either but this is with a Chrysler.
I'll try my chev later.
Jeff it's terrible there are people like that out that and I can clearly see your point.
I was headed North on I-95 this morning when I noticed a Prius in my Rear View coming at me at a high rate of speed in the left lane. I was in the Center lane and wondered for a moment if he needed me to pull out in front of him to be used as a temporary break shield but then I thought better of it just in case he was in a real hurry to get some where. ;D
Talking with a co-worker this afternoon. He bought a new Tundra Truck with the V-6 last night. :)
A gentleman in Houston is suing Toyota for 2.5 million. His wife was killed two years ago when she drove into a concret retaining wall. She was past the legal limit, but it HAD TO BE the gas pedal that made her crash into that wall.
I wonder how many of the gas pedal failures were from the foot?
Bought a new Camry SLT two weeks before the recalled, had all the corrections made, have a 2002 Camry that has 120 K on the speedometer with no problems, no one I know who has a Toyota, of any type or age, has any problems.
But hey, call me naive, no one would pull a scam on a car company that isn't owned by the government, would they?
A couple of questions came to me when I heard this story.
If you were struggling to control a runaway car, why would you call 911?
If the guy was going in excess of 90 MPH, how did the trooper catch up with him? How far away was the trooper when this happened?
Sounds mighty fishy to me.
Quote from: limbrat on March 10, 2010, 09:44:33 PM
Its a distraction, since all the recalls i havent heard a thing about a toyota diesel pickup. seems like it would be easier to just to release a torkey tacoma diesel.
Limbrat,
One of my big beef's with Toyota is that Toyota sells diesel trucks and cars in every country in the world that I have been to... except the U.S. Outside the U.S., the Tacoma is called the "HiLux". And it is available with a diesel, in Mexico, El Salvador, Argentina, Kenya, and I am fairly certain in the U.K.
Toyota also owns, or has a stake in, Hino trucks. Hino already has 4, 5 and 6 cylinder diesel engines in production turning off up to 300 hp. How 'bout putting a 6 cylinder Hino diesel in a new style (larger) Tundra ? Engine development is already done and proven. All it would require would be to focus on the mounting system and accessory systems.
My wife always drives a Toyota. However, even tho I work for a Toyota company, I will continue driving my Cummins until I can get a diesel Tundra or diesel Tacoma in the U.S. ...
-w-
My RAV4 has a clutch. The Avalon and Tundra don't....they are automatics.... :) Did I count 3....Yup, got 3 of them.
Quote from: DanG on March 11, 2010, 07:21:46 AM
To all of you who are so roundly criticizing the drivers, you must not have driven a vehicle later than the 70's. There ain't no clutch anymore.
!958 International 2 ton has a clutch, ^7 Chevy half ton has a clutch and 94 jeep has a clutch :D I don't want anything newer than my jeep cause as far as I am concerened anything newer is junk. I consider some things on the jeep to be junk like electronic in-the-tank fuel pump (who the hell thought that was a good idea) and vacuum actuated 4x4.
That's pretty rough treatment Jeff. Where is a brother in law when you need him >:(. But that kind of guy wouldn't have acted that way if he was there.
Quote from: Warren on March 11, 2010, 09:27:53 PM
One of my big beef's with Toyota is that Toyota sells diesel trucks and cars in every country in the world that I have been to... except the U.S. Outside the U.S., the Tacoma is called the "HiLux". And it is available with a diesel, in Mexico, El Salvador, Argentina, Kenya, and I am fairly certain in the U.K.
It has to do with the laws in the US and nothing to do with Toyota. They run all sorts of diesels in Europe on their cars. But, they won't allow those diesels in the US. Volkswagen just started to import their cars last year. They get nearly as good of fuel efficiency as the Prius.
As for clutches, my Tacoma has one and so does my wife's Saturn. When I look at new cars, it will have one. Volkswagen has lots of 5 speed manual shift cars. I've never owned an automatic, and don't intend to. I figure the increased fuel mileage over the years has bought me a new car.
I really didn't think a Prius could go 94 mph.
Although I think Prius people can be a bit pompous in their vanity plated "My car gets the same mileage as an '89 Geo Metro for 25x the price" attitude, I was very impressed with how Toyota Recalled their late 90 pickups by giving people 1.5 x KBB value. Who wouldn't have been happy with full KBB??? But they gave full KBB and a half. Now my cousin had a 2001 and they actually took her truck completely apart and replaced the frame which seems like alot of work, but what do I know?
Anyway, I contrast Toyotas truck recall to how Ford does everything possible to get out of dealing with the 6.0 diesel troubles. Saying things like "you use the truck commercially, so the warranty is null and void" Well that's nice, but the guy that bought the truck to support his small business is now out of business and Ford knows it is a problem because they scrapped the motor completely after only 5 years.
Quote from: bl73 on March 11, 2010, 04:21:37 PM
Jeff it's terrible there are people like that out that and I can clearly see your point.
What exactly is the difference between that guy's actions and offering to run over a Toyota on the jobsite?
Run me over deliberate no matter what I'm driving, you better hope your real safe sit'n in there. ;D :D
There used to be a song "We are all working for the Japanese, Mini vans and color tv's..."
Looks like we are all working for the Chinese subcontracted to the Federal Gov.
I know I am getting old but I still remember when we prayed in school, made in the USA could be found on products, women had more in their clothes then hanging out, you could make a deal with your word and a hand shake, people were responsible for their actions, common sense was not all that uncommon, the sun rose in the east and the SON was on the throne.
Were the good ole days really that good or is my mind a fading? Gun control was using both hands and watching where you pointed the muzzle. Schools were full of kids, not grave yards full of fetuses. When did we become so needful to be connected to someone all the time? Why do cell phones have to be on all the time and in the ear? When did someone far away become more important then the person in front of you? Why is working with your hands looked down on? Why do we teach sports and not keep score? Why can I not be a winner and bask in the glory of to the victor goes the spoils? What is wrong with a "C" average and what does 4.0 really mean? Why did the foods my Grand Parents ate become bad for you when they lived to be in their 90's? And just who is the Joneses and why am I trying to keep up with them?
I really need to go q saw some oak for a man and load the kiln. May the Peace of GOD find you today and remember what Red Green says " I'm pulling for you as we're all in this togeher."
At the end of the 60's it went down hill in some respects. Take sporting camps for instance. Back in the day no one had to lock a darn camp in this country. If someone used it they cleaned it up and never stole and broke stuff up. Now the attitude seems to be that you got something I ain't, I'm jelous. So, I think I'll bust up your property after I swallow a bottle or two so I can't be held accountable.
"women had more in their clothes then hanging out"
Boring....
Just kidding. You aren't alone in many of your viewpoints ARK.
I love the argument that you can't be a good person or have a good society without the big guy upstairs. Never understood that one but that is a can of worms that doesn't really need to be opened.
Oh, the reason for "Why did the foods my Grand Parents ate become bad for you when they lived to be in their 90's" is that they physically WORKED...very hard. Our society (not many of you but as a whole) has essentially stopped manufacturing, farming is automated (for the most part), logging is automated (same, same), and desk jobs are the norm. Hard physical labor or working out a lot will offset many of the problems associated with your grandparents diet.
With regard to the Toyotas - my parents own a Prius and say they still got better gas mileage with their late 80s Chevy Sprint.
we have ambulance chasing lawyers advertising on tv going after truckers in nashville tn. now they are going after toyota.they like to brag about the huge setlements they get for the clients. of course they never tell what their cut is.
Some of those NY and NJ lawyers are starting to put adds up here for mesothelioma victims.
Ha Ha Ha a new one for the spell checker, it stumbled over that word. ;)
Ah yes, the trial lawyers....I can't think of anyone more ethical... ??? Maybe politicians!
oh wait, most of them are lawyers too :(
As reported on Forbes.com and FoxNews.com...
James Sikes is a con-man and the whole Prius story has been proven to be a hoax.
Bankruptcy, five months behind on car payments, $700,000 in debt, numerous insurance claims, all-round hoaxster.
Every claim he made has been proven to be phony or illogical.
Quote from: Faron on March 12, 2010, 07:39:03 AM
Quote from: bl73 on March 11, 2010, 04:21:37 PM
Jeff it's terrible there are people like that out that and I can clearly see your point.
What exactly is the difference between that guy's actions and offering to run over a Toyota on the jobsite?
one difference that was a public place where everyone should be civil, another I'm a union operator, even though I'm not UAW I still support all union brothers, so foreign cars of any kind aren't really welcome on the job site, i don't go out off my way to say something to someone in public to each their own but on the jobsite alot people have shed alot of blood for what we have.
Quote from: bl73 on March 10, 2010, 03:32:22 PM
if the guy is lying he only learned from the exec's at toyota, and most guys driving a prius should have their man card taken away. I just don't understand why people believe this floormat scam, maybe the exec's from toyota should be the one's locked up for putting us all at danger and blaming a floormat.
Nahh..the floormat thing was legit...at least in the Camry...saw the problem, fixed it myself,
had the good sense to chuck the ill designed floormat out in the driveway...and laughed at the dealership when they tried to do the recall...
Tell it like it is, be blunt. :D :D
"Don't talk, shoot"
Tuco
hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
wonder why this never made the national news?
GM to recall 1.3M compacts for steering problem
(AP) – Mar 1, 2010
DETROIT — General Motors says it is recalling 1.3 million compact cars in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to fix power steering motors that can fail.
Models covered by the recall include 2005 to 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts, the 2007 to 2010 Pontiac G5s, 2005 and 2006 Pontiac Pursuits sold in Canada and 2005 and 2006 Pontiac G4s sold in Mexico.
GM says the vehicles are safe to drive and never lose steering, but they may be harder to steer when traveling under 15 mph.
The automaker is getting parts to replace the electric power steering motor and will notify customers when to bring their cars to dealers
guess it's ok if the power steering goes out, who needs to steer their car anyway......... does it really only happen at les than 15 miles an hour? or maybe it is because our government owns GM and not toyota...or maybe the UAW is keeping this quiet....... the entire thing stinks to me. I have a Ford F150 that I bought new in 1998, and i have had at least 6 recalls over the years, no big deal. one of them is for the cruise control......... No news coverage, no law suits....... I think toyota is getting screwed by the media
just my 2 cents
Steve
The GM recall did make the news, at least I heard it, and if you ever develop a leak in your power steering you know you can still steer the car. MIght be hard to parallel park, but you can still steer it.
All the companies have had significant recalls. LLBean had an enormous failure rate on his first hunting boot, but he made good on it and that is what made the company what it is today.
Quoteguess it's ok if the power steering goes out, who needs to steer their car anyway......... does it really only happen at les than 15 miles an hour?
Power steering fails on cars occasionally. It's usually belt driven, the belts break, the pump stops. You have no power assist. At highway speed you hardly notice as the steering movements are small and the wheel is light anyway. Trying to turn to full lock at 5mph without power steering, you DO notice its not working. If it's your Granny thats pulling into your driveway when they steering suddnely goes heavy, she probably hits your gate post, runs down your dog , or drives over a cliff...
Thats what they are worries about.
And with the sudden spotlight on car faults, who wants to be next in live for a lawsuit when granny's power steering fails and she runs through a buch of kids.
Ian
Yes, the power steering issue was in the news a few days ago. But, no one made much fuss for their own one sided reasons. ;)
Quote from: bl73 on March 12, 2010, 05:32:26 PM
Quote from: Faron on March 12, 2010, 07:39:03 AM
Quote from: bl73 on March 11, 2010, 04:21:37 PM
Jeff it's terrible there are people like that out that and I can clearly see your point.
What exactly is the difference between that guy's actions and offering to run over a Toyota on the jobsite?
one difference that was a public place where everyone should be civil, another I'm a union operator, even though I'm not UAW I still support all union brothers, so foreign cars of any kind aren't really welcome on the job site, i don't go out off my way to say something to someone in public to each their own but on the jobsite alot people have shed alot of blood for what we have.
bl73,
Does that mean that a union member would not drive a Toyota Corolla or Toyota Tacoma built by UAW Brothers and Sisters in Fremonth, CA ? But they would drive a Chevy Aveo built by non-union South Koreans, or a Dodge truck built in Mexico ?
To be clear, I am not anti-Union. My first job was with Local 522 of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers, my grandpa was a union coal miner, my dad and uncles retired from the Steel Workers union, my new SIL is a union welder.
It is just that now days, it is very difficult to tell what is union made and what is not... Just not clear cut...
-w-
This situation has virtually nothing to do with car safety and everything to do with political posturing. It is theater, nothing else. Why would anyone assume that a bunch of career politicians would have the technical knowledge to recognize the solution to a problem even if they saw it?
The claim is that over the past 10 years 19 people have been killed in Toyotas with stuck accelerators. Assume for a moment that that is true, in the same time period close to 450,000 people were killed in car accidents in the US. We're having congressional investigations into the .000042% of total car deaths that might have been caused by stuck accelerators in one brand of car? This was the biggest car safety issue they could find? This doesn't pass any kind of smell test.
How about some common sense? Go out in your driveway and start your car or truck. Put your left foot on the brake pedal and your right on the accelerator. Hold down the brake and start applying gas. Does the power of the engine ever overcome the brake? No it doesn't, so how could brakes not be able to stop a car with a stuck accelerator? I tried it in my Chevy Express van yesterday. Right foot on the gas doing 60, left foot braking. No trouble stopping at all. I'm going to take our Toyota Highlander out shortly and try the same test in it. If I don't come back sue somebody for me.
Large passenger jets can apply full throttle and yet as long as the pilots hold the brakes the planes don't move. But you can't stop a Prius? Anything, no matter how unlikely is possible, once, maybe even twice but when so many people start coming out of the woodwork making the same unlikely claims it's time to get a better grip on your wallet because the sharks are circling.
About the last thing the economy needs is a major plant closing. Nonetheless, Toyota is going ahead with plans to close the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. assembly plant -- a joint venture started in 1984 with General Motors -- in Fremont, Calif., on April 1. Nearly 5,000 NUMMI jobs will evaporate and up to 50,000 jobs are at risk, including those at 1,000 suppliers throughout the state, according to the company's own numbers. At stake for thousands are homes, college educations and a middle-class lifestyle that came out of decades of hard work.
got this off another website, Calif., was the only toyota plant to be union and thats coming to end. Toyota makes a good product and does employ americans in many states, I choose not to own one, and on the jobsite for the most part foreign cars aren't welcome thats all i was getting at.
Quote from: Jeff on March 11, 2010, 09:27:06 AM
Toyota Trucks are American Made.
Built in Princeton, Indiana by Non-Union workers. True American made vehicle
Quote from: Ron Wenrich on March 12, 2010, 05:35:45 AM
Quote from: Warren on March 11, 2010, 09:27:53 PM
One of my big beef's with Toyota is that Toyota sells diesel trucks and cars in every country in the world that I have been to... except the U.S. Outside the U.S., the Tacoma is called the "HiLux". And it is available with a diesel, in Mexico, El Salvador, Argentina, Kenya, and I am fairly certain in the U.K.
It has to do with the laws in the US and nothing to do with Toyota. They run all sorts of diesels in Europe on their cars. But, they won't allow those diesels in the US. Volkswagen just started to import their cars last year. They get nearly as good of fuel efficiency as the Prius.
As for clutches, my Tacoma has one and so does my wife's Saturn. When I look at new cars, it will have one. Volkswagen has lots of 5 speed manual shift cars. I've never owned an automatic, and don't intend to. I figure the increased fuel mileage over the years has bought me a new car.
I really didn't think a Prius could go 94 mph.
Ron is right. Ford has been making an F150 for years with a 4.2 l Diesel in Europe. I know, I've seen one when I was in the Military in South Africa. The truck got 60 mpg hwy. It was a nice engine. They still make them! If you don't believe me look under the hood of any Ford Pickup. There is a sticker with numerous diagrams showing the installation of your drive belt. They have all engine designs listed, including the 4.2 diesel!
It's getting to be time for some of you to curtail your Personally intimidating responses.
Sorry Tom...I was just joking.
Ive had a stuck gas pedal in a REAL car not some PRIUS car. Talking 400+CDI V8, there wasnt any stopping it using the brake! I was pulling out of gas station at a corner during shift ending time. BUSY intersection on Base @ Edwards AFB in CA. I had been working on the car and had put air cleaner back on but not tight enough I guess. I had to quickly get across the street to the other side to clear a car doing a right turn on green coming at me that was going rather quickly. when I pushed down the air cleaner rotated and jammed the throttle linkage, as the air cleaner rotated more under the acceleration it opened up the throttle more till it hit WOT. I was turning left managing to dodge the cars around me while both rears were light up nicely. Needless to say I went through the intersection sideways attempting to brake and steer all while reaching for the Gear shift to go to Neutral. what sound like a long time was mere seconds at most. I got to the other side of the intersection and had the car in Neutral and engine free revved for a sec or so while I turned it off and steered to side of road. I wasnt going real fast and managed to completely control it to a soft stop although on the wrong side of a red light when cop was setting there :o I didnt get a ticket and was lucky enough to not get in way of any cross traffic.
This wasnt my only time with stuck throttle but was a very quickly happening one. My womans T-Bird did same thing she was driving and panicked some I shifted car manually into Neutral as the engine revved to about 8 grand. In case any of you have early to mid 90's Fords the throttle linkage/cable has a plastic clip that can/does break which kicks the trans into a odd condition and will fool the computer into thinking the foot was put to the floor. They accelerate and at the same time toss the trans into a Low/Revers band pressure situation of some sort. this usually blows the trans out on top of setting the engine to full throttle.
I also had an old ford 60's truck which the linkage would stick and act like cruise control... I was kid back then and since it was all manual pushing the clutch or turning off key was easily done...
I think the guy with the Prius probably was not all that smart well I'm sure of it he bought a PRIUS lol
Mark
Well, I made it. took the Highlander out and tried all the tricks much to my wife's displeasure. With my left foot on the brake and right one pressing the gas the car didn't move. Out on the highway shifting into neutral worked just fine and the brakes quickly stopped the car even when I held the gas pedal down.
Car and Driver did the same test with 3 different cars including a 540 HP Roush Mustang.
Take a look. http://tiny.cc/moO09
And here's a demo in a Prius.
http://tiny.cc/8fDPl
I saw where they have tested the Prius in question. They can't get it to accelerate. When they push the brake and the accelerator, the engine shuts down like its supposed to do.
The driver was afraid to put the car into neutral because he feared it would flip over. I'm trying to figure out how that would happen or how anyone would even think it would happen.
They're also going to be testing a couple of other cars that people said had the accelerator stick. Should be interesting to see how many of these claims turn out to be bogus.
I see on the national news this morning they are stopping just short of calling the guy a fraud. I suspect many of them will be bogus, or operator error.
There are people that just don't like to admit when they do something stupid and blame it on what ever excuse first pops into their mind.
There are times when just weird things happen. Tammy had one happen many years ago while driving the bus, and because of her actually reporting the facts and her activism to make sure it never happened to any of her fellow drivers, it lead to a stricter footwear code while driving for that district.
One day she happened to be wearing hiking boots. Heavy healed and soled shoes. Not high heels, but just real thick heavily treaded soles over all. Anyhow, she had her foot slip off the side of the accelerator and get wedged between the gas and the brake, trying to wiggle her foot out only pushed the accelerator down harder. She had the presence of mind to push in the clutch and pull off. She didn't have kids on and was transporting a bus to have some other repairs done out of town. I was following her a little ways back to pick her up after delivering the bus and was wondering what the heck was going on when the bus swerved a few times, then pulled off, then pulled back on continuing normally. It gave her quite a scare and me something to razz her about.
It is true that production will cease at the NUMMI facility in the next few weeks. Been there several times. The IT area is directly over the union hall. Had several friends work there over the years. Had several friends at affected Tier1 suppliers as well. Any time that a large facility such as NUMMI shuts down, it has a negative impact on a great number of people and families.
Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that GM walked away from NUMMI (and 13 other plants) last year in their haste to belly up to the "Bail Out" hog trough.... My understanding, Toyota spent several months working with the union, the state and the feds to find a solution to save the plant and the jobs. To the Japanese, a plant closure is a major disgrace. GM on the other hand... never looked back...
And THAT is the last I will say on this subject. :-X I wish all Forumites the best of health, and the best of luck with their vehicles, regardless of what they choose to drive !
-w-
Maybe it is because Toyota is not union that the press and the GOV are busting their chops so hard. I was a UAW member one time and hope to never be one again. I will be the first to admit that at one time they were needed. Now they are just a drain on your paycheck and the reason so many jobs have gone over seas. If I was to go buy a Toyota it would be becasue they are not union made but, made in america. If they came out with a one ton desiel I would sure look at it.
After high school graduation 1976, I purchased a 1977 F-150 made notes to the bank @ $124. a month. 1978 I married my beautiful brown eyed, brunette sweetheart. 1979 we married and purchased a 1979 Toyota Corolla. We didn't have a pot to pith in when we got married. 900 square foot in a one bedroom apartment. Back then the thought was you didn't want a U.S. car that was built on Friday cause the workers were watching the clock for beer thirty. You didn't want a car built on Monday cause the workers all had hangovers. Course, you really didn't have any idea when the car was built. At the time, U.S. cars had a bad reputation of lax tolerances for machining or the assembly line. It was thought that the Asian market had much closer tolerances for manufacturing. The truth is Germany has been on top for machining tolerances for leap years ahead of the world. The Asians did offered a better product at a lesser price, especially for a young married couple. It took a couple of years but, the U.S. car manufacturers realized they were below the curve on their products. The U.S. manufacturers retooled and re-schooled in the early eighties throughout industry, not just automotive. I think Toyota became overcome with greed and lost sight of good product and safety. All my automobiles since the Toyota have been American made. Buick, Ford and Dodge. My prayer these days include to protect the owners of the Toyota cars and passengers, protect the innocent in conflicts overseas and bring our troops home safely and in tact.
I heard they recalled two Tundras... yup two. I read it this morning somewhere...if I come across the link I will be sure to drop it here. I find it pretty weird.
i wonder what they plan to do with those tundras when they get them back?
This is from March 10,
USA Today adds, "Toyota is going to expand its recall of the 2000 to 2003 Tundra pickup to
include the entire country -- not just 20 cold-weather states."
Pickuptrucks.com says, "Owners of Tundras originally sold or currently registered in the remaining 30 states will be notified by Toyota in the coming weeks. In the original recall, corrosion could lead to spare tires falling from the vehicle's underside, as well as excessive corrosion affecting brake lines and fuel tank straps."
The Detroit News points out that the Tundra has been an expensive and problematic model for Toyota. "Toyota spent more than a decade edging into the market with two smaller pickups before the 2007 Tundra, only to have its self-proclaimed most important vehicle ever for the U.S. run headlong into stronger competitors, a stumbling economy, a market shift away from pickups and now the company's own quality problems." The News adds, "With around $6 billion spent on the Tundra and more than 8 million vehicles now recalled for a variety of defects, it's worth asking whether Toyota's big pickup was a considered strategic move or a costly detour."
If you own Tundra and have questions about the recall, contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
I don't have one (Toyota) but I don't see any one else recalling there rusty trucks unless it has to do with polution control, If Ford, GM, or Dodge recalled there 10 year old rusty trucks around here they would get most of them back. I think it is mostly some elected people and the press trying to keep a story alive for the $$ or air time. Ford fought hard not to recall trucks for tierod ends that won't last as long as a set of tires (the ball joints are not much better) , I know of two 2007 GM trucks one with 70000k the other with 40000K that the front end would not pass safety inspection last summer. Dodge would not repaint trucks that the paint fell off as you drive down the road. If I was getting a new one I think I would rather have a truck from a company that is willing to take responsibilty for their product.
My thoughts on the subject for what it worth.
Seems the Lady who's car took off on her and hit a stone wall had her foot on the gas and not on the brake the whole time. ::) ::) Seems the guy's car out in California could stop? I am sure there is a problem but the press is sure bad for Toyota.
About a Year ago My Eldest Stepdaughter was Driving down I-64 to Work when another Vehicle pulled along side and started blowing the Horn and waving, Telling Her to Pull over which Scared Her of course but the Men Seem to be Legitimate so She pulled over and Long story Short Cried Her Eyes out as Her Car Burned to the Ground on the Interstate. It was a 2000 Camry, She Bought another Toyota, 2009 model Camry, and it Really makes You Wonder what's Going on.Honestly I don't care for a Reostat on a Gas Pedal on any Vehicle.
now any time a toyota is involved in an accident it will be blamed on a fault in the car never driver error.
it is easy for even an experienced driver to get excited and do the wrong thing when the unexpected happens.
i still do not understand that fellow in california. i think he decided he hated toyota for some reason. or maybe he just decided he was unhappy with that car and took it out on the car.
I don't think a car burning to the ground is driver error.
Stonebroke
:D I know of a feller in town, went to school with him, who took his mother's car out one weekend. He got a little tipsy I think, but the car quit. He got out and jumped up and down on the roof and caved it in. :D :D Car's fault for p'ing him off. :D He always was one crazy fellow. Makes life fun as my uncle would say. ;D :D
Sometimes in order for Us to take a Step Forward We need to take a Step back first, Personally I Feel thats Toyota's problem....To much Technology....I have really never Heard of Anyone Saying anything negative about Toyota till Recently. And as Far as My Stepdaughter's Toyota Burning is Concerned, I'm not SAYING that it's Toyota's fault, but when it's YOUR Family Member that has a problem with all thats going on it makes You Think.
Jim