Toyota Suspends Sales Of Recalled Vehicles

[RJG183SA]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/26/...shtml?tag=stack

 

"Oh what a feelin".

[MS3DALE]

I just saw that myself,I'm surprised there "suspending sales" and production both though,but I guess its better to be safe than sorry.

[Stevens03]

Just saw that on my local news

[Snow White]

did it make national news and every cable news channel, every hour, by 3 different reporters on the same network... oh sorry that only happens to the big 3.

[Delmarva]

Word is Toyota will be reprogramming the ECU's with code that if the brake pedal is depressed for more than 3 seconds with the accelerator depressed it will cut fuel to the injectors.

[MS3DALE]

did it make national news and every cable news channel, every hour, by 3 different reporters on the same network... oh sorry that only happens to the big 3.

 

[fbachman]

Toyota suspends sales of 8 models in recall

Kathy Jackson

Automotive News -- January 26, 2010 - 6:27 pm ET

UPDATED: 1/26/10 8:31 p.m. ET LOS ANGELES – Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. is suspending sales and will halt production while seeking a fix for eight vehicles recalled last week for sticking accelerator pedals.

Output will be stopped for the week of Feb. 1 at plants that make the eight models involved in the recall. Two are in Indiana, with one each in Texas, Kentucky and Canada. The sales suspension includes the nation's top-selling car, the Toyota Camry.

 

"Helping ensure the safety of our customers and restoring confidence in Toyota are very important to our company," Toyota Division General Manager Bob Carter said in a statement. "This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized."

 

Last week's recall covered 2.3 million vehicles and involved problems with a pedal mechanism. The move compounded Toyota's battle to preserve its reputation for stellar quality following last fall's recall of 4.2 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles. That action focused on pedals jammed by floor mats, causing unintended acceleration.

 

"This is horrible; it's terrible," said Ernie Boch, owner of Boch Toyota in Norwood, Mass., and the nation's second-largest Toyota dealer. "But I still think Toyota is doing what they think is right.''

 

In addition to the 2007-10 Camry, the vehicles affected by the latest action are the 2005-10 Avalon; 2007-10 Tundra; 2008-10 Sequoia; 2009-10 RAV4, Corolla and Matrix; and 2010 Highlander,

 

"I have some customers who will not take delivery of a car until it's fixed," Boch said. "If this lasts a long time, it could be devastating for me."

 

Review

 

A person familiar with Toyota's plans said last week in the wake of the recall that the company was reviewing several potential fixes, including a new gas pedal and better lubrication.

 

The problem is caused by a mechanism that controls the accelerator pedal's return to the idle position after being pressed to the floor, the person said. Toyota spokesman John Hanson confirmed the source's report that the components were made in Canada by supplier CTS Corp. of Elkhart, Ind.

 

Hanson called the problem rare and said it stems from pedals that "prematurely wear" because of the supplier's faulty pedal design. He also said condensation can prevent the pedal from fully springing back into position, but he did not identify fixes Toyota is reviewing.

 

Hanson said the issue involves only CTS, one of the two parts makers that build the pedal mechanisms for Toyota.

 

The source offered no timeline for the fix, but said replacing the pedal would take a long time because new components would have to be re-engineered and manufactured.

The glitch is not related to the car's electronic throttle control system, the person said.

 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found no evidence of faulty electronic controls in Toyota vehicles.

 

Toyota's electronic throttle control system has dual sensors backstopping each other in monitoring the accelerator pedal's position, along with two more sensors double-checking the throttle position. Meanwhile, a control computer actuates the throttle and a monitoring computer surveys all the computer signals in the circuit.

 

If any abnormal signals are detected, the engine is immediately returned to idle.

 

Reuters contributed to this report.

[truckofwinandawesome]

This is a GOLDEN Opportunity For ALL THREE Detroit automakers to FINALLY Gain some Ground against that Jap Scrap!

[Daryl LBZ]

Hahahaha!!!!!!!!! They deserve everything thats happening to them right now!

[C. Charles Hahn]

I'm going to just sit back and laugh. How do you like your Tundras now, boys?

[RJG183SA]

This is an unprecedented event in automotive history. The sheer number of effected vehicles is staggering. I think this will open the door for further investigations. This maybe only the tip of the iceberg.

 

 

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toyo...17.story?page=1

 

 

Toyota's sudden-acceleration problem first came to light in August, when a Lexus ES sped out of control near San Diego, crashing and killing an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer and his family.

 

A month later, Toyota said it would recall seven models of vehicles to prevent sudden-acceleration incidents. In November it said that recall would involve modifying or replacing pedals, swapping out floor mats, changing carpet padding and installing new safety software that overrides the throttle when the brake is depressed.

 

That recall is underway, but reports of unintended acceleration have continued to mount.

 

And after insisting for months that the problem was limited to floor mats entrapping pedals, the automaker last week announced that it had identified a separate, mechanical problem.

 

According to Toyota, pedal assemblies made by CTS Corp., an Elkhart, Ind., supplier, had a tendency to stick or return slowly after being depressed in certain conditions. Toyota last week said it had not found a problem with pedals made by another supplier, Denso Corp.

 

For safety experts, the continuing escalation of the acceleration problem is deeply worrying.

 

"What I smell is desperation from a company that is trying to get a situation under control that already is out of control," said Sean Kane, president of Safety Research & Strategies, an auto safety consulting firm.

 

He and other experts believe that while stuck pedals and floor mats may cause some incidents of unintended acceleration, the majority of the cases are linked to the computer-driven electronic throttle systems used on all Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

 

Those systems, known as drive-by-wire, replace steel cables with electronic relays and computer logic.

 

"I don't see this effort addressing the full scope of the problem," Kane said.

 

The Times reported Nov. 29 that complaints of sudden acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles soared after the automaker began adopting electronic throttle systems starting with 2002 model year cars.

 

Toyota, for its part, has denied that electronic throttle systems are to blame, saying that it has thoroughly investigated those components and found no defects. Nonetheless, the automaker said last week that it was continuing to evaluate field reports of sudden acceleration and was on the lookout for any other potential causes.

 

Toyota is facing more than a dozen lawsuits alleging defects causing sudden acceleration, including four suits requesting class-action status.

[Stevens03]

They sat on their hands denying they had an issue for so long, and now they don't even have a fix yet. This is going to crush them.

[Shatterz]

I think this is a great blunder, Toyota has been riding high for too long, time to show that they are not infallible, and also time to show (to the masses who STILL seem to think that imports are superior) that their beloved pieces of jap crap are just as vulnerable as any other vehicle to MAJOR problems.

 

Toyota's reign as the reliability and quality king is crumbling, time for them to fade into the background as just one of those "other" manufacturers.

[ColoradoSkiCountry]

Oh what a feeling, CRAP-O-ta!

[MS3DALE]

Well.......we don't want to laugh too loud guys,We all know this could happen to our trucks as well,As I have said before GM has issues as well (lord knows I see it everyday)

The part I really hate about all this,and the reason why I don't want to laugh too loud,Is that a lot of people have died over this issue