wow....Toyata halts sales including the camary

[Shutterbug]

After already recalling 2.3 million vehicles, now Toyota halts sales of some its most popular models...

(link edited as full article no longer availble on the wallstreet site)
From this article on yahoo:

Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. announced late Tuesday it would halt sales of some of its top-selling models to fix gas pedals that could stick and cause unintended acceleration. Last week, Toyota issued a recall for the same eight models affecting 2.3 million vehicles.

Toyota is also suspending production at six North American car-assembly plants beginning the week of Feb. 1. It gave no date on when production could restart.

.....The automaker said the U.S. sales suspension includes the following models: the 2009-2010 RAV4, the 2009-2010 Corolla, the 2007-2010 Camry, the 2009-2010 Matrix hatchback, the 2005-2010 Avalon large sedan, the 2010 Highlander crossover, the 2007-2010 Tundra pickup and the 2008-2010 Sequoia large SUV

The auto industry is already having enough problems, now this.

I was at the Detroit autoshow last week. It was the smallest, I have ever seen it. It was really weird.

 

[maddmike]

They keep saying this has to do with floor mats but it is far more serious than that to stop production and sales. Hopefully this will cause people to finally see the light on toyota and the garbage they produce.

 

[Feralpeg]

I saw on the news that they think it has to do with the computer that regulates the gas supply. The gas flow in most new cars is regulated by a computer. When you push on the gas, it triggers the computer device. So, in fact, the gas pedal isn't stuck. There is a glitch in the computer system. That explains a lot. Many people who had this happen to them said they moved the floor mat away from the pedal and pushed on the pedal without success.

I heard the 911 call of the family that was involved in a horrible crash due to this problem. It was so sad. They were going over 100 mph and approaching a busy intersection. They all died.

There have been many accidents due to this problem. I'm glad Toyota is finally stepping up to solve this problem.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

They keep saying this has to do with floor mats but it is far more serious than that to stop production and sales. Hopefully this will cause people to finally see the light on toyota and the garbage they produce.

 

[dawson5]

They don't know what is causing it, that is why they are stopping sales. They are hoping that fix/recall will do it but they aren't 100% sure. They have been aware of this problem for years and have chosen to deny that there is a problem, blaming it on a floor mat. This problem has happened with and without floor mats. From what I understand the fix involves grinding down the accelerator pedal.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Toyota has grown enormous over the years and unfortunately is falling victim to their own success. This is not that disimilar to some of the underlying issues with GM products. At some point, the economies of scale start to tip the other way in one area or another, and for manufacturing that is most often quality and quality controls.

Toyota makes great machines from Scion to Lexus (Note: I do not own a Toyota product though), but this is a pretty big deal and it will probably impact their sales. A recall usually isn't a big deal, but a recall and suspended sales, that's a different ball game. This comes at a great time for GM and Ford (Chrysler I think will have a hard time catipulting on this) to steal some sales back.

In recards to the accidents, it us unfortunate that we have become so disconnected with our vehicles that some of the basic emergency actions are unknown or forgotten about. Actions can be taken if the accelerator becomes "stuck", whether it is electrical or mechanical:

1. Shift the car into nuetral, the engine will race, but it will hit the rev limiter, resulting in limited to no damage, you can then slow down and pull to the side of the road.
2. Use a combination of a full brake lock and gradual and steady E-Brake usage to slow the vehicle down and then shut off the car, now shutting off the car will result in loss of power brakes and steering so this should only be done at slow speeds. For cars with push button ignition, you may have to hold the button down for a few seconds to shut the car off.
3. Worst case, shut the car off and then brake, again braking will be reduced because both ABS and Power Brake assist will be offline, additionally steering will be very heavy without power assist. For cars with push button ignition, you may have to hold the button down for a few seconds to shut the car off.

 

[RadioNate]

It is totally scary. I own and 2007 Highlander and was seriously considering the 2010 Highlander or Sienna. In fact, I was called by the dealership Monday. Not buying now.

I'm a little scared to buy Traverse I looked at because of GMs instability so I guess it is back to the Honda's for me!

 

[RitaZ.]

I heard the 911 call of the family that was involved in a horrible crash due to this problem. It was so sad. They were going over 100 mph and approaching a busy intersection. They all died.

I listened to part of the call. That crash involved a Lexus.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

They keep saying this has to do with floor mats but it is far more serious than that to stop production and sales. Hopefully this will cause people to finally see the light on toyota and the garbage they produce.

I had a Toyota Highlander that was a piece of crap.

I saw on the news that they think it has to do with the computer that regulates the gas supply. The gas flow in most new cars is regulated by a computer. When you push on the gas, it triggers the computer device. So, in fact, the gas pedal isn't stuck. There is a glitch in the computer system. That explains a lot. Many people who had this happen to them said they moved the floor mat away from the pedal and pushed on the pedal without success.

I heard the 911 call of the family that was involved in a horrible crash due to this problem. It was so sad. They were going over 100 mph and approaching a busy intersection. They all died.

There have been many accidents due to this problem. I'm glad Toyota is finally stepping up to solve this problem.

It's sad that it takes something like this for them to recal a car. On my Highlander there was a problem with a wire that would break off on the knob of the control unit that went to the Heat/air. Well, they would not fix the 2 cent wire, they wanted to replace the 1000.00 control unit! What really makes me sick is the fact that they have had this problem for years, I mean YEARS and they have not fixed the problem yet. They told me they will not recal it because it's not "life threating". So, they let the consumer pay for the problem instead. I will NEVER own another Toyota again... for that reason.

Oh yeah, I found someone to fix my wire for less than a hundred dollars & then I traded cars. Just thinking about this makes me mad all over again.

 

[Feralpeg]

I listened to part of the call. That crash involved a Lexus.

Yes. Built by Toyota. Very sad. I always wanted a Lexus. Not until they figure this thing out. I owned a Camry about ten years ago. It was a really good car. Sorry to see Toyota going through this.

 

[daughtersrus]

That crash involved a Lexus.

Lexus is the luxury line from Toyota.

 

[RitaZ.]

Lexus is the luxury line from Toyota.

I'm aware of that.

 

[natenapril]

I have a 2009 Tundra that is part of the recall. I called the dealership and was told it would be about a month before I even received a letter from Toyota and that they had no idea when the parts would be in. Real nice.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I've been happy with my Toyota Highlander that I got a year ago.

I feel bad for all the people who work there. This is going to affect them alot and it's the last thing they need to have happen with the economy so bad.

 

[LoraJ]

no matter what car you have, be sure you would know how to shut your car down in a situation like that. I've been told you would want to put your car into neutral. My car has a power button like that Lexus, we were told to hold the power button down for 3 seconds to shut down.

 

[flowerboy]

Are these cars only the ones made in the USA or the lexus made in Japan also. I just bought a Lexus and nobody has contacted me

 

[MiniGirl]

Are these cars only the ones made in the USA or the lexus made in Japan also. I just bought a Lexus and nobody has contacted me

I believe the problem is only the ones built in the North American plants, but don't quote me on that. I have a 2010 Highlander Hybrid, and as far as I can tell, the hybrids are not part of this recall. They were also made in Japan.

I think some cars are just lemons. We've had our car less than a year, but I have really enjoyed it so far. I hope to have it for a long time to come. I also owned a chevette many years ago. Eventhough everyone was complaining about these cars, mine would not die. I drove that car over 11 years and finally sold it. I also did not really take all that great care of it. Didn't change the oil on a regular basis or check the tires often, etc. It was just a good car. Likewise, a friend of mine had an Accord that was just a piece of junk. It seemed there was always some kind of problem with it. She was glad to get rid of it.

 

[frndshpcptn]

My father works for Toyota. This is making me really nervous for him...

 

[C.Ann]

If I had one of those vehicles, I would be terrified to drive it!

That poor family..

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

I have a 2007 Camry and was part of the first recall involving the floor mats.
I called my dealership and they told me only some Camrys were part of the recall and it was based on the VIN number. They said once they had that list they would contact me. They told me though that there are certain sensations you will feel when you use the gas pedal that could indicate a problem before it gets serious enough to cause out of control high speeds.