Crapota's Fix Is Not Working..

ColoradoSkiCountry · March 3, 2010

Gov't still hearing complaints about fixed Toyotas March 3rd, 2010 @ 3:46pm

WASHINGTON - Some Toyota owners say they're still having trouble with unintended acceleration after their recalled cars were repaired, and the Transportation Department said Wednesday it is looking into their complaints.

The complaints raise new questions about whether Toyota's remedy will solve the problem. David Strickland, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said in a statement the agency is reaching out to consumers about the complaints "to get to the bottom of the problem and to make sure Toyota is doing everything possible to make its vehicles safe."

"If Toyota owners are still experiencing sudden acceleration incidents after taking their cars to the dealership, we want to know about it," Strickland said.

The government has received a limited number of acceleration reports from the Toyota owners whose floor mats or gas pedals have been fixed. Toyota and the government are investigating potential electrical problems as part of the Japanese automaker's recall of more than 8 million vehicles worldwide.

NHTSA has linked 52 deaths to crashes allegedly caused by Toyota's acceleration problems. The company has blamed mechanical causes or drivers pressing the wrong pedal and repaired about 1 million vehicles, but has said it is looking into electronics as a potential cause.

Toyota did not immediately comment on the new complaints.

Stewart Stogel, 49, of Mount Vernon, N.Y., said his 2009 Camry accelerated to about 15 mph on a street near his home on Saturday, five days after a dealership trimmed the gas pedal and installed new brake override software as part of the floor mat recall. The car didn't stop for several seconds even though he pressed on the brakes. Stogel said he barely avoided going down an embankment and hitting a wall.

"At first the brakes didn't engage at all," said Stogel, a freelance journalist. "Just as I approached Terrace Avenue, the wheels were able to get some traction, and all of the sudden the engine did disengage."

Stogel said the car had accelerated two previous times, and both times Stogel said he took it to dealerships to be checked. In one case it was inspected by a Toyota corporate technician who could find nothing wrong, he said.

After the latest incident, Stogel called his dealer, who told him to return with the car. He also left a message with Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. President Jim Lentz. On Tuesday, Stogel's dealer called and asked him to return with the Camry so Toyota engineers can inspect it.

Carolyn Kimbrell, 59, a retired office assistant in Whitesville, Ky., said her 2006 Toyota Avalon accelerated last weekend as she pulled up to her mailbox near her home _ about a week after the car had been fixed. Kimbrell had just returned from a shopping trip to the mall with her 9-year-old granddaughter.

Kimbrell's car dealer on Feb. 20 inserted a small piece of metal into the gas pedal mechanism to eliminate friction that was causing the pedal problems. The dealer is scheduled to provide a separate fix to prevent the accelerator pedal from becoming trapped in the floor mat. But now Kimbrell said she wonders if the company's fix will solve the problem.

"It just scares you," Kimbrell said. "If I had been trying to stop at a busy intersection, that would have been bad."

The recalls have prompted three congressional hearings, hurt Toyota's safety and quality reputation and generated death and injury lawsuits. Federal prosecutors in New York are conducting a criminal investigation into the recalls and the Securities and Exchange Commission is probing what the automaker told investors.

Toyota on Tuesday said its U.S. sales fell 9 percent in February but it would offer repeat buyers two years of free maintenance to help rebuild customer loyalty.

During congressional hearings, Toyota executives said all new models sold in the United States will have the override system by 2011 and many recalled vehicles will be retrofitted with the brake override as a precaution. Toyota said it has fixed about 1 million recalled vehicles.

Jim67 · March 3, 2010

What problem? According to the Toyota Nutswingers (and even a certain GM truck owner who must have gotten into the Kool-Aid....**cough-P71 CrownVic-cough**) there is no problem to fix.

ryan_hermanutz · March 3, 2010

What problem? According to the Toyota Nutswingers (and even a certain GM truck owner who must have gotten into the Kool-Aid....**cough-P71 CrownVic-cough**) there is no problem to fix.

Wow did someone really piss in your cheerios?

truckofwinandawesome · March 4, 2010

aaaand, Cue the Howling laughter from the Domestics!

C. Charles Hahn · March 4, 2010

That's because it's a software problem. Always has been.

The ECUs are what need replacement, not the pedals or floor mats.

kawtoy_77 · March 4, 2010

That's because it's a software problem. Always has been.

The ECUs are what need replacement, not the pedals or floor mats.

True that. Software is not a mechanical fix.... Surely those guys aren't this stupid....... or are they?

Daryl LBZ · March 4, 2010

That's because it's a software problem. Always has been.

The ECUs are what need replacement, not the pedals or floor mats.

True that. Software is not a mechanical fix.... Surely those guys aren't this stupid....... or are they?

They probably just don't want to spend the money to fix it.

asilverblazer · March 4, 2010

The first guy's report says, "At first the brakes didn't engage at all. Just as I approached Terrace Avenue, the wheels were able to get some traction, and all of the sudden the engine did disengage."

Why would traction of the wheels make any difference? Sounds like the brakes engaged, on a slippery surface, so the car continued, if it was going down hill maybe even accelerate some with out any engine power. Then when the wheels gain the traction the driver describes, the brakes could slow the car down. If the wheels did not have traction as he describes, the vehicle would not be able to accelerate via the engine power. Wheels with no traction are not controlled by brakes or engine.

Just saying it sounds fishy to me, perhaps a gold digger?

kawtoy_77 · March 4, 2010

That's because it's a software problem. Always has been.

The ECUs are what need replacement, not the pedals or floor mats.

True that. Software is not a mechanical fix.... Surely those guys aren't this stupid....... or are they?

They probably just don't want to spend the money to fix it.

But look at all the money they have wasted not fixing it, and destroying their public image in the process.... It just doesn't make sense.

Daryl LBZ · March 4, 2010

The first guy's report says, "At first the brakes didn't engage at all. Just as I approached Terrace Avenue, the wheels were able to get some traction, and all of the sudden the engine did disengage."
Why would traction of the wheels make any difference? Sounds like the brakes engaged, on a slippery surface, so the car continued, if it was going down hill maybe even accelerate some with out any engine power. Then when the wheels gain the traction the driver describes, the brakes could slow the car down. If the wheels did not have traction as he describes, the vehicle would not be able to accelerate via the engine power. Wheels with no traction are not controlled by brakes or engine.

Just saying it sounds fishy to me, perhaps a gold digger?

That's because it's a software problem. Always has been.

The ECUs are what need replacement, not the pedals or floor mats.

True that. Software is not a mechanical fix.... Surely those guys aren't this stupid....... or are they?

They probably just don't want to spend the money to fix it.

But look at all the money they have wasted not fixing it, and destroying their public image in the process.... It just doesn't make sense.

Yea could be just a ploy for money, or just some moron that has no idea how to drive like the rest of the Toyota Drivers... Yea something doesn't make sense thats for sure.

brims · March 4, 2010

That's because it's a software problem. Always has been.

The ECUs are what need replacement, not the pedals or floor mats.

True that. Software is not a mechanical fix.... Surely those guys aren't this stupid....... or are they?

They probably just don't want to spend the money to fix it.

That is a really good reason, sounds extremely plausible. "how can we 'fix' this problem and spend little money?" "go buy some metal chiclets and stick them somewhere, that should be cheap"

My dad says "well they needed to do something", yes, they did need to do something, something useful, that just wasted time and money and made nothing any more safe.