[too_slow]

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/toyota-temporarily-suspends-sales-of-selected-vehicles-82724272.html

TORRANCE, Calif., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today announced that it is instructing Toyota dealers to temporarily suspend sales of eight models involved in the recall for sticking accelerator pedal, announced on January 21, 2010.

"Helping ensure the safety of our customers and restoring confidence in Toyota are very important to our company," said Group Vice President and Toyota Division General Manager Bob Carter. "This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized. We're making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible."
Toyota announced it would recall approximately 2.3 million vehicles to correct sticking accelerator pedals on specific Toyota Division models. Toyota has investigated isolated reports of sticking accelerator pedal mechanisms in certain vehicles without the presence of floor mats. There is a possibility that certain accelerator pedal mechanisms may, in rare instances, mechanically stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position.
Toyota's accelerator pedal recall and suspension of sales is confined to the following Toyota Division vehicles:

2009-2010 RAV4,
2009-2010 Corolla,
2009-2010 Matrix,
2005-2010 Avalon,
Certain 2007-2010 Camry,
2010 Highlander,
2007-2010 Tundra,
2008-2010 Sequoia....

[Blinky]

Holy fuck.


Toyota's accelerator pedal recall and suspension of sales is confined to the following Toyota Division vehicles:

2009-2010 RAV4,
2009-2010 Corolla,
2009-2010 Matrix,
2005-2010 Avalon,
Certain 2007-2010 Camry,
2010 Highlander,
2007-2010 Tundra,
2008-2010 Sequoia....

(emphasis added)

Is that all? That's only practically every significant car they've sold the past two years! :p

[skyxx]

Easily repairable. Most of them are drive by wire now and not throttle cables :) If I were a tech, this is some good money. ;)

[TheSalesman]

maybe Honda will pick up some business from this. Or is this in US only?

[Blinky]

It's on the Canadian Toyota site too.

Talk about bad PR, even though one is FAR more likely to be killed by driving like an idiot.

[hotong]

i heard about this too... fucking brutal.

[too_slow]

I'm surprised Lexus wasn't part of the recall .. (i.e. the Lexus ES350 that blew up not too long ago)

[Iceman_2K]

not like this is anything new. Audi faced something similiar years ago.

[lilaznviper]

wow another recall
my dad has a 09 corolla and its already been through 2 recalls and now another one

[too_slow]

not like this is anything new. Audi faced something similiar years ago.

Yeah, but:

-it happened to Audi 20 years ago
-Audi did not try to sweep it under the rug; sort of what Toyota did (i.e. blaming unintended acceleration to floor mats? are they that eff-ing retarded?)

Not to mention, Toyota does NOT know wtf is wrong with their cars.. They dont even have a set date as to when production will resume..

[Eros250]

uh oh for toyota,

[smk]

GG

[unit]

at the end of the day, the only damage its gonna do for toyota is the loss of sales for probably a very short period of time.
if you like the corolla because its a nice car, within your price range, and has the features you like, hearing about a recall isnt gonna stop you from buying one and turn you onto a honda civic based on that alone.

[hal0g0dv2]

w0w that is fucked

[!LittleDragon]

I remember that Audi debacle... damn near killed them in the North American market.

[ivanz]

I remember that Audi debacle... damn near killed them in the North American market.

There was nothing wrong with the Audi 5000, the problem was between the seat and the gas pedal.

I find this to be a good thing for Toyota in terms of PR in the long run, as they are choosing to "fix" the problem actively instead of denying it. Although I'm not sure what exactly they are fixing anymore (floor padding, floor mats, and now pedal design?)

Personally, I have never heard of anybody that I know every having a problem with the accelerator pedal on any car. All of these reports seem to come from the US, even though the same pedals are used globally. Kind of makes you think why the problem is only occurring there...

[boostfever]

this is super stupid. toyota deserves it.

[jeff_alexander]

Fucking Mustang!
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[StylinRed]

wow... halting sales.. thats a pretty big move, i couldn't see ford/gm do something like that.. theyd just keep selling the cars until/if they found a remedy

[Gh0stRider]

Canadian and US.

heres another link

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/01/26/toyota-recall026.html

Toyota is suspending sales of eight recalled vehicle models in Canada and the United States to fix accelerator pedals that stick.

[shenmecar]

8 models?! GG

[Greenstoner]

fucked up

[Rich Sandor]

I feel bad for all the toyota salesmen out there.

Fuck, we just took a newish toyota matrix in on trade.. we should fucking wholesale it to a broker asap before we get stuck with it.

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

wow wtf is happening to toyota man

[EmperorIS]

somebody go to toyota tomorrow and tell a salesman that you want to buy all the toyota's on the lot ... see what he says

[Meowjin]

somebody go to toyota tomorrow and tell a salesman that you want to buy all the toyota's on the lot ... see what he says

"hyde my favourite customer!"

[ericthehalfbee]

wow wtf is happening to toyota manSince Toyota took over top spot from GM, they're starting to become GM...

[TRD Rs200]

wow... shit GG

[Great68]

There was nothing wrong with the Audi 5000,

Hahahaha! Everything was wrong with the Audi 5000.

[TRDood]

i guess the toyota guys put too much of their R&D labour to the LFA and totally forgot about the gas pedals on regular cars.

but seriously, how the fuck do you get your pedal stuck? the toyota ones are so narrow and short compared to other cars.

i find the in floor gas pedals more dangerous. the floormat always slide over the pedal in the mini cooper...
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[StylinRed]

so ppl who were found @ fault for their car insurance, couldnt they blame toyota now and get some sort of restitution




i guess the toyota guys put too much of their R&D labour to the LFA and totally forgot about the gas pedals on regular cars.

but seriously, how the fuck do you get your pedal stuck? the toyota ones are so narrow and short compared to other cars.

i find the in floor gas pedals more dangerous. the floormat always slide over the pedal in the mini cooper...
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

new report says its not the carpet/pedal thats causing the car to speed

[optiblue]

my bottle of coke under my seat has more potential to get things jammed than a carpet!

Get back to R&Ding my SUPRA!

[vOLTZ]

about time.

this is from a while ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvEFK3hdeBo

[PiuYi]

i'd still buy a toyota over a GM any day

on a side note, anyone know if toyota shares have had any significant drop-off? maybe time to load up on potentially undervalued stocks!!

[impactX]

Some people just don't know how to turn the ignition off.

[asian_XL]

The only model Toyota should sell......Prius...

[ericthehalfbee]

Some people just don't know how to turn the ignition off.Aren't you a police officer of some sort?

Surprising comment since it was a fellow officer in California who was killed in the Lexus, and he had 16 years on the force. He was also a mechanical vehicle safety inspector, so he knows about cars and how they operate.

If it was a new driver or a senior then I could see blaming the driver, but in this case......?

[Great68]

Easily repairable.

Maybe,

But they are loosing money big time.

A 10 minute fix on a 2 million vehicles is 300,000 hours of work, not to mention the money they are loosing by stopping sales of their most popular vehicles...

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

man toyota really has drop their quality and realiablity after year 2000

[jmvdesign]

this is what happens when you let westerners build a japanese car. quality will go down. anyone in the manufacturing industry in the western world will concede that the japanese are still far more superior when it comes to precision and quality in terms of craftsmanship.

[unit]

i'd still buy a toyota over a GM any day

on a side note, anyone know if toyota shares have had any significant drop-off? maybe time to load up on potentially undervalued stocks!!

without even looking at the share price i could tell you that at most, it would have dropped 4-5%, then recovered the next day. people invested in toyota are in it for the long run and wont sell off so easily.

[Iceman-19]

Had that idiot california cop never heard of neutral and the brake pedel?

[penner2k]

wow... halting sales.. thats a pretty big move, i couldn't see ford/gm do something like that.. theyd just keep selling the cars until/if they found a remedy

Yesterday, Toyota announced they'd stop selling eight vehicles with sudden-fiery-death-accelerator-pedals. What they failed to mention was this is something they were legally forced to do.

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator David Strickland, in an interview with The Detroit News, the move was a legal obligation and "We informed them of the obligations, and they complied."

Toyota neglected to mention this in their initial press release announcing the decision. We're guessing this is because no one wants to admit the government made them stop selling the cars over safety concerns.

What remains unclear is why Toyota continued to sell the cars after the recall, if the government stepped in to make it happen, or how Toyota's dealer network is going to react to the way this was handled.

http://jalopnik.com/5458241/toyota-neglects-to-mention-sale-of-vehicles-halted-because-feds-forced-them

[eurochevy]

i dunno why so many people are suprised with this...honestly other than for purely economical and resale value reasons why else would any one wanna buy a toyota? seriously...after the supra and the death of the celica (the old style not the new style one with corolla engine), Toyota hasn't really made any good cars as of late

[Spectre_Cdn]

i dunno why so many people are suprised with this...honestly other than for purely economical and resale value reasons why else would any one wanna buy a toyota? seriously...after the supra and the death of the celica (the old style not the new style one with corolla engine), Toyota hasn't really made any good cars as of late

Those are pretty good reasons to buy a car for most people. The Corolla and Camry are (were) known as reliable and economical cars.

[asahai69]

should buy a ford.

[jlenko]

Since Toyota took over top spot from GM, they're starting to become GM...

It's hard being #1... you have to cut corners to stay on top, out-do the competition.

GM did it. Now it's Toyota's turn.

[oldsnail]

note that those models are assembled in NA. but the lexus models are also built in NA which makes one wonder.

cars like the Yaris, prius , etc are assembled in japan which seems to be not effected ..

[cococly]

Since Toyota took over top spot from GM, they're starting to become GM...

Check your data, VW has become the biggest automaker in the world at the end of 2009.

note that those models are assembled in NA. but the lexus models are also built in NA which makes one wonder.

cars like the Yaris, prius , etc are assembled in japan which seems to be not effected ..

Toyota used to make durable and reliable cars, but not anymore.... so the pros for buying toyota over its competitions are diminishing.

[PiuYi]

without even looking at the share price i could tell you that at most, it would have dropped 4-5%, then recovered the next day. people invested in toyota are in it for the long run and wont sell off so easily.

its down 9% atm... but ya i think by the end of the day it'll rebound :(

[q0192837465]

I think the reason why Westerner makes shitty cars lies with their belief system. Most common Westerners treat their job only as a way to make money. Whereas the Asian counterparts take pride in their jobs. This alone can make a world of difference.

[hotong]

I think the reason why Westerner makes shitty cars lies with their belief system. Most common Westerners treat their job only as a way to make money. Whereas the Asian counterparts take pride in their jobs. This alone can make a world of difference.

:werd:

[slammer111]

Are Toyotas truly drive-by wire? The article mentioned the pedals were "mechanically sticking".

With that said, that's one heck of a recall.

I read in an article somewhere (I think Time Magazine? will try to find link) talking about the CEO of Toyota being afraid of something like this happening. Your company rises to the top then gets overconfident, only to start "tumbling" and get replaced by a competitor after a few years. Kind of like marathon athletes/cyclists who slow down when they think they're in first place, only to choke at the last second and fall to second as they pass the finish line.

[Rich Sandor]

I think the reason why Westerner makes shitty cars lies with their belief system. Most common Westerners treat their job only as a way to make money. Whereas the Asian counterparts take pride in their jobs. This alone can make a world of difference.

I think it's racist bullshit to say that westerners do not take pride in their work, but asians do. In fact, I see more cheap 'made in china' garbage than I do see similar american stuff.

[Spectre_Cdn]

Check your data, VW has become the biggest automaker in the world at the end of 2009.


What do you mean by 'biggest'? Most sales? Most marques owned?

Toyota still trumps Volkswagen in global sales:


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aSk5fevzcmts

Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest carmaker, said 2009 vehicle sales including those of affiliates fell 13 percent as the global recession sapped demand.

Toyota sold 7.81 million vehicles worldwide last year, compared with 8.97 million a year earlier, the company said today. Sales declined in the U.S. and Japan, Toyota’s two biggest markets, while rising in China, which passed the U.S. as the world’s largest auto market last year.

Falling demand for Toyota cars compares with record sales last year for Volkswagen AG, which aims to overtake the Japanese carmaker in global sales by 2018. Europe’s largest carmaker sold 6.29 million cars and sport-utility vehicles worldwide, an increase of 1.1 percent from 2008, sales chief Christian Klingler said on Jan. 11.

A global recession helped drag industrywide U.S. auto sales down 21 percent last year to 10.4 million units, the fewest since 1982, according to Autodata Corp. The slump caused the predecessor of Detroit-based General Motors Co. to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Toyota ended GM’s 77-year reign as the world’s biggest carmaker in 2008.

Toyota’s U.S. sales fell for most of 2009, rising only in the last three months of the year and in August, helped by the government’s “cash for clunkers” rebate program.

For the year, Toyota’s U.S. sales dropped 20 percent to 1.77 million units, according to Autodata. GM’s sales fell 30 percent to 2.06 million, according to Autodata.

Toyota’s sales in Japan dropped 6.7 percent to 1.35 million units. The Japanese carmaker’s sales in China gained 21 percent to 709,000. VW boosted China sales 37 percent last year to 1.4 million.



AND it turns out Toyota in europe is affected too:


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704905604575027671658649384.html

Toyota will expand its recall of vehicles with defective gas pedals to Europe, a person close to the matter said Monday. The person said Toyota expects to recall roughly two million vehicles in Europe.

"As a part of the recall we are obliged to suspend [U.S.] sales if we do not have a remedy," said Mr. Michels.

Such a large and public quality problem is a big blow for Toyota, a company that last year passed General Motors Co. to become the world's largest auto maker by sales and for years leveraged its reputation for quality to pull customers from GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC.

[yuusha]

I think it's racist bullshit to say that westerners do not take pride in their work, but asians do. In fact, I see more cheap 'made in china' garbage than I do see similar american stuff.

Factory workers in China are paid pennies compared to what factory workers in America are paid... or did you forget? :haha:

Now made in Japan, on the other hand...

[jmvdesign]

I think it's racist bullshit to say that westerners do not take pride in their work, but asians do. In fact, I see more cheap 'made in china' garbage than I do see similar american stuff.

westerners = asian americans, mexican americans, african americans, italian americans. you get the idea.

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

Factory workers in China are paid pennies compared to what factory workers in America are paid... or did you forget? :haha:

Now made in Japan, on the other hand...

hence why made in china shit are a joke

[twitchyzero]

this incident is an inside job paid by GM



j/k

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

:haha::haha: lol nice, to boost up their sales and make toyota crash?

[ericthehalfbee]

Had that idiot california cop never heard of neutral and the brake pedel?Did that idiot Iceman even read the actual facts of what happened?

[too_slow]

Toyota's really fucked now:

When you start recalling in China, there's a big problem..

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704878904575030502640083756.html?m od=WSJ_business_LeadStoryCollection

By MARIKO SANCHANTA
TOKYO—The crisis facing Toyota Motor Corp. deepened Thursday as the company said its large-scale recall, stemming from a faulty accelerator pedal problem, would spread to Europe and China.

The geographic reach and size of Toyota's recall has grown dramatically in recent days, raising questions about how many of its vehicles around the world are equipped with the defective accelerator pedal.

The Japanese auto maker said it will recall an unknown number of vehicles in Europe. But unlike the U.S. market, where production will be halted for at least a week, different parts are already being used in new vehicles in Europe and production will continue as normal, the embattled car maker said.

In China, one of Toyota's joint ventures will recall 75,552 RAV4 sport-utility vehicles, the country's quality watchdog said.

"Toyota is making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible," the auto maker said in a statement.

In the U.S., Toyota announced it was expanding a recall announced late last year involving pedals catching on floor mats. That recall originally affected 4.3 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles, making it the company`s biggest recall ever. Toyota added 1.1 million more vehicles to that recall on Wednesday, representing four models.

The move came as Fitch Ratings, the credit-ratings agency, placed Toyota's A-plus debt rating—two notches below a perfect triple-A rating—on a "negative" ratings watch.

The recent recalls and sales suspension casts "a negative light on Toyota's reputation for quality," said Jeong Min Pak, senior director in Fitch's Asia-Pacific Corporates team. "This could hamper the company's potential sales and profitability recovery, especially in the U.S. market."

Standard & Poor's and Moody's, rival ratings agencies which have Toyota rated at double-A and AA1 respectively, said they had no immediate plans to either downgrade Toyota's debt rating or put it under a ratings watch.

But S&P added in a statement that "the suspension may put downward pressure on Toyota`s earnings, which we believe have entered a recovery phase." Investors seemed to conclude the same. The auto maker's stock price continued to slide Thursday, falling 3.9% in trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company's shares have fallen 15% over the past five trading days, since news of the latest recalls began to spread.

The markets appear to see Toyota's pain as opportunity for rivals' gain. Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co.'s shares both closed up nearly 3% on Thursday, outperforming the broader Nikkei 225 benchmark average.

Even so, Toyota's two biggest Japanese rivals firmly ruled out offering incentives to take advantage of their peer's woes, as they hope to gain sales without calling attention to what could be seen as a broader slip in Japanese quality.

"We will not undertake any sales activities that expressly target Toyota customers in the U.S.," a Honda spokeswoman said. A Nissan spokesman also said the company wouldn't embark on any specific sales of marketing activities, despite the recall crisis facing Toyota.

That is a contrast with Ford Motor Co. and General Motor Co., both of which have launched new incentives to snatch some market share back from the world's biggest car maker. Ford said it would offer new customers $1,000 cash to trade-in used or leased vehicles from Toyota, while GM detailed a similar program earlier Wednesday.

"Toyota is the standard-bearer for Japanese autos. If you are Honda and Nissan, it doesn't help to play it up because people would ask, 'Do all Japanese cars have problems?'" said Chris Richter, autos analyst at CLSA Asia Pacific Markets. "U.S. makers have faced decades of share erosion because of Japanese cars—now they have a chance to say, 'Japanese cars aren't as good, so buy America.'"

Meanwhile, the recalls slamming Toyota in the U.S. and Europe don't appear likely to spread to its home market. The Japanese transportation ministry isn't yet considering a probe related to Toyota's massive recall in the U.S.

The ministry believes that the parts that have caused problems in the U.S. are made locally and aren't used in Toyota cars sold in Japan, said an official there, who asked not to be identified. "It is our view that there is no need for a specific action at this point," the official added.

[Mancini]

If this was Ford they wouldn't do a thing because they'd figure it's cheaper to get sued on a handful of cases.

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

toyota definitely fucked themself up big time

[penner2k]

If this was Ford they wouldn't do a thing because they'd figure it's cheaper to get sued on a handful of cases.

Read the link I posted. Toyota did the same thing till they were actually forced to stop selling those cars.

Lets do a little comparison here.

2007 Ford Focus Reliability
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2007&make=Ford&model=Focus&trimid=102644

2007 Toyota Corolla Reliability
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2007&make=Toyota&model=Corolla&trimid=103634

2007 Ford Fusion Reliability
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2007&make=Ford&model=Fusion

2007 Toyota Camry Reliability
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2007&make=Toyota&model=Camry

2007 Ford F150 Reliability
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2007&make=Ford&model=F-150

2007 Toyota Tundra Reliability
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2007&make=Toyota&model=Tundra

2007 Ford Edge Reliability
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2007&make=Ford&model=Edge

2007 Toyota Highlander Reliability
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2007&make=Toyota&model=Highlander

2007 Ford Mustang Reliability
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2007&make=Ford&model=Mustang



....... Oh yah Toyota doesnt build anything fun

[too_slow]

If this was Ford they wouldn't do a thing because they'd figure it's cheaper to get sued on a handful of cases.

Ford has learned from their PR mistakes from back in the 70s.

Check out their recent performance:

http://www.autonet.ca/autos/news/2010/01/28/12645246-ap.html

DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford (NYSE:F), the only U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy court, clawed its way to a US$2.7-billion profit in 2009 and expects to stay in the black in 2010. It was the automaker's first annual profit in four years.

Not bad for a Us company that did not take any bailouts. I think Ford deserves another chance after the 1970 mess.

[q0192837465]

wow, lowered credit ratings. Good time to buy bonds

[too_slow]

^or short the shit out of them :P

[originalhypa]

Ford is now caught up in the recall, since the Explorer uses CTS brand pedals. Their share price dropped today, and may continue to do so.

Ford was a nice story since they didn't take any money. I sold my Ford shares recently, and almost regretted it. But for those paying attention, it may be a good time to buy into a severely under rated company.

Long: Ford
Short: Toyota


On a side note, I just bought this a month ago.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v253/hypasteve/tundra/IMGP3849.jpg

Shit.
:lol

[LiquidTurbo]

Some people just don't know how to turn the ignition off.

Dumb idea. ES350 has a push start which needs 3-4seconds of holding down for the car to shut off. In a panic situation, that won't work for you.

Also, do you really want to lose power steering, power brakes, and have a chance at the steering wheel lock up on you? (When you turn it about 1/4 turn, the steering wheel locks). Complete loss of control.


Much better idea is to shift to neutral, then brake.

[fliptuner]

Ford is now caught up in the recall, since the Explorer uses CTS brand pedals. Their share price dropped today, and may continue to do so.

Ford was a nice story since they didn't take any money. I sold my Ford shares recently, and almost regretted it. But for those paying attention, it may be a good time to buy into a severely under rated company.


I caught a piece on a Detroit channel that said the only Ford that had this issue was some commercial cargo van (think Dodge Sprinter style). If the Explorer is part of this then yeah, that sucks for them. In the same piece they said Ford turned a $2Billion profit in '09 and they were picking up.

:confused::confused:

[Rich Sandor]

to clarify:

The Ford Transit Classic made in China uses the same CTS accellerator that caused problems in the Toyotas. The Transit Classic has not had ANY issues with the accellerator pedals to date. The Transit Classic (made in China) is NOT the same as the Transit Connect (made in Turkey and sold in North America). Ford is not halting sale or production of any north american vehicles.

I'm not sure where you got your info about the Explorer using CTS pedals.. I can't find anything online...

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

Dumb idea. ES350 has a push start which needs 3-4seconds of holding down for the car to shut off. In a panic situation, that won't work for you.

Also, do you really want to lose power steering, power brakes, and have a chance at the steering wheel lock up on you? (When you turn it about 1/4 turn, the steering wheel locks). Complete loss of control.


Much better idea is to shift to neutral, then brake.

but if the breaks worked the people that had sticky accelerator wouldn've crashed now would they?

[too_slow]

^When your car's under WOT (that's essentialyl what happens with the 'sudden acceleration'), you lose all vacuum functions.. including your brakes... In some cars, when a brake signal is applied simultaneously with the gas pedal, the ECU would reduce the throttle.. Such safety mechanisms does not exist in a Toyota apparently..

[yuusha]

hence why made in china shit are a joke

Exactly.

And I don't know why I was failed for that post. :rolleyes:

[roastpuff]

Much better idea is to shift to neutral, then brake.

The problem is that Toyota LOVES LOVES LOVES gated shifters (where the gears are arrange in an odd pattern) and Neutral was up and to the right of Drive.

If you just pushed the shifter up, you would simply upshift a gear, not go into Neutral. Very specific movements are required to shift the gear into Neutral or other gears, and it's not immediately clear how to get into Neutral due to the shape/position of the gates.

This has confused my parents before on rental Camry's and Avalons when we travel, and I can see this confusing people in cars they rent/borrow, especially in emergency situations. It took my dad over 30 seconds of staring and fiddling with the shifter to figure out how to go into Reverse on a rental before, and my dad's not exactly an idiot with cars. He tried shifting from Reverse to Drive also, and got stuck in Neutral in Toronto traffic while trying to get out of a parallel parking position. I slapped it in gear for him, and we lurched out.

This shifter design is dangerous, in my opinion, and I've disliked them whenever I've came across them in vehicles.

For reference, see picture of ES350 shifter below.

http://www.autotropolis.com/web/images/still_0640_Larger/6474/6474_st0640_087.jpg

[Datsun]

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g225/pipejaimes/Random/MovingForward.png

[ericthehalfbee]

This is a quote taken from Toyota's FAQ about how to handle a runaway car.

- Shift the transmission gear selector to the Neutral (N) position and use the brakes to make a controlled stop at the side of the road and turn off the engine.
- If unable to put the vehicle in Neutral, turn the engine OFF.

Now I have to wonder, why did they include the phrase If unable to put the vehicle in Neutral? Is there some problem which could prevent a person from shifting a car into neutral? I find their inclusion of this phrase to be quite odd.

[roastpuff]

Also, I don't think you can turn the engine off in Drive?

[too_slow]

^Werd. I did that to the company's Prius, and it would beep at me.. :@ It would only shut off (with the push button on/off) when the car's in neutral

[Rich Sandor]

Also, I don't think you can turn the engine off in Drive?

you can always turn the engine off in any gear, you just can't remove the keys unless it's in park.

[roastpuff]

you can always turn the engine off in any gear, you just can't remove the keys unless it's in park.

Should test this out on my friend's Camry... too_slow says his company Prius won't turn off except in Neutral or Park.

[too_slow]

^I tested it out again this morning. When I cruise at 50, it would only beep at me if I try to shut it down (held it for longer than 15 seconds).. The car does not decelerate or shut off when I hold onto the button.

When I cruise below 20, the car would feel like it went into Park (by holding down the on/off butting for 5 sec) by decelerating at a very rapid pace before the engine would shut down

[Rich Sandor]

I forgot about the prius hybrid's funny key system. It might be different from the normal cars, as far as shutting off in certain gears only. I know that normal cars will shut off in any gear.

[too_slow]

^Haha.. yeah, you have to stick in the entire keyfob into the dash to start the car with the On/Off button (similar to VW Passat, all bimmers, mini's etc)

[Rich Sandor]

too_slow: hmm seems like a sketchy design to me.. I'd want to have complete control of my engine at all times. If it's on fire, I want to shut it off NOW.

I'm going to play with some of our more advanced cars with push button start / hybrid and see what they do.

[Lomac]

Dumb idea. ES350 has a push start which needs 3-4seconds of holding down for the car to shut off. In a panic situation, that won't work for you.

Also, do you really want to lose power steering, power brakes, and have a chance at the steering wheel lock up on you? (When you turn it about 1/4 turn, the steering wheel locks). Complete loss of control.


Much better idea is to shift to neutral, then brake.

that's why on a normal car you would turn the engine off then immediately turn it to ACC. You still retain your steering when you're there, albeit nonpowered.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[Rich Sandor]

Here is a detailed video of the CTS pedal assembly and what exactly is wearing out:

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/29/video-in-depth-look-at-toyotas-sticky-accelerator/#continued

[lonelydriver]

I know that normal cars will shut off in any gear.

Yes that is true and I have seen this with my own eyes. Extreme hypermilers do this while coasting to stop.

My friend did this to my car while we exchanged cars. :eek: I was quite pissed at him.

[MMMFreak]

Its reliable as fuck, but once you get behind the wheel, it won't stop worth shit, cause its pedal to the metal, like a crash test dummy into a brick wall! First they canned all their sportscars, then started making pos canadian/usa built by gwilo crap for cheap, now they go into turbo warp mode on their own to your death!

Toyota so virgin on recalls, they don't even know what to do!

Ford must be laughing right now, because the body count of dead toyota owners might superceeds their own legacy of fuckedness.

Imagine driving to a funeral with your toyota, and the gas pedal gets stuck on full blast and you drive into the event and take out the parlbearers and smash up the coffin, corpse and all and imprint a toyota symbol onto their ass?! Then get out, and be like 'ma bad, damn Toyota!'

I think Toyota will take serious notice, once their clients start to drive head-first with gas pedals struck through their showrooms, or one of the big boss's own kid dies in his camry headfirst into a tree TRD style!

[FiveDime]

TOYOTA YOUR FUCKED!!!

HOLLY SHIT!!


YouTube- Family Killed in Santee Car Crash 911 Call

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

sigh what a tragedy

[ELITE_TRAYUNZE]

TOYOTA YOUR FUCKED!!!

HOLLY SHIT!!


YouTube- Family Killed in Santee Car Crash 911 Call (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHGSWs4uJzY)

01d

[twitchyzero]

january is a terrible month for japan
first JAL files for bankruptcy then toyota suffers major cut back in sales and poor PR

[optiblue]

TOYOTA YOUR FUCKED!!!

HOLLY SHIT!!


YouTube- Family Killed in Santee Car Crash 911 Call (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHGSWs4uJzY)

Creepy :( I would have tried turning off the car, use the e brake, shift it into park, drag the car on the side barrier to slow it down...

But now I'm just not going to buy a toyota.

[jlenko]

LOL, just thought of a way to get out of a speeding ticket...

"Officer, thank goodness you were there! My pedal was jammed and I was accelerating out of control, but I managed to unstick it..

These damn recalled Toyotas, you know?

Good thing you were there to help control traffic so this didn't end in tragedy!"

Ha ha...

(But sir, you're driving a Chevrolet...?)

[Spooling]

TOYOTA YOUR FUCKED!!!

HOLLY SHIT!!


YouTube- Family Killed in Santee Car Crash 911 Call (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHGSWs4uJzY)

Why didn't they slip the gear to neutral and brake??

[roastpuff]

Why didn't they slip the gear to neutral and brake??

Read the thread, will you?

[penner2k]

I think Toyota will take serious notice, once their clients start to drive head-first with gas pedals struck through their showrooms, or one of the big boss's own kid dies in his camry headfirst into a tree TRD style!

Funny how you say that and then it actually ends up happening..

http://jalopnik.com/5461514/man-unintentionally-accelerates-recalled-truck-into-toyota-dealer-showroom

[penner2k]

Toyota is lying again to cover their ass

http://jalopnik.com/5461734/how-toyotas-president-lied-to-matt-lauer