Don't drive recalled Toyotas, transportation chief says

[RadioNate]

THey are not attributing more deaths to this problem. Who knows how many more there are out there.

I hope the ones laughing at this do not have to pay the price that some have. They are so sure they will do everything right and just walk away. I sure hope they are right.

No one is laughing at this. But it is better to know WHAT to do and have a chance of walking away than to panic and have zero chance.

And you are acting like EVERY Toyota is going to have this problem. It is a problem, a big one, but lets not pretend that every last recalled Toyota is going to have this happen from today until they are fixed.

There are millions of these cars and it has happened in a handful of cases. I agree, that a handful is too many, but realistically, look at the odds. There aren't a million Toyotas speeding uncontrollably down the road.

There is no reason to incite panic. Your acting like every recalled Toyota is a death machine. They aren't.

Be smart. Be aware of how your car is acting. In the cases we know about this was a progressive problem. Learn what to do if your car is affected. Get the problem fixed as soon as you can.

Yes, a family died, and that is horrible and should have been avoidable but you also can't expect millions of Toyota owners to just put the cars in the garage until they are fixed.

 

[LoraJ]

I own one in the recall. Won't stop driving it....will bring it in when I'm contacted...will buy another in a heartbeat. I know what to do if the pedal sticks...

I wish there was this much uproar against those who drive talking on cell phones and texting! WAY TOO many lose their lives every day due to this!

I am aware of the problem with the Prius. I've known since before I bought mine. It's not an issue for me since I do not tail people and I know how to avoid the problem.


Another thing to note. The family that died was in a LEXUS that I believe was a rental car. So whatever problem it may have been having could have gone neglected and unreported.

 

[dawson5]

I agree with you. I just read today that Prius's should be looked at, too.

The one that happened yesterday was a 4runner.

 

[mellvswdw1]

Just posted this in another Toyota thread....

First I want to say to everyone, I completely understand your fear about driving the Toyota, however it is now being reported that the Transportation Sec. said he misspoke.

As a former Toyota sales representive, and a 3 time Toyota owner....if I could afford to trade my current Toyota in, and buy another Toyota today...I would in a heartbeat. For the nine years I was in the automotive industry, there were several other car manufacturers with just as serious if not more serious recalls. Ford being one of them, ie. when the cruise control panel could catch on fire on or off.(Look up national recalls)

My point is that this has happened in rare occurances, just like the Ford, as well as many, many GM products, and the car manufacturers have to find a fix and take care of their customers.

I applaud Toyota for ceasing the sale of the affected products, unlike the above mentioned car manufacturers.

My husband owned a Ford that was part of that recall, and he still drove it until he was able to have the part replaced. BTW, he ran the parts and service dept in a Ford store for 10 years, and has run the parts and service dept for a Toyota dealership for 5 years, and he has no issues with me driving my car. If he did, I know he would tell me to park it and not drive.

Best wishes to everyone!

Melissa

 

[dawson5]

I am aware of the problem with the Prius. I've known since before I bought mine. It's not an issue for me since I do not tail people and I know how to avoid the problem.


Another thing to note. The family that died was in a LEXUS that I believe was a rental car. So whatever problem it may have been having could have gone neglected and unreported.

According to my hubby, exact opposite. His dealership has a contract with national rental car company and they are very good about keeping up all aspects of the cars. (around here at least) It is their business to loan cars, if they are unsafe or unusable, who would rent them? Defeats the purpose of the business.

Just posted this in another Toyota thread....

First I want to say to everyone, I completely understand your fear about driving the Toyota, however it is now being reported that the Transportation Sec. said he misspoke.

As a former Toyota sales representive, and a 3 time Toyota owner....if I could afford to trade my current Toyota in, and buy another Toyota today...I would in a heartbeat. For the nine years I was in the automotive industry, there were several other car manufacturers with just as serious if not more serious recalls. Ford being one of them, ie. when the cruise control panel could catch on fire on or off.(Look up national recalls)

My point is that this has happened in rare occurances, just like the Ford, as well as many, many GM products, and the car manufacturers have to find a fix and take care of their customers.

I applaud Toyota for ceasing the sale of the affected products, unlike the above mentioned car manufacturers.

My husband owned a Ford that was part of that recall, and he still drove it until he was able to have the part replaced. BTW, he ran the parts and service dept in a Ford store for 10 years, and has run the parts and service dept for a Toyota dealership for 5 years, and he has no issues with me driving my car. If he did, I know he would tell me to park it and not drive.

Best wishes to everyone!

Melissa

I can say my hubby is a fixed operations director at a large dealership that sells & services Toyotas (and Fords, Scions & Volvos), he would not want me in one of these vehicles. He is amazed at the level this has been covered up and for how long he has been hearing about these problems.

 

[Christine]

Melissa--good post!

I honestly think that people are jumping on the bandwagon to give Toyota a bad name. They have been so successful for so long that I think many foreign-car haters and U.S. car companies are chomping at the bit to make this recall and Toyota look far worse than necessary.

There have been many other recalls for safety issues on other cars that didn't seem to get the same notice as this one. I have owned several Toyotas, Hondas, Dodge, and Mazda and each one has various recalls.

While not a safety issue, my absolute worst recall issue was with Dodge. Our Dakota went through four catalytic converters at my expense. I went on websites and consumer complaint boards only to find that the catalytic converter was a HUGE problem, but Dodge didn't want to own up to it. After a class action suit against them, I was allowed to put in a claim for my repairs but I could only get reimbursed if I had the receipts. Thank God I did. They wouldn't even take a repair record from a Dodge dealer. Ridiculous. I was lucky that I could keep affording to buy a new converter but I bet so many other couldn't. And that's just terrible treatment of your customers. I would NEVER buy another Dodge product for that reason.

Toyota and Honda have treated me superbly for anything that has gone wrong in and outside of warranty. I remember I had a water pump go bad on my Honda just a few thousand outside the bumper-to-bumper warranty. The dealership felt bad about it and fixed it for free anyway.

I would buy another Toyota definitely. Out of MILLIONS of cars sold, I think only 5 to 10 have been affected by this problem. Yes it is a HUGE safety hazard but I think they are doing what they can.

 

[LoraJ]

According to my hubby, exact opposite. His dealership has a contract with national rental car company and they are very good about keeping up all aspects of the cars. (around here at least) It is their business to loan cars, if they are unsafe or unusable, who would rent them? Defeats the purpose of the business.




I can say my hubby is a fixed operations director at a large dealership that sells & services Toyotas (and Fords, Scions & Volvos), he would not want me in one of these vehicles. He is amazed at the level this has been covered up and for how long he has been hearing about these problems.

I looked it up and it was actually a loaner from a dealership.

 

[dawson5]

I looked it up and it was actually a loaner from a dealership.

I can't speak for that dealership but I know that my husband's work takes care of their cars/loaners. Imagine the liability issue of putting a customer in a vehicle with a defect (worn tires, brakes, etc)? The value/peace of mind far outweighs the cost.

 

[LoraJ]

I can't speak for that dealership but I know that my husband's work takes care of their cars/loaners. Imagine the liability issue of putting a customer in a vehicle with a defect (worn tires, brakes, etc)? The value/peace of mind far outweighs the cost.

What I am trying to say is that the Lexus involved in that accident was a loaner. If the accelerator had been having issues with sticking, it may have gone unreported by others who had it loaned out to the, or the people driving were not familiar enough with the vehicle to recognize that there was a problem with it.

It does not mean that all loaners are bad.
It does not mean that all Toyotas will explode.

 

[wvjules]

I had to change lanes at least seven times on my way to work this morning to avoid those exploding Toyotas.

That made me choke on my cracker!

 

[dawson5]

What I am trying to say is that the Lexus involved in that accident was a loaner. If the accelerator had been having issues with sticking, it may have gone unreported by others who had it loaned out to the, or the people driving were not familiar enough with the vehicle to recognize that there was a problem with it.

It does not mean that all loaners are bad.
It does not mean that all Toyotas will explode.

Never said it would explode--you must have me confused with someone else.

I can only tell you what I hear from my hubby who deals with this on a daily basis. When they get the loaner back, it is taken to the area where they keep them. It is checked over by a tech for basic things, usually vacuumed and washed to wait for the next person. Sometimes it will be used by a service tech, salesperson, service advisor, detailer or a transportation person. These are people that deal with cars all day long. They know how they handle, the loaners are same make (Ford will loan out Ford, Volvo loans out Volvo, etc.) If something was off, I think they would probably be the first to notice it. Maybe not always, this is what they do, day in, day out. So a person that borrows it, might not be used to how that vehicle handles and think nothing of it. I would say that a person that deals with Toyotas day in and day out would be able to notice a difference and mention it.

 

[S. C.]

We've got one and I sure don't think it's a lemon. It's a recall, and not that big a deal. We'll bring it in two weeks from now and they'll fix it. In the many years we've owned Toyotas, the problems have been minimal. The Transportation Secretary is over reacting.

We've also got a Saturn as our Great American Car Buying Experiment. It's been recalled more freaking times than I can remember, and it's got a million little things (and a few not-so-little things) that have gone wrong. I'd buy another Toyota in a heartbeat.

I agree and for those who say it is just a recall...
I won't take it so lightly if your accelerator sticks and you hit me or someone I love!!!

I agree akhenaten!

 

[sbell111]

1) This is a recall due to a safety issue with the car. While certainly it is possible to get a car with thisa acceleration problem under control, it doesn't help those that are unsuspecting or if it happens at exactly the wrong moment. Lives can be lost. Therefore, I would not be driving one of these recalled vehicles until it was fixed.

2) I think that those that warn of the dangers of exploding engines if they are revved too high are confusing 'exploding' with 'blowing an engine'. The danger in overrevving an engine deals with the moving parts coming apart (or bearings overheating and freezing up) and destroying an engine. The danger is not that the engine will actually explode.

The bad guys aren't parking their cars in downtown Baghdad and leaving bricks on the accelerator.

 

[mellvswdw1]

Dawson....

You say that your hubby works as a fixed op manager, and he has seen this being covered up....I am just curious to how many cases he has seen?

I should have clarified earlier that my hubby is now the Parts and Service Director over a Nissan/Infiniti store.

We used to live in Illinois, and we worked for a large group that had Toyota, Scion, Mazda, VW, Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Kia, and Hyundai. Like your husband he oversaw the loaner cars day in and day out. In the last few days he has been in contact with the new service director, and they had only heard of few cases, one being from the rubber mat over the top of the carpet mat. We have been in Indiana now for a little over a year, but still have regular contact with folks in Toyota....and they say they cannot duplicate anything....just curious what your husband is seeing and hearing!

 

[SaraJayne]

Just posted this in another Toyota thread....

First I want to say to everyone, I completely understand your fear about driving the Toyota, however it is now being reported that the Transportation Sec. said he misspoke.

As a former Toyota sales representive, and a 3 time Toyota owner....if I could afford to trade my current Toyota in, and buy another Toyota today...I would in a heartbeat. For the nine years I was in the automotive industry, there were several other car manufacturers with just as serious if not more serious recalls. Ford being one of them, ie. when the cruise control panel could catch on fire on or off.(Look up national recalls)

My point is that this has happened in rare occurances, just like the Ford, as well as many, many GM products, and the car manufacturers have to find a fix and take care of their customers.

I applaud Toyota for ceasing the sale of the affected products, unlike the above mentioned car manufacturers.

My husband owned a Ford that was part of that recall, and he still drove it until he was able to have the part replaced. BTW, he ran the parts and service dept in a Ford store for 10 years, and has run the parts and service dept for a Toyota dealership for 5 years, and he has no issues with me driving my car. If he did, I know he would tell me to park it and not drive.

Best wishes to everyone!

Melissa

What Toyota failed to mention is the NHTSA forced them to stop selling the cars.

It wasn't voluntary.

 

[dawson5]

Just what he's hearing from his advisors talking with other advisors at other dealerships, he's more on the administrative side. He was told that this actually happened on a car being tested by Toyota (think of those wind-tunnel tests that you see on tv commercials) with the unexplained accelleration, actually came off the track. This was in the beginning. He's been telling me how there are more cases than what we are hearing about, they were settled out of court. One of the reasons we have not heard as much leading up to this.

He just shakes his head at the mat part of the recall.

 

[mellvswdw1]

Thanks Dawson....BTW....I had a 2007 Camry with carpet mats, and I am the stupid one who put the rubber mats on top of the carpet, and it did get caught under the gas pedal.....I know not too bright. I have a 2009 Corolla and haven't had any issues.

SaraJayne...just curious....where is the information stating that the NHTSA forced Toyota to stop selling its American produced vehicles?

 

[Silent1CB]

Just be aware of what to do in the event your pedal gets stuck.

I had a car accelorator get stuck on the highway in traffic once.

Shift to Neutral!!!!
Brake & move over.
Use emergency brake if you have to.

You can go out & practice this right now if you want. This is how those of us in winter climates are taught to drive & stop in the snow. Its safe to do.

At least you guys have a clue & know what to watch for until you get it fixed. I had no idea such a thing was going to happen to my car at the time. Not a Toyota for what its worth.

All cars can have mechanical failure at any given time. If you know how to drive, then you should also know how to stop when mechanical failure happens.

 

[SaraJayne]

Federal auto safety regulators said today that Toyota was legally required to stop selling the eight models it recalled last week.

Toyota took the extraordinary step of halting the sale of the vehicles late Tuesday over issues of "sticky acceleration pedals" because it hasn't yet found a fix. Those eight models accounted for nearly 60 percent of its U.S. sales last year. Toyota has been looking at the issue of sticky pedals since 2007.

The new administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, David Strickland, said today Toyota's decision to halt sales "was an aggressive one and was the legally and morally correct thing to do.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Chicago radio station WGN that the government asked Toyota to stop selling the vehicles.

LaHood said, "The reason Toyota decided to do the recall and to stop manufacturing was because we asked them to."

A Toyota spokesman, Mike Michels, said Tuesday the automaker expects to have a remedy in "weeks, not months."

Officials said NHTSA first contacted Toyota Friday, after seeing news reports of Toyota's plans to continue selling defective vehicles.

It wasn't until around noon on Tuesday that Toyota informed safety regulators it would halt sales.

Under Chapter 301 of the Motor Safety Code, Toyota can't continue to sell the defective vehicles unless it has a remedy.
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From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100127/AUTO01/1270400/1148/rss25#ixzz0eVire3yv
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Though it's all over the web, if you'd prefer a different source.
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[SaraJayne]

The NHTSA's Strickland declined to discuss the chain of events in detail.

"At this point, you need to talk to Toyota about those decisions," he said. "We'll be continuing to work with Toyota and having conversations."

Strickland said in taking the action "Toyota was complying with the law."
"They consulted with the agency. We informed them of the obligations, and they complied," he said.

Last Thursday, Toyota recalled 2.3 million vehicles after two recent incidents in New Jersey and Texas were under investigation by NHTSA, making the decision to recall the vehicles without figuring out how to fix the problem.

But Toyota had a legal requirement to stop selling the models. It isn't clear why Toyota continued to sell the models for another five days.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100127/AUTO01/1270400/1148/rss25#ixzz0eVjgEeky
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