Uh oh, trouble in Toyota land.
After repeatedly dismissing complaints about runaway vehicles, Toyota just issued a recall for 2.3 million vehicles citing the "possibility that certain accelerator pedal mechanisms may, in rare instances, mechanically stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position."
An admission of guilt? Sort of.
The company does call it "rare" and says the recall was "voluntary". Sure it was.
The recall covers the following vehicles:
2009-2010 RAV4
2009-2010 Corolla
2009-2010 Matrix
2005-2010 Avalon
2007-2010 Camry
2010 Highlander
2007-2010 Tundra
2008-2010 Sequoia
Toyota says it's still working on a remedy, but if you own one of these vehicles you can call this number for more info: 1-800-331-4331
notabigdeal says:
02:18 PM, 01/21/10
I just have to say one thing... Come on Toyota. again?
desmolicious says:
04:47 PM, 01/21/10
So, the LooFA is not on the recall list?
Phew.
roadburner says:
05:03 PM, 01/21/10
Attention idiots who don't know how to use their brakes or shut down their car's engine;
Your salvation is at hand...
ptcdawg says:
05:08 PM, 01/21/10
How hard is it to put a vehicle in neutral that is running away? Not saying it shouldn't be fixed, but man, we are turning into a nation of pansies.
roadburner says:
06:04 PM, 01/21/10
"How hard is it to put a vehicle in neutral that is running away?"
Very hard, apparently...
cr_driver says:
06:31 PM, 01/21/10
I mourn the losses of human lives.
stovt001 says:
08:28 PM, 01/21/10
Only Toyota would have fanboys here defending them and their sticking pedals and runaway cars by saying people should just brake against a surging engine or shift into neutral and put up with it.
firstwagon says:
09:03 PM, 01/21/10
"I mourn the losses of human lives. "
I mourn the lost of the passengers in the car.
roadburner says:
09:45 PM, 01/21/10
"Only Toyota would have fanboys here defending them and their sticking pedals and runaway cars by saying people should just brake against a surging engine or shift into neutral and put up with it."
Says the domestic fanboy...
Just to be clear, I have never owned a Toyota, and I have no desire whatsoever to own one. I did not say that people should "put up with it"; Toyota should address the issue. What I AM saying is that the problem caused by the floor mat/pedal interference problem can be solved by using that funny little pedal next to the accelerator, putting the car in neutral, or just shutting the bloody thing off. Yes, it's a problem, but what makes it a fatal flaw is the idiocy of the affected drivers.
tp660 says:
10:23 PM, 01/21/10
Forget bringing more excitement and driving fun to the brand. Akio Toyoda needs to first work on fixing all these quality problems Toyota is having.
stovt001 says:
12:28 AM, 01/22/10
@roadburner: my favorite brand is Mazda. That love has been dented a bit by the new smiley face front end styling, but in general, I think they have a wonderfully fun, sporty, solid lineup without trying to fill any stupid niches (cough*BMW*cough) but I digress...
The argument that applying brakes or shifting into neutral to "fix" that niggling little problem of a stuck throttle still reminds me of my Mom's old Suzuki Sidekick. The shifter would routinely get stuck in park. She took it into the dealership, and they showed her a knob built into the shifter that would unjam it. Suzuki knew about the stuck shifters, but instead of fixing it, they just built a work-around. That was an annoying flaw. Stuck throttles are a dead serious flaw. No one should ever have to deal with a stuck throttle, period.
1487 says:
05:38 AM, 01/22/10
"Only Toyota would have fanboys here defending them and their sticking pedals and runaway cars by saying people should just brake against a surging engine or shift into neutral and put up with it."
LOL. It is pretty funny. Its not Toyota's fault- its the owners fault. Everyone should practive stopping a car with a stuck accelerator because its perfectly reasonable to expect your car to do such a thing.
"Only Toyota would have fanboys here defending them and their sticking pedals and runaway cars by saying people should just brake against a surging engine or shift into neutral and put up with it."
This has nothing to do with floormats. Carry on with the excuse making though....
roadburner says:
08:25 AM, 01/22/10
"my favorite brand is Mazda."
I liked Mazdas until I finally owned one for a couple of years.
"Stuck throttles are a dead serious flaw. No one should ever have to deal with a stuck throttle, period."
I agree 100%, but the fact of the matter is that drivers must deal with all sorts of emergencies and expecting the unexpected -and knowing how to react- often means the difference between life and death(especially if you ride a motorcycle, as I do).
roadburner says:
08:31 AM, 01/22/10
"Everyone should practive[sic] stopping a car with a stuck accelerator because its perfectly reasonable to expect your car to do such a thing. "
What a great idea; never prepare for any sort of driving emergency. Just hold the wheel with one hand at six o'clock and point your sled down the road.
notabigdeal says:
08:31 AM, 01/22/10
You ppl will be surpirsed how many people don't know that the N in the shifter means.
1487 says:
09:04 AM, 01/22/10
"What a great idea; never prepare for any sort of driving emergency. Just hold the wheel with one hand at six o'clock and point your sled down the road."
Right because unintended acceleration is something drivers should expect at any given moment because cars are designed to do that from time to time. Safe or defensive driving is a separate issue- most people dont prepare for random, dangerous malfunctions in their vehicles. Even if they did- that really wouldn't absolve Toyota of any responsibility. Suppose it happens in tight traffic and you end up rear ending someone? suppose it happens when you are trying to slow down to avoid hitting a pedestrian? Not every injury can be prevented if your car is accelerating for no reason.
roadburner says:
09:23 AM, 01/22/10
"Right because unintended acceleration is something drivers should expect at any given moment because cars are designed to do that from time to time."
Not expect, but be prepared for. And the preparation isn't particularly comlex. You can:
1. Apply the brakes.
2. Put the transmission in neutral.
3. Shut off the engine.
All but the most horribly inept vehicle operator should be able to accomplish one of the above.
Once again, I'm not saying that there isn't a defect in the cars, I'm only saying that it doesn't take a lot of brain power to effectively address the problem should it occur.
1487 says:
11:28 AM, 01/22/10
some of the cars involved have push button start and you have to hold the button down for several seconds while the car is moving to get it to shut off. Many owners probably dont even know that.
Did it ever occur to you that the reason why the thousands of documented incidents have only led to a few deaths is because most people have managed to avoid disaster? if this has happened thousands of times that we know of you cant be surprised that there are dozens of injuries and a few deatths. I mean what exactly are you complaining about here? 90% of the incidents haven't gotten anyone hurt but its still a major problem.
roadburner says:
11:39 AM, 01/22/10
"some of the cars involved have push button start and you have to hold the button down for several seconds while the car is moving to get it to shut off. Many owners probably dont[sic] even know that."
Which still leaves them with two other options...
"90% of the incidents haven't gotten anyone hurt but its still a major problem. "
I've never said it wasn't a problem, only that you'd have to be an idiot to let the problem kill you.
1487 says:
01:23 PM, 01/22/10
I'd say one would be an idiot to place more blame on the injured or dead owners than the company that designed the faulty car. Of course you'd be singing a different tune if we were talking about "Govmint motors" though. Keep on defending Toyota, perhaps you can kick in some of your personal fortunte when they pay out big time to plantiffs.
roadburner says:
02:09 PM, 01/22/10
"I'd say one would be an idiot to place more blame on the injured or dead owners than the company that designed the faulty car. "
I repeat. the cars in question are flawed, but that doesn't mean that the victims were powerless to escape their fate.
"Of course you'd be singing a different tune if we were talking about "Govmint motors" though."
It's GUBMINT Motors, thank you.
"Keep on defending Toyota"
Once again, I'm not defending Toyota, I'm just saying that the victims had other options than meekly surrendering to their fate.
"perhaps you can kick in some of your personal fortunte[sic] when they pay out big time to plantiffs[sic]."
Nah, that's only used to buy M cars and "tail happy" 911s.
firstwagon says:
10:36 AM, 01/23/10
"Did it ever occur to you that the reason why the thousands of documented incidents have only led to a few deaths is because most people have managed to avoid disaster?"
Thousands of documented cases? Documented by who? Someone who had an accident and feels the need to blame someone else? A lawyer who makes his living sueing big companies?
Whether or not the problem is real or imagined, Toyota is issuing this recall to try to limit it's liability. Every idiot who rear ends another car in a Toyota will now blaming the company. Cell phone makers will love it as it will take a lot of the blame off them.
" No officer, it wasn't my fault for talking on the phone while eating, playing my ipod and programming the nav, the cars throttle stuck open and I couldn't stop. Seems better now but I'm still going to sue"
And no I don't own a Toyota (never have). However I can recogonize a witch hunt when I see one.
roadburner says:
06:55 PM, 01/23/10
"However I can recognize a witch hunt when I see one."
You nailed it.