Commentators Critique Toyota’s Critics
In a sign that public frenzy over alleged unintended acceleration (UA) in Toyota vehicles may actually be abating, two commentators this week have each issued withering critiques of what they see as a rush to judgment.
Writing in Forbes magazine on Wednesday, Michael Fumento questioned why journalists have been so quick to accept the number of deaths attributed to UA based on unverified complaints in the NHTSA’s database. He also noted that when the Los Angeles Times cited one such incident, the reporters failed to disclose the driver had been charged with vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence.
Meanwhile, Jason Vines, a former head of communications at Ford, Nissan and Chrysler writing in the Detroit News on Monday, compared Toyota’s situation to earlier claims of runaway Audi and Jeep vehicles. He then noted that NHTSA had taken a deeper dive into many of the Toyota complaints and found driver error, not a defect, was to blame.
Check out the full articles:
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0809/opinions-toyota-cars-acceleration-brakes-93-and-counting.html
http://detnews.com/article/20100719/MIVIEW/7190414/1469
Showing posts with label acceleration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label acceleration. Show all posts
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
NHTSA UPDATES ACCELERATION ISSUES
According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Department of Transportation has analyzed a number of Toyota & Lexus black boxes taken from vehicles involved in “sudden acceleration” accidents, and have discovered that drivers were accidentally pushing the acceleration pedal instead of the brake:
The results suggest that some drivers who said their Toyota and Lexus vehicles surged out of control were mistakenly flooring the accelerator when they intended to jam on the brakes. But the findings don’t exonerate Toyota from two known issues blamed for sudden acceleration in its vehicles: sticky accelerator pedals and floor mats that can trap accelerator pedals to the floor.
The data recorders analyzed by NHTSA were selected by the agency, not Toyota, based on complaints the drivers had filed with the government.
[...]NHTSA has been able to verify only one of those fatal crashes was caused by a problem with the vehicle, according to information the agency provided to the National Academy of Sciences. That accident last Aug. 28, which killed a California highway patrolman and three passengers in a Lexus, was traced to a floor mat that trapped the gas pedal in the depressed position.
The NHTSA spokeswman said the agency was continuing to investigate the Toyota accidents and wouldn’t be prepared to comment fully on the probe until a broader study is completed in conjunction with NASA, which is expected to take months.
While it’s hardly conclusive, it’s definitely a step in the right direction — be sure to read the full article for all the details.
http://lexusenthusiast.com/2010/07/13/nhtsa-update-on-lexus-sudden-acceleration-investigation/
The results suggest that some drivers who said their Toyota and Lexus vehicles surged out of control were mistakenly flooring the accelerator when they intended to jam on the brakes. But the findings don’t exonerate Toyota from two known issues blamed for sudden acceleration in its vehicles: sticky accelerator pedals and floor mats that can trap accelerator pedals to the floor.
The data recorders analyzed by NHTSA were selected by the agency, not Toyota, based on complaints the drivers had filed with the government.
[...]NHTSA has been able to verify only one of those fatal crashes was caused by a problem with the vehicle, according to information the agency provided to the National Academy of Sciences. That accident last Aug. 28, which killed a California highway patrolman and three passengers in a Lexus, was traced to a floor mat that trapped the gas pedal in the depressed position.
The NHTSA spokeswman said the agency was continuing to investigate the Toyota accidents and wouldn’t be prepared to comment fully on the probe until a broader study is completed in conjunction with NASA, which is expected to take months.
While it’s hardly conclusive, it’s definitely a step in the right direction — be sure to read the full article for all the details.
http://lexusenthusiast.com/2010/07/13/nhtsa-update-on-lexus-sudden-acceleration-investigation/
Friday, March 26, 2010
“Complaints beget complaints.”
Wall Street Journal Columnist Questions Toyota’s “Mysteriously High Level” of Acceleration Complaints :
In today’s Wall Street Journal, columnist Holman Jenkins addresses Toyota’s “mysteriously high level” of unintended acceleration complaints compared to most car makers. “One pattern…is unmistakable,” Jenkins notes, commenting on the widespread press coverage of Toyota’s recalls and reflecting back on the situation with Audi more than 20 years ago. “Complaints beget complaints.”
Jenkins notes.
“Perceptions that Toyotas are unusually unsafe may be entirely a product of a ‘complaint’ bandwagon…partly encouraged by trial lawyers and activists.”
Despite this, he writes, “careful studies by several governments, including the U.S. government, concluded there was no defect behind” the earlier Audi acceleration complaints.
Jenkins also notes that since 2001, trial lawyers have been “urging a revival of sudden unintended acceleration litigation, insisting that such cases could prevail in absence of evidence of a defect, and even amid evidence of driver error, simply by harping in front of a jury on a record of ‘Other Similar Incidents.’…“That’s the roadmap being followed now.” Toyota is not the first target of this kind of campaign, the Journal points out. In fact, “a 10-year battle against Ford over a 1999 Aerostar minivan crash ended four weeks ago when a jury rendered a verdict in favor of Ford after just two hours of deliberation.”
In today’s Wall Street Journal, columnist Holman Jenkins addresses Toyota’s “mysteriously high level” of unintended acceleration complaints compared to most car makers. “One pattern…is unmistakable,” Jenkins notes, commenting on the widespread press coverage of Toyota’s recalls and reflecting back on the situation with Audi more than 20 years ago. “Complaints beget complaints.”
Jenkins notes.
“Perceptions that Toyotas are unusually unsafe may be entirely a product of a ‘complaint’ bandwagon…partly encouraged by trial lawyers and activists.”
Despite this, he writes, “careful studies by several governments, including the U.S. government, concluded there was no defect behind” the earlier Audi acceleration complaints.
Jenkins also notes that since 2001, trial lawyers have been “urging a revival of sudden unintended acceleration litigation, insisting that such cases could prevail in absence of evidence of a defect, and even amid evidence of driver error, simply by harping in front of a jury on a record of ‘Other Similar Incidents.’…“That’s the roadmap being followed now.” Toyota is not the first target of this kind of campaign, the Journal points out. In fact, “a 10-year battle against Ford over a 1999 Aerostar minivan crash ended four weeks ago when a jury rendered a verdict in favor of Ford after just two hours of deliberation.”
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Actions Speak Louder than Words
"Actions Speak Louder than Words”
“Many consumers tell us over and again that they believe Toyota has been over-scrutinized and that they remain very confident in the safety of our products – as are we,” wrote TMS Vice President Michael Rouse in a new public posting on the Toyota USA Newsroom web site.
Describing the steps that Toyota has taken to make things right, Rouse wrote that, “Actions speak louder than words,” noting that the company and its dealers:
· Made more than 1.5 million combined recall repairs; (I'd like to see any other manufacture do so well and so quick)
· Launched an independent external review of vehicle
electronics; (when was the last time Detroit did that? or will? Never)and
· Continue to make fundamental changes to the ways the company
operates to be even more responsive to customers.
In addition, Rouse noted, “There has been a great deal of confusion, speculation and misinformation about our recent recalls – much of it in the media or as a result of unsupported claims about ‘unintended acceleration’ caused by our electronics,” Rouse explained. This is a complex issue, he wrote. Echoing a theme in a number of recent press reports and opinion columns recently, “Rushing to judgment on the basis of unfounded theories is a disservice.”
To read Michael Rouse’s complete posting, please click on
http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/our-point-of-view-post.aspx?id=2837
“Many consumers tell us over and again that they believe Toyota has been over-scrutinized and that they remain very confident in the safety of our products – as are we,” wrote TMS Vice President Michael Rouse in a new public posting on the Toyota USA Newsroom web site.
Describing the steps that Toyota has taken to make things right, Rouse wrote that, “Actions speak louder than words,” noting that the company and its dealers:
· Made more than 1.5 million combined recall repairs; (I'd like to see any other manufacture do so well and so quick)
· Launched an independent external review of vehicle
electronics; (when was the last time Detroit did that? or will? Never)and
· Continue to make fundamental changes to the ways the company
operates to be even more responsive to customers.
In addition, Rouse noted, “There has been a great deal of confusion, speculation and misinformation about our recent recalls – much of it in the media or as a result of unsupported claims about ‘unintended acceleration’ caused by our electronics,” Rouse explained. This is a complex issue, he wrote. Echoing a theme in a number of recent press reports and opinion columns recently, “Rushing to judgment on the basis of unfounded theories is a disservice.”
To read Michael Rouse’s complete posting, please click on
http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/our-point-of-view-post.aspx?id=2837
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Toyota, Flying Saucers and Bigfoot
Columnist Jerry Flint Criticizes the Media for Uncritical Look at Complaints About Toyotas
Under the headline "Toyota, Flying Saucers and Bigfoot" Tuesday, Forbes columnist Jerry Flint took members of the media to task Tuesday for accepting as real the claims of runaway Toyotas "without serious questioning."
"Toyota has had a bit of good news in recent days. One of the claims of unintended acceleration has begun to look like a phony."
"Then The New York Times ran an op-ed piece by a UCLA psychology professor (emeritus) questioning all such claims. The writer, who had worked on the issue years ago, wrote that they were usually driver error--stepping on the accelerator pedal instead of the brakes--and noting that older drivers tend to make these mistakes more often."
Flint also shared a few of his thoughts about why so many new complaints are being filed and what the long-term impact may be on Toyota. In addition to drivers putting their foot on the wrong pedal and "dreams of the big payoff" from a lawsuit, Flint suggested that people’s feet may simply be getting bigger. "Maybe these bigger feet overlap" the brake and gas pedals, he said. As for how all this will impact Toyota, Flint said the company "might spend more money on lawyers over the next few years than on developing fuel-stingy engines."
To read the entire column, click on
http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/23/toyota-autos-brakes-business-backseat-safety.html
Under the headline "Toyota, Flying Saucers and Bigfoot" Tuesday, Forbes columnist Jerry Flint took members of the media to task Tuesday for accepting as real the claims of runaway Toyotas "without serious questioning."
"Toyota has had a bit of good news in recent days. One of the claims of unintended acceleration has begun to look like a phony."
"Then The New York Times ran an op-ed piece by a UCLA psychology professor (emeritus) questioning all such claims. The writer, who had worked on the issue years ago, wrote that they were usually driver error--stepping on the accelerator pedal instead of the brakes--and noting that older drivers tend to make these mistakes more often."
Flint also shared a few of his thoughts about why so many new complaints are being filed and what the long-term impact may be on Toyota. In addition to drivers putting their foot on the wrong pedal and "dreams of the big payoff" from a lawsuit, Flint suggested that people’s feet may simply be getting bigger. "Maybe these bigger feet overlap" the brake and gas pedals, he said. As for how all this will impact Toyota, Flint said the company "might spend more money on lawyers over the next few years than on developing fuel-stingy engines."
To read the entire column, click on
http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/23/toyota-autos-brakes-business-backseat-safety.html
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
People, Not Cars, Were to Blame--Research from NPR
Runaway Cars: Driver Error Or Car Malfunction?
Alix Spiegel of NPR reviews research performed by experts in the 80s that shows driver error contributes to sudden unintended acceleration.
Quotes from the story:
When this report on sudden acceleration finally came out in 1989, its conclusions were unwavering: The problem was driver error. People, not cars, were to blame.
According to the research, they say, human beings have a long history of pushing the wrong pedal.
Richard Schmidt, a human performance psychologist at UCLA, combed through all the accident reports in the state of North Carolina for a seven-year period. He found regular reports of pedal error.
The perseveration response you just keep repeating the same error over and over and over again is particularly likely to happen when people have misdiagnosed the problem. For instance, they might believe that they are hitting the brake when they are in fact hitting the gas. Because their basic analysis is wrong, under stress which tends to make creative thinking difficult and narrows your field of attention they are liable to repeat and repeat that wrong action in an attempt to fix it.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124815144&ps=rs
Alix Spiegel of NPR reviews research performed by experts in the 80s that shows driver error contributes to sudden unintended acceleration.
Quotes from the story:
When this report on sudden acceleration finally came out in 1989, its conclusions were unwavering: The problem was driver error. People, not cars, were to blame.
According to the research, they say, human beings have a long history of pushing the wrong pedal.
Richard Schmidt, a human performance psychologist at UCLA, combed through all the accident reports in the state of North Carolina for a seven-year period. He found regular reports of pedal error.
The perseveration response you just keep repeating the same error over and over and over again is particularly likely to happen when people have misdiagnosed the problem. For instance, they might believe that they are hitting the brake when they are in fact hitting the gas. Because their basic analysis is wrong, under stress which tends to make creative thinking difficult and narrows your field of attention they are liable to repeat and repeat that wrong action in an attempt to fix it.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124815144&ps=rs
Toyota Hysteria: Who's Fault is it Really?
Toyota hysteria: Horror stories really about us
As a follow up to the article he wrote for Forbes.com, Michael Fumento explains that the Toyota crisis is the result of media blowing things out of proportion.
Quotes from the story:
The mass reports of sudden-acceleration incidents just don't add up. Measured by reports to the National Highway Safety Administration, these same Toyotas were actually safe just a few months ago. And overseas they still are.
Clearly, the biggest cause of Toyota sudden-acceleration complaints is media coverage.
The NHTSA gets a constant stream of "speed control" complaints regarding every model of car. A recent New York Times analysis found almost 13,000 over the last decade (of which 10,000 didn't involve Toyotas).
People who cause accidents -- especially serious ones -- understandably want to blame something other than themselves. Sudden unintended acceleration does the trick.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/toyota_hysteria_fkQ7bahdNpTHOyesUuyGRJ
As a follow up to the article he wrote for Forbes.com, Michael Fumento explains that the Toyota crisis is the result of media blowing things out of proportion.
Quotes from the story:
The mass reports of sudden-acceleration incidents just don't add up. Measured by reports to the National Highway Safety Administration, these same Toyotas were actually safe just a few months ago. And overseas they still are.
Clearly, the biggest cause of Toyota sudden-acceleration complaints is media coverage.
The NHTSA gets a constant stream of "speed control" complaints regarding every model of car. A recent New York Times analysis found almost 13,000 over the last decade (of which 10,000 didn't involve Toyotas).
People who cause accidents -- especially serious ones -- understandably want to blame something other than themselves. Sudden unintended acceleration does the trick.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/toyota_hysteria_fkQ7bahdNpTHOyesUuyGRJ
NY Prius Incident- NY State PD States "Driver Error" Cause
Investigators: New York Prius crash likely driver error
From Evan Buxbaum, CNN
March 22, 2010 7:50 p.m. EDT
Authorities say the data recorder of this Prius shows the accelerator, not the brake, was engaged.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The wrecked 2005 Prius' data recorder showed no indication of brake compression.
Police say there was no indication the driver engaged the brake.
Police say the data was collected in a cooperative effort with NHTSA and Toyota.
"A Toyota Prius was not the cause of a March 9 crash in Harrison, New York, said authorities citing "black and white" results in their investigation."
"Harrison, New York, Police Capt. Anthony Marraccini revealed at a news conference Monday that evidence extracted from the wrecked 2005 Prius' data recorder showed no indication of brake compression as the car headed toward a stone wall. Rather, the accelerator was pressed 100 percent, authorities said."
"Toyota has been very cooperative," said Marraccini. "There's no possibility of any distortion of this data," he continued. "These are the facts that surround this."
" the driver may have been stepping on the accelerator, instead of the brake as she told police."
""We do see these accidents on occasion," Marraccini said Monday."
"I think with all this hype about Toyota, people are just looking to point fingers," he said."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/22/ny.prius.crash.probe/
From Evan Buxbaum, CNN
March 22, 2010 7:50 p.m. EDT
Authorities say the data recorder of this Prius shows the accelerator, not the brake, was engaged.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The wrecked 2005 Prius' data recorder showed no indication of brake compression.
Police say there was no indication the driver engaged the brake.
Police say the data was collected in a cooperative effort with NHTSA and Toyota.
"A Toyota Prius was not the cause of a March 9 crash in Harrison, New York, said authorities citing "black and white" results in their investigation."
"Harrison, New York, Police Capt. Anthony Marraccini revealed at a news conference Monday that evidence extracted from the wrecked 2005 Prius' data recorder showed no indication of brake compression as the car headed toward a stone wall. Rather, the accelerator was pressed 100 percent, authorities said."
"Toyota has been very cooperative," said Marraccini. "There's no possibility of any distortion of this data," he continued. "These are the facts that surround this."
" the driver may have been stepping on the accelerator, instead of the brake as she told police."
""We do see these accidents on occasion," Marraccini said Monday."
"I think with all this hype about Toyota, people are just looking to point fingers," he said."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/22/ny.prius.crash.probe/
Monday, March 22, 2010
The Real Scandal.....
The Real Scandal Behind the Toyota Recall
Fuzzy findings, media manipulation, and tort lawyers scare the public and destroy millions in shareholder and resale value, writes Ed Wallace
This article shows that when someone has an agenda they manipulate the truth to make it fit. Then when the public has half the information, they start making assumptions and you know what happens when you ASSUME.
Here are some quotes from the article:
" I called a few respected local Toyota (TM) dealers in the Dallas area to ask a simple question: "In the past 10 years, how many Toyotas have come into your service department with the complaint of unintended acceleration?"The answer I got again and again? "None.""
"A Trip Down Audi Memory Lane
What's ominous is that the Audi 5000 case seems to have set the example for how stories concerning serious defects in automobiles would be covered in the future.
Yes, there were people on TV (and in newspaper articles) who swore that their Audis, too, had become possessed and uncontrollable, and there's little doubt that they sincerely believed what they said. That does not alter the fact they were mistaken": In time, our government painstakingly tested every "possessed car," and no causative defect was ever found."
"The Audi case seems to have foreshadowed a scenario occurring now with Toyota."
" Turns out the Audi official had been correct: The cars did not have any known defect"
"Toyota looked into the complaints covering brakes on its hybrid electric Prius. While no real problem was found, Toyota did issue a recall to update the computer codes.
And just for the record: Many antilock brake systems feel as if they are skipping or failing to take hold quickly when engaged suddenly on bumpy roads."
"Firestone's Firestorm
In some ways this case is little different from the Ford-Firestone fiasco of a decade ago. When Lea Thompson with Dateline NBC lifted up a Firestone tire's torn and separated tread for the camera, few viewers noticed that particular tire had almost no tread left. Old tires without treads often fail."
"The Auto Industry Hall of Shame
Automotive history should have a Hall of Infamy for scandals like this next one—the 1988 story involving Consumer Reports. The magazine's "investigation" of rollover problems it "found" while reviewing the Suzuki Samurai focused intense media coverage on a nonevent, destroying not just a vehicle but nearly its manufacturer."
"Consumer Reports' raw video and its test drivers'"" took the Suzuki Samurai through its paces 16 times, some runs going in excess of 50 miles an hour, without ever once lifting the vehicle's wheels off the ground. Sheehan wrote in his notes: "Easy to control … Never felt it would tip over.""
"one eyewitness claimed to have heard""If you can't find someone to roll this car, I will."
"Sales of the Suzuki Samurai fell from 83,314 units to just 5,031 after the Consumer Reports story ran";
"Now it's Toyota's turn. They investigated the complaints, found a number of small problems and said that's the only problems they could find, and moved relatively fast to fix those issues. "
Fuzzy findings, media manipulation, and tort lawyers scare the public and destroy millions in shareholder and resale value, writes Ed Wallace
This article shows that when someone has an agenda they manipulate the truth to make it fit. Then when the public has half the information, they start making assumptions and you know what happens when you ASSUME.
Here are some quotes from the article:
" I called a few respected local Toyota (TM) dealers in the Dallas area to ask a simple question: "In the past 10 years, how many Toyotas have come into your service department with the complaint of unintended acceleration?"The answer I got again and again? "None.""
"A Trip Down Audi Memory Lane
What's ominous is that the Audi 5000 case seems to have set the example for how stories concerning serious defects in automobiles would be covered in the future.
Yes, there were people on TV (and in newspaper articles) who swore that their Audis, too, had become possessed and uncontrollable, and there's little doubt that they sincerely believed what they said. That does not alter the fact they were mistaken": In time, our government painstakingly tested every "possessed car," and no causative defect was ever found."
"The Audi case seems to have foreshadowed a scenario occurring now with Toyota."
" Turns out the Audi official had been correct: The cars did not have any known defect"
"Toyota looked into the complaints covering brakes on its hybrid electric Prius. While no real problem was found, Toyota did issue a recall to update the computer codes.
And just for the record: Many antilock brake systems feel as if they are skipping or failing to take hold quickly when engaged suddenly on bumpy roads."
"Firestone's Firestorm
In some ways this case is little different from the Ford-Firestone fiasco of a decade ago. When Lea Thompson with Dateline NBC lifted up a Firestone tire's torn and separated tread for the camera, few viewers noticed that particular tire had almost no tread left. Old tires without treads often fail."
"The Auto Industry Hall of Shame
Automotive history should have a Hall of Infamy for scandals like this next one—the 1988 story involving Consumer Reports. The magazine's "investigation" of rollover problems it "found" while reviewing the Suzuki Samurai focused intense media coverage on a nonevent, destroying not just a vehicle but nearly its manufacturer."
"Consumer Reports' raw video and its test drivers'"" took the Suzuki Samurai through its paces 16 times, some runs going in excess of 50 miles an hour, without ever once lifting the vehicle's wheels off the ground. Sheehan wrote in his notes: "Easy to control … Never felt it would tip over.""
"one eyewitness claimed to have heard""If you can't find someone to roll this car, I will."
"Sales of the Suzuki Samurai fell from 83,314 units to just 5,031 after the Consumer Reports story ran";
"Now it's Toyota's turn. They investigated the complaints, found a number of small problems and said that's the only problems they could find, and moved relatively fast to fix those issues. "
Friday, March 19, 2010
Toyota Demands...Deserves an Apology from ABC News
You don't see ABC News manning up about when they make a mistake. They just hope no one notices
Gawker.com
Toyota Demands Retraction and Apology From ABC News Over Manufacturer Death Ride
The team at Gawker.com writes about Toyotas request for a retraction and an apology regarding the ABC News cocked-up story by Brian Ross. The article provides the letter written by Toyota to ABC News president as well as the response from ABC News and a short review of the current status of the request.
Quotes from the story:
Toyota says Ross "singularly failed in his basic duty as a journalist to disclose material information about Professor Gilbert that would have directly influenced his credibility with the audience."
Brian Ross is not a good reporter. And he's been off the radar at a particularly sensitive timeRoss hasn't covered Toyota since the furor over his report erupted. An ABC News spokesman says he's in the midst of a "long-planned vacation," and that ABC is "in receipt of Toyota's letter. Our lawyers are looking at it, and we will respond."
Gawker.com
Toyota Demands Retraction and Apology From ABC News Over Manufacturer Death Ride
The team at Gawker.com writes about Toyotas request for a retraction and an apology regarding the ABC News cocked-up story by Brian Ross. The article provides the letter written by Toyota to ABC News president as well as the response from ABC News and a short review of the current status of the request.
Quotes from the story:
Toyota says Ross "singularly failed in his basic duty as a journalist to disclose material information about Professor Gilbert that would have directly influenced his credibility with the audience."
Brian Ross is not a good reporter. And he's been off the radar at a particularly sensitive timeRoss hasn't covered Toyota since the furor over his report erupted. An ABC News spokesman says he's in the midst of a "long-planned vacation," and that ABC is "in receipt of Toyota's letter. Our lawyers are looking at it, and we will respond."
WSJ: Harrison Prius accident, DRIVER ERROR
Prius Probe in Harrison, N.Y., Suggests Driver Error
In an article by Kate Linebaugh, Toyota and NHSTA investigators found that the driver never touched the brake and was standing on the accelerator full throttle. This is information is seemingly starting to come out in more of these incidents that the press is reporting.
Here is a quote:
An investigation of a Toyota Prius accident in Harrison, N.Y., suggests driver error may have been involved after federal safety regulators said the brakes hadn't been applied and the throttle was "wide open."
Based on information retrieved from the onboard computer systems of the Prius in Harrison, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spokeswoman said: "There was no application of the brakes and the throttle was fully open."
The driver said she believed she had applied full force to the brakes
In an article by Kate Linebaugh, Toyota and NHSTA investigators found that the driver never touched the brake and was standing on the accelerator full throttle. This is information is seemingly starting to come out in more of these incidents that the press is reporting.
Here is a quote:
An investigation of a Toyota Prius accident in Harrison, N.Y., suggests driver error may have been involved after federal safety regulators said the brakes hadn't been applied and the throttle was "wide open."
Based on information retrieved from the onboard computer systems of the Prius in Harrison, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spokeswoman said: "There was no application of the brakes and the throttle was fully open."
The driver said she believed she had applied full force to the brakes
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Forbes: Newspapers Hear What They Want To Hear
Sorry to rehash this article but I thought I should print it in full. I ran across it again and when I read through it once more it twisted me. In this article from Forbes by Michael Formento really puts into perspective that newspapers and other news outlets don't report the news anymore, they manufacture it to what they think people want to hear to get attention. Everyone else in the world and on the web knew this guy was a fraud, but not the news outlets. That doesn't sell papers.When the real truth comes out it never makes the front pages like their half truths. Read through this article and see all the inconsistencies and how the press mis-reported the incident to fan the false flames against Toyota.
Toyota Hybrid Horror Hoax
Michael Fumento, 03.12.10, 01:37 PM EST
Exploring an overblown media frenzy.
"On the very day Toyota was making a high-profile defense of its cars, one of them was speeding out of control," said CBS News--and a vast number of other media outlets worldwide. The driver of a 2008 Toyota Prius, James Sikes, called 911 to say his accelerator was stuck, he was zooming faster than 90 miles per hour and absolutely couldn't slow down.
It got far more dramatic, though. The California Highway Patrol responded and "To get the runaway car to stop, they actually had to put their patrol car in front of the Prius and step on the brakes." During over 20 harrowing minutes, according to NBC's report, Sikes "did everything he could to try to slow down that Prius." Others said, "Radio traffic indicated the driver was unable to turn off the engine or shift the car into neutral."
In fact, almost none of this was true. Virtually every aspect of Sikes's story as told to reporters makes no sense. His claim that he'd tried to yank up the accelerator could be falsified, with his help, in half a minute. And now we even have an explanation for why he'd pull such a stunt, beyond the all-American desire to have 15 minutes of fame (recall the "Balloon Boy Hoax" from October) and the aching need to be perceived as a victim.
The lack of skepticism from the beginning was stunning. I combed through haystacks of articles without producing such needles as the words "alleges" or "claims." When Sikes said he brought his car to a Toyota ( TM - news - people ) dealer two weeks earlier, recall notice in hand, and they just turned him away, the media bought that, too. In Sikes We Trust. Then the pundits deluged us with a tsunami of an anti-Toyota sanctimony.
Where to begin?
Well, the patrol car didn't slow down the Prius; the bumpers never touched. The officers used a loudspeaker to tell Sikes to use the brakes and emergency brake together. He did; the car slowed to about 55 mph. Sikes turned off the engine and coasted to a halt. He stopped the car on his own.
There wasn't anything wrong with the transmission or the Prius engine button either.
Over a 23-minute period the 911 dispatcher repeatedly pleaded with Sikes to shift into neutral. He simply refused and then essentially stopped talking to her except to say that he thought he could smell his brakes burning.
"I thought about" shifting into neutral, Sikes said at a televised press conference the day after the incident. But "I had never played with this kind of a transmission, especially when you're driving and I was actually afraid to do that." Sikes, who has driven the car for two years, also said "I figured if I knocked it over [the gear knob] the car might flip."
He told CNN, "I was afraid to try to [reach] over there and put it in neutral. I was holding onto the steering wheel with both hands--94 miles an hour in a Toyota Prius is fast." Yet for much of the ride he had a phone in one hand. And this is especially interesting: Most gear shifts are on the console, requiring the hand to drop to shift. But, as this image shows, in the 2008 Prius it's located on the dash within inches of the steering wheel precisely to allow shifting without the hand leaving the wheel. I sat in one and did it easily. Another unique feature of the shift is that it's amazingly simple, with only forward, reverse, neutral and "B." The express purpose of "B" is to slow the car while preserving the brakes, as in a steep descent. Sikes actually could have shifted into two different gears.
Moreover, why would Sikes describe shifting gears as somehow "playing with the transmission." And apparently he's never shifted while the vehicle was moving and thought somehow a gear shift could flip his car.
The dispatcher also pleaded with him repeatedly to hit the ignition button. Again, he says he was simply afraid to.
Early in the press conference he said it was because "There was too much traffic to just shut the car off. You know, turn off the vehicle and get hit in the rear." But that's always true when you slow down; just make sure nobody's right behind you. Later he switched gears, pun not intended, saying he was afraid the steering wheel and wheels would lock up.
Then there are the brakes.
Sikes said his brakes had just been checked out a few weeks earlier, but during the incident he "was laying on the brakes. It was not slowing down."
Others have made similar claims, so Car & Driver magazine recently put them to the test. They found a V-6 Camry at full throttle could be stopped at 435 feet. But to really test the claim, they used a powerful 540-horsepower supercharged Roush Stage 3 Mustang. It took 903 feet, but stop it did. By comparison the Prius can only muster 110 anemic ponies. Further, as Newton's Second Law reminds us, weight is inherently a factor in slowing a moving object. The Prius weighs about two-thirds of what the Roush does.
But while these other cars were brought to full stop, Sikes says he couldn't even reduce his speed. A video on the Web also demonstrates a 2008 Prius easily slowed to a stop with the accelerator fully depressed.
An assisting officer said he saw Sikes apply the brakes and smelled them. But of course that was only when he drew close to the vehicle. The officer doesn't know what Sikes was doing before he arrived on the scene.
Now here's the potential smoking gun: Sikes told the reporters that "I was reaching down and trying to pull up on the gas pedal. It didn't move at all; it was stationary." That's awfully daring for somebody who insisted he didn't even want to take a hand off his steering wheel, notwithstanding that he did so to hold his phone.
I tried to imitate Sikes' alleged effort in a 2008 Prius. From the front bottom of the steering wheel to the front bottom of the accelerator in up position it's 28.5 inches; while fully deployed it's 2.5 inches farther away. I have average-length arms (33-inch shirt sleeve) and no gut. But even though the steering wheel was as flush to the dashboard as it goes, it prevented me from all but touching the accelerator in the up position.
To reach behind a deployed accelerator and get any kind of a grip you'd have to add at least three more inches. In my case, it required squashing my face against the radio and completely removing my eyes from the road. Only the tallest men could physically do what Sikes claimed he did and no press accounts refer his being exceptionally tall. But to settle this issue (albeit not the others), Sikes would simply have to sit in his Prius and show he could reach behind the pedal while it was fully depressed. Why has nobody asked him to do so? Moreover, even for an orangutan it would be an incredibly awkward move for somebody afraid to pop a car into neutral or hit the ignition button.
So why did he do it? Sleuth work at the Web sites Jalopnik.com and Gawker.com reveals that Sikes and his wife Patty in 2008 filed for bankruptcy and are over $700,000 in debt. Among their creditors is Toyota Financial Services for a lease on a 2008 Toyota Prius, with value at time of bankruptcy of $20,494. The Jalopnik Web site shows a copy of Toyota's secured claims form, though when Jalopnik questioned Sikes by e-mail he denied being behind on his Prius payments.
Sikes also has a history of filing insurance claims for allegedly stolen items that are slowly coming to light. In 2001 he filed a police report with the Merced County Sheriff's Department for $58,000 in stolen property, including jewelry, a prosumer mini-DV camera and gear, and $24,000 in cash, according to Fox40 in Sacramento. His bankruptcy documents show a 2008 payment of $7,400 for an allegedly stolen saxophone and clothes.
For what it's worth, Sikes owned and operated a Web site called AdultSwingLife.com. More salacious material on this man will continue to pour in.
http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/12/toyota-autos-hoax-media-opinions-contributors-michael-fumento.html
But the press conference alone makes it clear Sikes' story didn't wash. Journalism schools are supposed to teach that skepticism is paramount. "If your mother says it, check it out," goes the old adage. Yet comments on Web sites across the country reveal that practically everyone thought the Prius incident was a hoax--though they couldn't prove it--except for the media.
They have been as determined to not investigate Sikes' claims as Sikes was to not stop his car. It's a Toyota media feeding frenzy and the media aren't about to let little things like incredible stories and readily-refutable claims get in the way.
Michael Fumento is director of the nonprofit Independent Journalism Project where he specialized in science is
Toyota Hybrid Horror Hoax
Michael Fumento, 03.12.10, 01:37 PM EST
Exploring an overblown media frenzy.
"On the very day Toyota was making a high-profile defense of its cars, one of them was speeding out of control," said CBS News--and a vast number of other media outlets worldwide. The driver of a 2008 Toyota Prius, James Sikes, called 911 to say his accelerator was stuck, he was zooming faster than 90 miles per hour and absolutely couldn't slow down.
It got far more dramatic, though. The California Highway Patrol responded and "To get the runaway car to stop, they actually had to put their patrol car in front of the Prius and step on the brakes." During over 20 harrowing minutes, according to NBC's report, Sikes "did everything he could to try to slow down that Prius." Others said, "Radio traffic indicated the driver was unable to turn off the engine or shift the car into neutral."
In fact, almost none of this was true. Virtually every aspect of Sikes's story as told to reporters makes no sense. His claim that he'd tried to yank up the accelerator could be falsified, with his help, in half a minute. And now we even have an explanation for why he'd pull such a stunt, beyond the all-American desire to have 15 minutes of fame (recall the "Balloon Boy Hoax" from October) and the aching need to be perceived as a victim.
The lack of skepticism from the beginning was stunning. I combed through haystacks of articles without producing such needles as the words "alleges" or "claims." When Sikes said he brought his car to a Toyota ( TM - news - people ) dealer two weeks earlier, recall notice in hand, and they just turned him away, the media bought that, too. In Sikes We Trust. Then the pundits deluged us with a tsunami of an anti-Toyota sanctimony.
Where to begin?
Well, the patrol car didn't slow down the Prius; the bumpers never touched. The officers used a loudspeaker to tell Sikes to use the brakes and emergency brake together. He did; the car slowed to about 55 mph. Sikes turned off the engine and coasted to a halt. He stopped the car on his own.
There wasn't anything wrong with the transmission or the Prius engine button either.
Over a 23-minute period the 911 dispatcher repeatedly pleaded with Sikes to shift into neutral. He simply refused and then essentially stopped talking to her except to say that he thought he could smell his brakes burning.
"I thought about" shifting into neutral, Sikes said at a televised press conference the day after the incident. But "I had never played with this kind of a transmission, especially when you're driving and I was actually afraid to do that." Sikes, who has driven the car for two years, also said "I figured if I knocked it over [the gear knob] the car might flip."
He told CNN, "I was afraid to try to [reach] over there and put it in neutral. I was holding onto the steering wheel with both hands--94 miles an hour in a Toyota Prius is fast." Yet for much of the ride he had a phone in one hand. And this is especially interesting: Most gear shifts are on the console, requiring the hand to drop to shift. But, as this image shows, in the 2008 Prius it's located on the dash within inches of the steering wheel precisely to allow shifting without the hand leaving the wheel. I sat in one and did it easily. Another unique feature of the shift is that it's amazingly simple, with only forward, reverse, neutral and "B." The express purpose of "B" is to slow the car while preserving the brakes, as in a steep descent. Sikes actually could have shifted into two different gears.
Moreover, why would Sikes describe shifting gears as somehow "playing with the transmission." And apparently he's never shifted while the vehicle was moving and thought somehow a gear shift could flip his car.
The dispatcher also pleaded with him repeatedly to hit the ignition button. Again, he says he was simply afraid to.
Early in the press conference he said it was because "There was too much traffic to just shut the car off. You know, turn off the vehicle and get hit in the rear." But that's always true when you slow down; just make sure nobody's right behind you. Later he switched gears, pun not intended, saying he was afraid the steering wheel and wheels would lock up.
Then there are the brakes.
Sikes said his brakes had just been checked out a few weeks earlier, but during the incident he "was laying on the brakes. It was not slowing down."
Others have made similar claims, so Car & Driver magazine recently put them to the test. They found a V-6 Camry at full throttle could be stopped at 435 feet. But to really test the claim, they used a powerful 540-horsepower supercharged Roush Stage 3 Mustang. It took 903 feet, but stop it did. By comparison the Prius can only muster 110 anemic ponies. Further, as Newton's Second Law reminds us, weight is inherently a factor in slowing a moving object. The Prius weighs about two-thirds of what the Roush does.
But while these other cars were brought to full stop, Sikes says he couldn't even reduce his speed. A video on the Web also demonstrates a 2008 Prius easily slowed to a stop with the accelerator fully depressed.
An assisting officer said he saw Sikes apply the brakes and smelled them. But of course that was only when he drew close to the vehicle. The officer doesn't know what Sikes was doing before he arrived on the scene.
Now here's the potential smoking gun: Sikes told the reporters that "I was reaching down and trying to pull up on the gas pedal. It didn't move at all; it was stationary." That's awfully daring for somebody who insisted he didn't even want to take a hand off his steering wheel, notwithstanding that he did so to hold his phone.
I tried to imitate Sikes' alleged effort in a 2008 Prius. From the front bottom of the steering wheel to the front bottom of the accelerator in up position it's 28.5 inches; while fully deployed it's 2.5 inches farther away. I have average-length arms (33-inch shirt sleeve) and no gut. But even though the steering wheel was as flush to the dashboard as it goes, it prevented me from all but touching the accelerator in the up position.
To reach behind a deployed accelerator and get any kind of a grip you'd have to add at least three more inches. In my case, it required squashing my face against the radio and completely removing my eyes from the road. Only the tallest men could physically do what Sikes claimed he did and no press accounts refer his being exceptionally tall. But to settle this issue (albeit not the others), Sikes would simply have to sit in his Prius and show he could reach behind the pedal while it was fully depressed. Why has nobody asked him to do so? Moreover, even for an orangutan it would be an incredibly awkward move for somebody afraid to pop a car into neutral or hit the ignition button.
So why did he do it? Sleuth work at the Web sites Jalopnik.com and Gawker.com reveals that Sikes and his wife Patty in 2008 filed for bankruptcy and are over $700,000 in debt. Among their creditors is Toyota Financial Services for a lease on a 2008 Toyota Prius, with value at time of bankruptcy of $20,494. The Jalopnik Web site shows a copy of Toyota's secured claims form, though when Jalopnik questioned Sikes by e-mail he denied being behind on his Prius payments.
Sikes also has a history of filing insurance claims for allegedly stolen items that are slowly coming to light. In 2001 he filed a police report with the Merced County Sheriff's Department for $58,000 in stolen property, including jewelry, a prosumer mini-DV camera and gear, and $24,000 in cash, according to Fox40 in Sacramento. His bankruptcy documents show a 2008 payment of $7,400 for an allegedly stolen saxophone and clothes.
For what it's worth, Sikes owned and operated a Web site called AdultSwingLife.com. More salacious material on this man will continue to pour in.
http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/12/toyota-autos-hoax-media-opinions-contributors-michael-fumento.html
But the press conference alone makes it clear Sikes' story didn't wash. Journalism schools are supposed to teach that skepticism is paramount. "If your mother says it, check it out," goes the old adage. Yet comments on Web sites across the country reveal that practically everyone thought the Prius incident was a hoax--though they couldn't prove it--except for the media.
They have been as determined to not investigate Sikes' claims as Sikes was to not stop his car. It's a Toyota media feeding frenzy and the media aren't about to let little things like incredible stories and readily-refutable claims get in the way.
Michael Fumento is director of the nonprofit Independent Journalism Project where he specialized in science is
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The Runaway Prius...Hoax of the Year?
Writer Michael Fumento uses evidence from media interview with James Sikes and investigations performed by Jalopnik.com and Gawker.com in an attempt to prove that the incident of a runaway Prius claim by Mr. Sikes is a publicity stunt and a means for this individual, who is currently in financial ruin, to make a quick buck.
Quotes from the story:
Virtually every aspect of Sikes's story as told to reporters makes no sense. His claim that he'd tried to yank up the accelerator could be falsified, with his help, in half a minute. And now we even have an explanation for why he'd pull such a stunt, beyond the all-American desire to have 15 minutes of fame (recall the "Balloon Boy Hoax" from October) and the aching need to be perceived as a victim.
Sikes said during the incident he "was laying on the brakes. It was not slowing down." Others have made similar claims, so Car & Driver magazine recently put them to the test. They found a V-6 Camry at full throttle could be stopped at 435 feet. But to really test the claim, they used a powerful 540-horsepower supercharged Roush Stage 3 Mustang. It took 903 feet, but stop it did. By comparison the Prius can only muster 110 anemic ponies. Further, as Newton's Second Law reminds us, weight is inherently a factor in slowing a moving object. The Prius weighs about two-thirds of what the Roush does.
http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/12/toyota-autos-hoax-media-opinions-contributors-michael-fumento_print.html
Quotes from the story:
Virtually every aspect of Sikes's story as told to reporters makes no sense. His claim that he'd tried to yank up the accelerator could be falsified, with his help, in half a minute. And now we even have an explanation for why he'd pull such a stunt, beyond the all-American desire to have 15 minutes of fame (recall the "Balloon Boy Hoax" from October) and the aching need to be perceived as a victim.
Sikes said during the incident he "was laying on the brakes. It was not slowing down." Others have made similar claims, so Car & Driver magazine recently put them to the test. They found a V-6 Camry at full throttle could be stopped at 435 feet. But to really test the claim, they used a powerful 540-horsepower supercharged Roush Stage 3 Mustang. It took 903 feet, but stop it did. By comparison the Prius can only muster 110 anemic ponies. Further, as Newton's Second Law reminds us, weight is inherently a factor in slowing a moving object. The Prius weighs about two-thirds of what the Roush does.
http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/12/toyota-autos-hoax-media-opinions-contributors-michael-fumento_print.html
I'm not afraid of my Prius...
The Washington Examiner
Theodore H. Frank: I am not afraid of my Toyota Prius
In this opinion article, the Contributor explains that as a junior defense lawyer in the mid-90s, he litigated a number of bogus sudden acceleration cases against GM. Now, just as back in the 90s, he feels that the public hysteria of the Toyota situation has reached unprecedented proportions and that driver error is truly to blame.
Quotes from the story:
Fifty-odd deaths over 10 years and millions of Toyotas is a relatively small compared to the general risk of being on the road at all.
Were seeing the same pattern again today. Initial reports of a problem, followed by dozens of new reports coming to light as people seek to blame their earlier accidents on sudden acceleration.
In the 24 cases where driver age was reported or readily inferred, the drivers included those of the ages 60, 61, 63, 66, 68, 71, 72, 72, 77, 79, 83, 85, 89These electronic defects apparently discriminate against the elderly, just as the sudden acceleration of Audis and GM autos did before them.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/OpEd-Contributor/I-am-not-afraid-of-my-Toyota-Prius-87361597.html
Theodore H. Frank: I am not afraid of my Toyota Prius
In this opinion article, the Contributor explains that as a junior defense lawyer in the mid-90s, he litigated a number of bogus sudden acceleration cases against GM. Now, just as back in the 90s, he feels that the public hysteria of the Toyota situation has reached unprecedented proportions and that driver error is truly to blame.
Quotes from the story:
Fifty-odd deaths over 10 years and millions of Toyotas is a relatively small compared to the general risk of being on the road at all.
Were seeing the same pattern again today. Initial reports of a problem, followed by dozens of new reports coming to light as people seek to blame their earlier accidents on sudden acceleration.
In the 24 cases where driver age was reported or readily inferred, the drivers included those of the ages 60, 61, 63, 66, 68, 71, 72, 72, 77, 79, 83, 85, 89These electronic defects apparently discriminate against the elderly, just as the sudden acceleration of Audis and GM autos did before them.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/OpEd-Contributor/I-am-not-afraid-of-my-Toyota-Prius-87361597.html
Friday, March 12, 2010
Congressional electronic test was rigged
DetNews.com Acceleration test rigged, Toyota says
http://detnews.com/article/20100309/AUTO01/3090377/Acceleration-test-rigged--Toyota-says
Provides a review of the press conference held by Toyota in an effort to debunk statements made by Professor David Gilbert during U.S. House committee holding hearings that he had discovered an electronic flaw in the acceleration system of Toyota.
Quotes from the story:
The engineers said Professor David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University had rewired the circuitry in a way that would cause uncontrolled acceleration not only in Toyota vehicles but in all the cars they tested. "Any circuit can be taken and re-engineered and rewired to perform what it is you want it to do," said Matthew Schwall, an engineer at Menlo Park, Calif.-based Exponent, a firm retained by Toyota to examine its vehicles.
Chris Gerdes, a professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University, said he spoke with Gilbert, who confirmed that he had stripped insulation from wires connecting the pedal to the throttle and connected wires that were normally too far apart to touch in his experiment.
"Dr. Gilbert's demonstration is not evidence of a design flaw or a safety risk," Gerdes said at the news conference webcast from Torrance, Calif. "Dr. Gilbert provides no evidence that his scenario occurs in the real world."
http://detnews.com/article/20100309/AUTO01/3090377/Acceleration-test-rigged--Toyota-says
Provides a review of the press conference held by Toyota in an effort to debunk statements made by Professor David Gilbert during U.S. House committee holding hearings that he had discovered an electronic flaw in the acceleration system of Toyota.
Quotes from the story:
The engineers said Professor David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University had rewired the circuitry in a way that would cause uncontrolled acceleration not only in Toyota vehicles but in all the cars they tested. "Any circuit can be taken and re-engineered and rewired to perform what it is you want it to do," said Matthew Schwall, an engineer at Menlo Park, Calif.-based Exponent, a firm retained by Toyota to examine its vehicles.
Chris Gerdes, a professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University, said he spoke with Gilbert, who confirmed that he had stripped insulation from wires connecting the pedal to the throttle and connected wires that were normally too far apart to touch in his experiment.
"Dr. Gilbert's demonstration is not evidence of a design flaw or a safety risk," Gerdes said at the news conference webcast from Torrance, Calif. "Dr. Gilbert provides no evidence that his scenario occurs in the real world."
NY Times: Go buy a Toyota the Patriotic thing to do!
NYTimes.com Toyotas Are Safe (Enough) http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/toyotas-are-safe-enough/?ref=opinion Robert Wright, writer for the Opinionator Online Commentary section of The New York Times, writes about how the Toyota recall situation has been completely blown out of proportion by the media and the American people.
Quotes from the story:
My back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that if you drive one of the Toyotas recalled for acceleration problems and dont bother to comply with the recall, your chances of being involved in a fatal accident over the next two years because of the unfixed problem are a bit worse than one in a million 2.8 in a million, to be more exact. Meanwhile, your chances of being killed in a car accident during the next two years just by virtue of being an American are one in 5,244.
So go out today and buy a Toyota. Its the patriotic thing to do.
Quotes from the story:
My back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that if you drive one of the Toyotas recalled for acceleration problems and dont bother to comply with the recall, your chances of being involved in a fatal accident over the next two years because of the unfixed problem are a bit worse than one in a million 2.8 in a million, to be more exact. Meanwhile, your chances of being killed in a car accident during the next two years just by virtue of being an American are one in 5,244.
So go out today and buy a Toyota. Its the patriotic thing to do.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Popular Mechanics
Here is an article from Popular Mechanics giving more information than you ever wanted to know about gas pedals on new cars, but it is a real independent view of some of the bashing that Toyota has been taking and seems to confirm Toyota's assertion that there is not an electronic issue with the acceleration issue.
Anatomy of Toyota's Problem Pedal: Mechanic's Diary
What's the real problem behind Toyota's unintended acceleration? Is it simply a sticky pedal, or is the trouble more fundamental? PM senior automotive editor Mike Allen delves into modern car tech, explaining why widespread theories about electrical throttle problems and electromagnetic interference are misguided.
By Mike Allen
Published on: March 3, 2010
Toyota has recalled millions of cars and trucks—4.2 million to replace floor mats that might impede throttle-pedal travel, and 2.4 million to install a shim behind the electronic pedal assembly. All of the affected pedal assemblies were made by Canadian supplier CTS. Toyota's boffins have documented a problem that can make a few of these pedals slow to return, and maybe even stick down. Problem solved.
But the media, Congress—and personal-injury lawyers—smell the blood in the water. Not to diminish the injuries and a few deaths attributable to these very real mechanical problems, but they're statistically only a very small blip, which may explain why Toyota took so long to identify the issue, especially when it has symptoms similar to the similarly documented floor mat recall. Plus, sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) is notoriously difficult to diagnose because, more often then not, the problem can't be repeated in front of a mechanic. Let's not forget the Audi SUA episode back in the '80s; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration eventually concluded that there was no mechanical problem. The culprit, as hard as this is to admit, was most likely driver error. To put the issue into context, in the last decade, there were about 24,000 customer complaints about SUA involving almost every major automaker. The NHTSA investigated fewer than 50.
The issue now is whether there's a more insidious problem unrelated to the two recalls already extant. Specifically, whether there's some design flaw in the entire concept of electronic throttle control. Some are questioning whether electromagnetic interference from devices like cellphones could be contributing to the acceleration problems.
It used to be that there was a steel cable that ran from the pedal itself through the firewall and attached to the throttle blades that admitted air to the intake manifold. A sticking throttle could be the result of friction anywhere—in the pedal pivot, between the cable itself and its nylon-lined sheath, or in the carburetor or fuel-injection throttle blades. (Does anybody remember carburetors?). Modern cars, which make up the majority on the market today, use a throttle pedal assembly that is connected to the engine only electronically. Signals are carried over wires to the engine management computer, which in turn sends electrical impulses to the stepper motor that actually controls the throttle blades.
Sounds like there are plenty of places for gremlins to seize control of the works, right? And that's where pundits who don't really understand the architecture of throttle-by-wire systems go wrong. It's all in the engineering.
Let's start at bottom of it all—your foot, which moves the pedal fore and aft in relation to the firewall. Inside the pedal assembly is a spring to make it return as you lift off, a device to add a little friction that dampens the movement (Your foot would tire in short order if there wasn't some damping), and a transducer of some sort that turns the movement of the pedal into an electrical signal. That transducer is a simple device, invented in 1879 by Edwin Hall (not 1979; 1879). It consists of only a single slab of semiconductor with a few wires attached to its edge, one on each end and one in the middle. With a voltage applied to the end wires, it acts as a voltage divider. Placing a magnet near the sensor changes the magnetic lines of flux, which literally push the electrons away from the electrodes and changes the voltage at the center wire. The magnet, in the Toyota case, is on the pedal arm. As the pedal moves, it alters the voltage at the semiconductor and that's how the engine computer knows the position of the pedal. The benefit of Hall-effect sensors is that there's no mechanical connection to corrode, no internal resistance, and other electronics, such as amplifiers, aren't needed. You could make one on your kitchen table with a refrigerator magnet and some doorbell wire.
There are two discrete Hall-effect sensors in the Toyota/CTS pedal, which is common industry practice. Just to make sure the sensors aren't confused, they run on totally separate circuits back to the ECM, three wires each. They don't even share an electrical ground. Like many onboard automobile sensors, they are also completely isolated from the vehicle ground. To reduce the potential for interference or mistakes, they operate at different voltages. The first sensor, known as ACCEL POS #1, has a nominal voltage range from 0.5 volts to 1.1 volts at idle and 2.5 volts to 4.5 volts at wide-open-throttle (WOT). The second sensor, ACCEL POS #2, delivers from 1.2 volts to 2.0 volts at idle and 3.4 volts to 5.0 volts at WOT. Why such a wide range of permissible voltages? The engine computer (ECM) recalibrates the sensor regularly, every time you start the car and the ECM goes through its power-on self-test.
Both accelerator-pedal-position Hall-effect sensors have to agree fairly closely, or the ECM will go into its limp-home mode, which turns on the Check Engine light and sets a trouble code.
There's more. If Toyota's engine-management scheme is anything like that of most other car companies, firmware inside the ECM also monitors the airflow into the engine, the throttle blade position and engine rpm, and calculates backwards to what the throttle pedal position should be. Any discrepancy, and a trouble code is set, the Check Engine light on the dash goes on, and you're dialing the service manager to make an appointment.
Bottom line: The system is not only redundant, it's double-redundant. The signal lines from the pedal to the ECM are isolated. The voltages used in the system are DC voltages—any RF voltages introduced into the system, by, say, that microwave oven you have in the passenger seat, would be AC voltages, which the ECM's conditioned inputs would simply ignore. Neither your cellphone nor Johnny's PlayStation have the power to induce much confusion into the system.
These throttle-by-wire systems are very difficult to confuse—they're designed to be robust, and any conceivable failure is engineered to command not an open throttle but an error message. So what to make of the unintended acceleration cases popping up by the dozens? Not the ones explainable by problem sticky pedals, but the ones documented by people who claim their vehicle ran away on its own, with no input, and resisted all attempts to stop it? Some can probably be explained as an attempt to get rid of a car consumers no longer desire. Some are probably the result of Audi 5000 Syndrome, where drivers simply lost track of their feet and depressed the gas instead of the brake. It's happened to me: Luckily I recognized the phenomenon and corrected before it went bang. Others may not have the presence of mind.
But the possibility that a vehicle could go from idling at a traffic light to terrific, uncalled-for and uncontrollable acceleration because the guy next to you at a traffic light answered his cellphone? Or some ghost in the machine or a hacker caused a software glitch that made your car run away and the brakes suddenly simultaneously fail? Not in the least bit likely. Toyota deserves a better deal than the media and Congress are giving it.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/how_to/4347704.html
Anatomy of Toyota's Problem Pedal: Mechanic's Diary
What's the real problem behind Toyota's unintended acceleration? Is it simply a sticky pedal, or is the trouble more fundamental? PM senior automotive editor Mike Allen delves into modern car tech, explaining why widespread theories about electrical throttle problems and electromagnetic interference are misguided.
By Mike Allen
Published on: March 3, 2010
Toyota has recalled millions of cars and trucks—4.2 million to replace floor mats that might impede throttle-pedal travel, and 2.4 million to install a shim behind the electronic pedal assembly. All of the affected pedal assemblies were made by Canadian supplier CTS. Toyota's boffins have documented a problem that can make a few of these pedals slow to return, and maybe even stick down. Problem solved.
But the media, Congress—and personal-injury lawyers—smell the blood in the water. Not to diminish the injuries and a few deaths attributable to these very real mechanical problems, but they're statistically only a very small blip, which may explain why Toyota took so long to identify the issue, especially when it has symptoms similar to the similarly documented floor mat recall. Plus, sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) is notoriously difficult to diagnose because, more often then not, the problem can't be repeated in front of a mechanic. Let's not forget the Audi SUA episode back in the '80s; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration eventually concluded that there was no mechanical problem. The culprit, as hard as this is to admit, was most likely driver error. To put the issue into context, in the last decade, there were about 24,000 customer complaints about SUA involving almost every major automaker. The NHTSA investigated fewer than 50.
The issue now is whether there's a more insidious problem unrelated to the two recalls already extant. Specifically, whether there's some design flaw in the entire concept of electronic throttle control. Some are questioning whether electromagnetic interference from devices like cellphones could be contributing to the acceleration problems.
It used to be that there was a steel cable that ran from the pedal itself through the firewall and attached to the throttle blades that admitted air to the intake manifold. A sticking throttle could be the result of friction anywhere—in the pedal pivot, between the cable itself and its nylon-lined sheath, or in the carburetor or fuel-injection throttle blades. (Does anybody remember carburetors?). Modern cars, which make up the majority on the market today, use a throttle pedal assembly that is connected to the engine only electronically. Signals are carried over wires to the engine management computer, which in turn sends electrical impulses to the stepper motor that actually controls the throttle blades.
Sounds like there are plenty of places for gremlins to seize control of the works, right? And that's where pundits who don't really understand the architecture of throttle-by-wire systems go wrong. It's all in the engineering.
Let's start at bottom of it all—your foot, which moves the pedal fore and aft in relation to the firewall. Inside the pedal assembly is a spring to make it return as you lift off, a device to add a little friction that dampens the movement (Your foot would tire in short order if there wasn't some damping), and a transducer of some sort that turns the movement of the pedal into an electrical signal. That transducer is a simple device, invented in 1879 by Edwin Hall (not 1979; 1879). It consists of only a single slab of semiconductor with a few wires attached to its edge, one on each end and one in the middle. With a voltage applied to the end wires, it acts as a voltage divider. Placing a magnet near the sensor changes the magnetic lines of flux, which literally push the electrons away from the electrodes and changes the voltage at the center wire. The magnet, in the Toyota case, is on the pedal arm. As the pedal moves, it alters the voltage at the semiconductor and that's how the engine computer knows the position of the pedal. The benefit of Hall-effect sensors is that there's no mechanical connection to corrode, no internal resistance, and other electronics, such as amplifiers, aren't needed. You could make one on your kitchen table with a refrigerator magnet and some doorbell wire.
There are two discrete Hall-effect sensors in the Toyota/CTS pedal, which is common industry practice. Just to make sure the sensors aren't confused, they run on totally separate circuits back to the ECM, three wires each. They don't even share an electrical ground. Like many onboard automobile sensors, they are also completely isolated from the vehicle ground. To reduce the potential for interference or mistakes, they operate at different voltages. The first sensor, known as ACCEL POS #1, has a nominal voltage range from 0.5 volts to 1.1 volts at idle and 2.5 volts to 4.5 volts at wide-open-throttle (WOT). The second sensor, ACCEL POS #2, delivers from 1.2 volts to 2.0 volts at idle and 3.4 volts to 5.0 volts at WOT. Why such a wide range of permissible voltages? The engine computer (ECM) recalibrates the sensor regularly, every time you start the car and the ECM goes through its power-on self-test.
Both accelerator-pedal-position Hall-effect sensors have to agree fairly closely, or the ECM will go into its limp-home mode, which turns on the Check Engine light and sets a trouble code.
There's more. If Toyota's engine-management scheme is anything like that of most other car companies, firmware inside the ECM also monitors the airflow into the engine, the throttle blade position and engine rpm, and calculates backwards to what the throttle pedal position should be. Any discrepancy, and a trouble code is set, the Check Engine light on the dash goes on, and you're dialing the service manager to make an appointment.
Bottom line: The system is not only redundant, it's double-redundant. The signal lines from the pedal to the ECM are isolated. The voltages used in the system are DC voltages—any RF voltages introduced into the system, by, say, that microwave oven you have in the passenger seat, would be AC voltages, which the ECM's conditioned inputs would simply ignore. Neither your cellphone nor Johnny's PlayStation have the power to induce much confusion into the system.
These throttle-by-wire systems are very difficult to confuse—they're designed to be robust, and any conceivable failure is engineered to command not an open throttle but an error message. So what to make of the unintended acceleration cases popping up by the dozens? Not the ones explainable by problem sticky pedals, but the ones documented by people who claim their vehicle ran away on its own, with no input, and resisted all attempts to stop it? Some can probably be explained as an attempt to get rid of a car consumers no longer desire. Some are probably the result of Audi 5000 Syndrome, where drivers simply lost track of their feet and depressed the gas instead of the brake. It's happened to me: Luckily I recognized the phenomenon and corrected before it went bang. Others may not have the presence of mind.
But the possibility that a vehicle could go from idling at a traffic light to terrific, uncalled-for and uncontrollable acceleration because the guy next to you at a traffic light answered his cellphone? Or some ghost in the machine or a hacker caused a software glitch that made your car run away and the brakes suddenly simultaneously fail? Not in the least bit likely. Toyota deserves a better deal than the media and Congress are giving it.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/how_to/4347704.html
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Don't believe everything your hear in Congress
If you remember there was a professor who testified to Congress about Toyota's having an electrical issue causing acceleration issues. See the facts about him and the info behind his testimony
News Briefing Update: Test Vehicle Was ‘Rewired and Reengineered’
"Speculation is easy. Science takes a lot more effort," Toyota spokesman Mike Michels said at a news briefing at TMS headquarters in Torrance, Calif., on Monday. The briefing was held to raise serious concerns about the validity, methodology and credibility of unintended acceleration claims that Southern Illinois University professor David Gilbert made at a Congressional hearing and on ABC News late last month.
It was a "convincing rebuttal" by Toyota, according to longtime auto journalist Bill Visnic of automotive Web site Edmunds.com. "Toyota really chipped away at the evidence provided by Dr. Gilbert during the Congressional hearings."
Gilbert’s study was commissioned by Sean Kane, a paid advocate for trial lawyers who are suing Toyota.
"We did what Dr. Gilbert and ABC should have done to test the real-world relevance of Dr. Gilbert’s findings," Michels said. "[His test] was completely unrealistic. He rewired and reengineered a vehicle in multiple ways, in a specific sequence."
At the briefing, engineers also showed that Gilbert’s manipulation of vehicle electronics created substantially similar results in vehicles from other manufacturers. This included live demonstrations on models from Ford, Subaru and BMW. "You cannot rewire a circuit and expect it to behave the way it was designed," said J. Christian Gerdes, a mechanical engineering professor at Stanford University and director of the university’s Center for Automotive Research.
The bottom line for Motor Trend writer Kim Reynolds? Gilbert's hypothesis looked "truly filleted."
To read Toyota’s news release on the matter and view related materials, including the report on the Gilbert study from consultant Exponent, please
visit:
http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/electronic-throttle-control-154300.aspx.
News Briefing Update: Test Vehicle Was ‘Rewired and Reengineered’
"Speculation is easy. Science takes a lot more effort," Toyota spokesman Mike Michels said at a news briefing at TMS headquarters in Torrance, Calif., on Monday. The briefing was held to raise serious concerns about the validity, methodology and credibility of unintended acceleration claims that Southern Illinois University professor David Gilbert made at a Congressional hearing and on ABC News late last month.
It was a "convincing rebuttal" by Toyota, according to longtime auto journalist Bill Visnic of automotive Web site Edmunds.com. "Toyota really chipped away at the evidence provided by Dr. Gilbert during the Congressional hearings."
Gilbert’s study was commissioned by Sean Kane, a paid advocate for trial lawyers who are suing Toyota.
"We did what Dr. Gilbert and ABC should have done to test the real-world relevance of Dr. Gilbert’s findings," Michels said. "[His test] was completely unrealistic. He rewired and reengineered a vehicle in multiple ways, in a specific sequence."
At the briefing, engineers also showed that Gilbert’s manipulation of vehicle electronics created substantially similar results in vehicles from other manufacturers. This included live demonstrations on models from Ford, Subaru and BMW. "You cannot rewire a circuit and expect it to behave the way it was designed," said J. Christian Gerdes, a mechanical engineering professor at Stanford University and director of the university’s Center for Automotive Research.
The bottom line for Motor Trend writer Kim Reynolds? Gilbert's hypothesis looked "truly filleted."
To read Toyota’s news release on the matter and view related materials, including the report on the Gilbert study from consultant Exponent, please
visit:
http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/electronic-throttle-control-154300.aspx.
Facts about the current Recalls on Lexus products
As you all know there is alot of information and unfortunately misinformation floating around in the press and on the Internet. I have collected some verifiable information to share with you. If you have any questions please contact any of our Service Staff at 1-877-688-0727 to get up to date information and answer any other questions you may have....
· Floor Mat Entrapment Recall (9LG)
Condition: In rare cases, the accelerator pedal can get stuck in the open throttle position due to its being trapped by an unsecured or incompatible driver’s floor mat
Remedy: Accelerated pedals are shortened to reduce the possibility of floor matt entrapment, carpet padding is modified for additional clearance, all-weather floor mats have been revised to provide additional clearance and an electronic override is installed to cut engine power when the gas and brake pedals are pressed simultaneously
Affected Vehicles: 2007-2010 ES 350
· Inconsistent Brake Pedal Feel During ABS Operation (ALA)
· Condition: Owners have experienced inconsistent brake feel during slow and steady application of the brakes on rough or slick surfaces when the ABS system is activated in an effort to maintain tire traction
· Remedy: Dealership technicians perform an update to the vehicle’s software to improve brake pedal feel
· Affected Vehicles: Certain 2010 HS 250h
· Customer Advisory Program for Floor Mat Entrapment (Future Recall)
Beginning this spring, 2006- 2010 IS 250 and IS 350 will be recalled under similar parameters as the 9LG campaign for ES350’s For the time being, these models are perfectly safe to drive as long as the original equipment floor mats are properly installed
· Excessive Accelerator Pedal Friction- Toyota Campaign
This recall is currently being performed on 8 Toyota models to reduce friction in the accelerator pedal assembly. NO LEXUS MODELS are involved in this campaign
Resources
www.lexus.com/recall
www.toyota.com/recall
Other model recall stats
New Quality and Safely Programs
Improving the Flow of Product Quality Information:
Toyota will expand its network of technical offices and fine-tune its information gathering capabilities. Toyota’s goal is to be able to provide on-site inspections of every reported incident of suspected product malfunction with extreme expediency
Testing the Media’s Assertion that Toyota/Lexus Vehicles Have Electrical Glitches:
The Electronic Throttle Control System will continue to be studied internally and by outside expert Exponent, a world class engineering firm. Toyota’s new global advisory panel may choose another testing laboratory as well.
Brake-Override Systems:
In an effort to reduce the possibility of unintended acceleration, Toyota will begin to produce vehicles with a system that returns the engine to idle when the accelerator and brake pedals are applied at the same time
As reported by The Wall Street Journal-BMW, Chrysler, Nissan, and Mercedes-Benz are other automakers which have adopted a similar system on select vehicles. Honda/ Acura do not offer this technology on any of their vehicles.
The Reality of Auto Recalls, Sudden Acceleration and Quality Control
CNN’s Sudden Acceleration Fact Check:
“In the past, recalls have also been issued by each of the other top five manufactures; Honda, Ford, GM, and Chrysler (among many others) to correct unintended acceleration.”
Car and Driver Article on Sudden Acceleration:
“With the Camry’s throttle pinned while going 70 MPH, the brakes easily overcame all 268 horsepower straining against them and stopped the car in 190 feet- that’s a foot shorter than the performance of a Ford Taurus without any gas-pedal problems and just 16 feet longer than with the Camry’s throttle closed.”
Edmunds.com Independent Analysis on NHTSA Complaints:
Lexus/Toyota had fewer total complaints per vehicle sold in the U.S. since 2001 than almost every other automaker. Mercedes-Benz and Porsche were the only major manufacturers to perform better.
According to the Wall Street Journal
“The Lexus sedan driven by Rhonda Smith, who testified in Congress on Tuesday about a harrowing incident of sudden acceleration, is still on the road, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In fact, the new owners of the luxury ES 350 sedan have reported 27,000 miles trouble free with the vehicle, according to the NHTSA spokeswoman. Mrs. Smith and her husband sold the vehicle after the incident, in which she thought she might die. The federal safety agency followed up with the new owners last week. The NHTSA spokeswoman said “they have had no problems with the Lexus since they bought it with less than 3,000 miles on the car…”
All automakers conduct recalls, Toyota/Lexus conduct relatively few compared against their competitors. From the NHTSA Database:
Automaker Recalls Since Jan. 2000
Toyota 678
Ford 2,287
GM 4,233
Honda 952
Luxury
Automakers Recalls Since Jan.2000
Lexus 114
Acura 184
Audi 146
BMW 532
Mercedes 300
Accolades
Although Lexus’/ Toyota’s quality and integrity has been called into question by the media, their assertions will not obscure our accomplishments. Lexus and Toyota build some of the highest quality vehicles in the world while delivering the highest customer satisfaction of any major car manufacturer in the United States! A brief summary of our recent accolades is provided below:
Initial Quality Study (JD Power, ’09) - Average number of problems reported within the first 90 days
Toyota earned first place in 10 out of 19 segments
The GS, IS, GX, LS, LX earned first place in their segments
· Lexus has earned overall first place 12 of the 20 years we have been included in survey
· The Lexus LX took the overall win with fewer problems reported than any other model in the industry
Vehicle Dependability Study (JD Power, ’09) - Average number of problems reported within the first 3 years
Toyota earned first place in 8 out of 19 segments
The GX (RX took runner-up spot in the same segment), SC, ES, and LS earned first place in their segments
· The Lexus LS took the overall win with fewer problems reported than any other model in the industry
Customer Satisfaction Survey Index (JD Power, 10)
For the second consecutive year, Lexus has earned first place in overall customer satisfaction for the automotive industry
Customer Guide Best Buy (’10)
LS 460
RX 350
ES 350 (recommended)
Of particular note: Toyota has won more Total Quality awards than any other automaker!
Congressional Hearing Spotlights
Jim Lentz Quoted Out of Context: While the media has been quick to selectively quote the comments made by Toyota executives during the congressional hearings, they do not reflect a change in company’s position that its vehicles are safe to drive. Instances of unintended acceleration can be caused by many factors and they are not all sudden or sustained. The category is very broad, affects all major automakers, and can include issues involving cruse control, air conditioning, transmission surges and pedal misapplication. It is in the context that Mr. Lentz stated that Toyota’s recalls will “not totally address the issue
“Nothing cost Toyota more than the loss of customer trust in our vehicles. From the perspective, we are eager as anyone else to know if there are problems in our vehicles,” – Yoshi Inaba’s statement in response to the assertion that the company benefits from “covering up” consumer complaints.
Replicating Unintended Acceleration: Sean Kane, a Toyota critic who frequently called a “safety expert” by the media, admitted to Rep. Steve Buyer that his research is funded by plaintiffs’ legal firms that are suing Toyota. Another witness, automotive technology professor David Gilbert, who claims to have induced unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles acknowledged that Mr. Kane’s firm, Safety Research and Strategies Inc., has paid him to prepare a report questioning Toyota’s fail-safe systems.
Preventing Unintended Acceleration: According to Jim Lentz; “We have done extensive testing of this system (Electronic Throttle Control) and have never found a malfunction that caused unintended acceleration.” The initial findings of independent testing have also affirmed this he said.
Akio Toyoda’s Commitment: When a lawmaker questioned the sincerity of Toyoda’s remorse at the hearing, the president seemed stunned. Reported by the CS Monitor:
“He had come from Japan to express his sincere remorse, he replied, and he would now have to reflect very seriously on her skepticism. ‘All the Toyota vehicle bear my name’, he had said in English in his opening statement. ‘For me, when the cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well”
Minutes after the hearing, Japanese TV broadcast video of Toyoda addressing a room full of American dealers and employees. In thanking them for their support and calling for renewed confidence, he suddenly paused, choked up and in tears.”
Did You Know?
Out of $9.0 Billion Toyota and Lexus spend annually on research and development, more money is spent on improving vehicle safety thank any other area or any other automotive manufacturer. This also makes Toyota the largest spender in R&D in the world.
Toyota’s Impact on the United States Economy
Toyota’s direct investment in the United States exceeds $18 billion! Toyota’s five big manufacturing sites, over 1,500 dealerships, 500 suppliers and its corporate operations have help to create more than 200,000 jobs. It has major design, research, manufacturing operations in 10 states and almost half of the vehicles its sells in the States are built here. Toyota’s direct investment in the United States exceeds $18 billion!
Moving Forward! Mississippi, Toyota is investing $1.3 billion to build a plant that will build Pruis and provide more than 2,000 new jobs for Toyota team workers and 2,500 supplier jobs. Even though the start of production at the assembly plant has been delayed, Toyota is still keeping its financial commitment- which includes an annual donation of $5 million for the next 10 years to fund local education programs.
· Floor Mat Entrapment Recall (9LG)
Condition: In rare cases, the accelerator pedal can get stuck in the open throttle position due to its being trapped by an unsecured or incompatible driver’s floor mat
Remedy: Accelerated pedals are shortened to reduce the possibility of floor matt entrapment, carpet padding is modified for additional clearance, all-weather floor mats have been revised to provide additional clearance and an electronic override is installed to cut engine power when the gas and brake pedals are pressed simultaneously
Affected Vehicles: 2007-2010 ES 350
· Inconsistent Brake Pedal Feel During ABS Operation (ALA)
· Condition: Owners have experienced inconsistent brake feel during slow and steady application of the brakes on rough or slick surfaces when the ABS system is activated in an effort to maintain tire traction
· Remedy: Dealership technicians perform an update to the vehicle’s software to improve brake pedal feel
· Affected Vehicles: Certain 2010 HS 250h
· Customer Advisory Program for Floor Mat Entrapment (Future Recall)
Beginning this spring, 2006- 2010 IS 250 and IS 350 will be recalled under similar parameters as the 9LG campaign for ES350’s For the time being, these models are perfectly safe to drive as long as the original equipment floor mats are properly installed
· Excessive Accelerator Pedal Friction- Toyota Campaign
This recall is currently being performed on 8 Toyota models to reduce friction in the accelerator pedal assembly. NO LEXUS MODELS are involved in this campaign
Resources
www.lexus.com/recall
www.toyota.com/recall
Other model recall stats
New Quality and Safely Programs
Improving the Flow of Product Quality Information:
Toyota will expand its network of technical offices and fine-tune its information gathering capabilities. Toyota’s goal is to be able to provide on-site inspections of every reported incident of suspected product malfunction with extreme expediency
Testing the Media’s Assertion that Toyota/Lexus Vehicles Have Electrical Glitches:
The Electronic Throttle Control System will continue to be studied internally and by outside expert Exponent, a world class engineering firm. Toyota’s new global advisory panel may choose another testing laboratory as well.
Brake-Override Systems:
In an effort to reduce the possibility of unintended acceleration, Toyota will begin to produce vehicles with a system that returns the engine to idle when the accelerator and brake pedals are applied at the same time
As reported by The Wall Street Journal-BMW, Chrysler, Nissan, and Mercedes-Benz are other automakers which have adopted a similar system on select vehicles. Honda/ Acura do not offer this technology on any of their vehicles.
The Reality of Auto Recalls, Sudden Acceleration and Quality Control
CNN’s Sudden Acceleration Fact Check:
“In the past, recalls have also been issued by each of the other top five manufactures; Honda, Ford, GM, and Chrysler (among many others) to correct unintended acceleration.”
Car and Driver Article on Sudden Acceleration:
“With the Camry’s throttle pinned while going 70 MPH, the brakes easily overcame all 268 horsepower straining against them and stopped the car in 190 feet- that’s a foot shorter than the performance of a Ford Taurus without any gas-pedal problems and just 16 feet longer than with the Camry’s throttle closed.”
Edmunds.com Independent Analysis on NHTSA Complaints:
Lexus/Toyota had fewer total complaints per vehicle sold in the U.S. since 2001 than almost every other automaker. Mercedes-Benz and Porsche were the only major manufacturers to perform better.
According to the Wall Street Journal
“The Lexus sedan driven by Rhonda Smith, who testified in Congress on Tuesday about a harrowing incident of sudden acceleration, is still on the road, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In fact, the new owners of the luxury ES 350 sedan have reported 27,000 miles trouble free with the vehicle, according to the NHTSA spokeswoman. Mrs. Smith and her husband sold the vehicle after the incident, in which she thought she might die. The federal safety agency followed up with the new owners last week. The NHTSA spokeswoman said “they have had no problems with the Lexus since they bought it with less than 3,000 miles on the car…”
All automakers conduct recalls, Toyota/Lexus conduct relatively few compared against their competitors. From the NHTSA Database:
Automaker Recalls Since Jan. 2000
Toyota 678
Ford 2,287
GM 4,233
Honda 952
Luxury
Automakers Recalls Since Jan.2000
Lexus 114
Acura 184
Audi 146
BMW 532
Mercedes 300
Accolades
Although Lexus’/ Toyota’s quality and integrity has been called into question by the media, their assertions will not obscure our accomplishments. Lexus and Toyota build some of the highest quality vehicles in the world while delivering the highest customer satisfaction of any major car manufacturer in the United States! A brief summary of our recent accolades is provided below:
Initial Quality Study (JD Power, ’09) - Average number of problems reported within the first 90 days
Toyota earned first place in 10 out of 19 segments
The GS, IS, GX, LS, LX earned first place in their segments
· Lexus has earned overall first place 12 of the 20 years we have been included in survey
· The Lexus LX took the overall win with fewer problems reported than any other model in the industry
Vehicle Dependability Study (JD Power, ’09) - Average number of problems reported within the first 3 years
Toyota earned first place in 8 out of 19 segments
The GX (RX took runner-up spot in the same segment), SC, ES, and LS earned first place in their segments
· The Lexus LS took the overall win with fewer problems reported than any other model in the industry
Customer Satisfaction Survey Index (JD Power, 10)
For the second consecutive year, Lexus has earned first place in overall customer satisfaction for the automotive industry
Customer Guide Best Buy (’10)
LS 460
RX 350
ES 350 (recommended)
Of particular note: Toyota has won more Total Quality awards than any other automaker!
Congressional Hearing Spotlights
Jim Lentz Quoted Out of Context: While the media has been quick to selectively quote the comments made by Toyota executives during the congressional hearings, they do not reflect a change in company’s position that its vehicles are safe to drive. Instances of unintended acceleration can be caused by many factors and they are not all sudden or sustained. The category is very broad, affects all major automakers, and can include issues involving cruse control, air conditioning, transmission surges and pedal misapplication. It is in the context that Mr. Lentz stated that Toyota’s recalls will “not totally address the issue
“Nothing cost Toyota more than the loss of customer trust in our vehicles. From the perspective, we are eager as anyone else to know if there are problems in our vehicles,” – Yoshi Inaba’s statement in response to the assertion that the company benefits from “covering up” consumer complaints.
Replicating Unintended Acceleration: Sean Kane, a Toyota critic who frequently called a “safety expert” by the media, admitted to Rep. Steve Buyer that his research is funded by plaintiffs’ legal firms that are suing Toyota. Another witness, automotive technology professor David Gilbert, who claims to have induced unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles acknowledged that Mr. Kane’s firm, Safety Research and Strategies Inc., has paid him to prepare a report questioning Toyota’s fail-safe systems.
Preventing Unintended Acceleration: According to Jim Lentz; “We have done extensive testing of this system (Electronic Throttle Control) and have never found a malfunction that caused unintended acceleration.” The initial findings of independent testing have also affirmed this he said.
Akio Toyoda’s Commitment: When a lawmaker questioned the sincerity of Toyoda’s remorse at the hearing, the president seemed stunned. Reported by the CS Monitor:
“He had come from Japan to express his sincere remorse, he replied, and he would now have to reflect very seriously on her skepticism. ‘All the Toyota vehicle bear my name’, he had said in English in his opening statement. ‘For me, when the cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well”
Minutes after the hearing, Japanese TV broadcast video of Toyoda addressing a room full of American dealers and employees. In thanking them for their support and calling for renewed confidence, he suddenly paused, choked up and in tears.”
Did You Know?
Out of $9.0 Billion Toyota and Lexus spend annually on research and development, more money is spent on improving vehicle safety thank any other area or any other automotive manufacturer. This also makes Toyota the largest spender in R&D in the world.
Toyota’s Impact on the United States Economy
Toyota’s direct investment in the United States exceeds $18 billion! Toyota’s five big manufacturing sites, over 1,500 dealerships, 500 suppliers and its corporate operations have help to create more than 200,000 jobs. It has major design, research, manufacturing operations in 10 states and almost half of the vehicles its sells in the States are built here. Toyota’s direct investment in the United States exceeds $18 billion!
Moving Forward! Mississippi, Toyota is investing $1.3 billion to build a plant that will build Pruis and provide more than 2,000 new jobs for Toyota team workers and 2,500 supplier jobs. Even though the start of production at the assembly plant has been delayed, Toyota is still keeping its financial commitment- which includes an annual donation of $5 million for the next 10 years to fund local education programs.
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