Red Flags for Toyota models that aren't recalled

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Oct 23, 2009
Messages
8,576
Location
Ohio
I don't know if this news story has been posted before, but it addresses the idea that the unintended acceleration problem may be electronic or software.

Models that aren't recalled

Quote:
WASHINGTON/DETROIT - As the U.S. Congress gears up to delve into Toyota Motor Corp's massive global vehicle recall, the question they face is whether the automaker and regulators misread or ignored rising consumer complaints.

Complaints about unintended acceleration rose sharply from model years 2002 to 2007 -- a period when Toyota expanded its use of electronic throttle controls, according to an analysis of data compiled by Safety Research and Strategies.

Potentially more worrying for regulators and consumers: More than half of the 2,262 complaints compiled by Safety Research involve vehicles that Toyota has not recalled

Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide for problems with either floor mats, which can trap a gas pedal, or a mechanical glitch in the accelerator, which can cause the pedal to become stuck.

But safety advocates and lawyers for a Michigan woman killed in a high-speed wreck in April 2008 argue that evidence suggests electronic throttle controls are at fault, not floor mats or "sticky pedals.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in early February it would review the past probes that found no problems with electronic throttle systems even though complaints had grown steadily during times of those reviews.

What appears crucial is the role of Toyota and U.S. regulators in narrowing the focus of earlier safety investigations.

In one case Chris Santucci, a former U.S. safety regulator hired by Toyota in 2003, played a role in discussions with NHTSA during a 2004 probe in which the agency sharply narrowed the scope of its inquiry, according to his deposition in a lawsuit seeking damages from the Michigan crash.

The substance of the discussions between the Toyota representatives and NHTSA investigators was unclear.

In that instance, NHTSA agreed to exclude from consideration reports of uncontrolled acceleration in Toyota vehicles where the incident lasted more than a few seconds or the driver hit the brakes.

As a result, Toyota did not provide information to the U.S. government about reports it had taken about such cases.

Under the narrower scope of the investigation, NHTSA eliminated nearly all of the 260 complaints it received and closed the investigation without taking action in July 2004.

Toyota defended Santucci.

"Mr. Santucci has an exemplary professional reputation that he earned by working diligently on safety issues at NHTSA as well as here at Toyota," Toyota spokeswoman Martha Voss said in a statement.

"Industry professionals across the spectrum who know Mr. Santucci would agree that any insinuation that he violated federal ethics laws or that he did not live up to the highest professional standards is reckless and without merit."

Critics say NHTSA has a number of tools that have gone unused. Supporters say regulators are overwhelmed by 30,000 complaints per year and a mandate that forces them to confront deep-pocketed automakers loaded with engineers, technical analysts, lawyers and political muscle.

Two U.S. House of Representatives committees want to examine the government's response to the Toyota recalls and get a better understanding of what is behind unintended acceleration.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, NHTSA Administrator David Strickland and Toyota's top North American executive Yoshi Inaba are due to testify at one hearing on February 24. The second is also expected to draw a heavyweight witness list.

In a statement published in the Washington Post on Tuesday, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said he had personally assured LaHood "that lines of communications with safety agencies and regulators will be kept open ... and that we will be more vigilant in responding to those officials on all matters."

Toyota began using electronic throttle controls, or a drive-by-wire system, in U.S.-sold vehicles with 1998 models and expanded their use with 2002 models.

Complaints of sudden acceleration soared more than tenfold when Toyota switched to an electronic throttle for the 2002 model year Camry, its best-selling vehicle, according to data compiled by Safety Research.

The founder of the firm, Sean Kane, has been called as an expert witness in one of the congressional hearings.

The spike in complaints about Toyota vehicles coincided with a growth spurt for the automaker, which roughly doubled its U.S. market share and saw sales leap nearly 80 percent from 1999 to 2006.

Safety Research puts the number of unintended acceleration cases at over 2,200, including 26 reported deaths.

Toyota "has employed several strategies to deflect the agency investigations," Kane said in a report on Friday.

The automaker declined to comment on Kane's report.

LaHood has said NHTSA has the tools to do a thorough review of safety issues related to the electronic controls on Toyota cars.
 
It sure is funny watching this goverment handle this especially when they own two comanies of there own.... GM and Chrysler.... But I am sure that none of this hub bub has nothing to do with that....
33.gif
 
Originally Posted By: rszappa1
It sure is funny watching this goverment handle this especially when they own two comanies of there own.... GM and Chrysler.... But I am sure that none of this hub bub has nothing to do with that....
33.gif




I'm sure it doesn't, considering how much money the government, federal, state, local have given to honda, toyota in form of tax abatements, and CASH to build their plants here.
 
The government owns the postal service too. I wonder when they will investigate FedEX and UPS
crazy2.gif
.
 
Well I use the USPS and have no complaints. But I'm weird like that and don't have too many complaints about most of the GM vehicles I've had either.
 
Originally Posted By: rszappa1
And the USPS is sooo well run along with Amtrack.........
15.gif



Dude, you have some serious issues. USPS and Amtrak are actually run just fine, the problem is that people aren't really fans of rail travel, not when they can fly (much faster) or drive (usually much cheaper). And the mail service has the problem that people don't mail letters anymore. They use email. And people just aren't mailing anything, and those that do packages often us UPS, or FedEX.
 
Originally Posted By: rszappa1
It sure is funny watching this goverment handle this especially when they own two comanies of there own.... GM and Chrysler.... But I am sure that none of this hub bub has nothing to do with that....
33.gif

Don't worry, GM and Chrysler will be roasted over the spit if and when the tables change in Washington...
 
Originally Posted By: nthach
Originally Posted By: rszappa1
It sure is funny watching this goverment handle this especially when they own two comanies of there own.... GM and Chrysler.... But I am sure that none of this hub bub has nothing to do with that....
33.gif

Don't worry, GM and Chrysler will be roasted over the spit if and when the tables change in Washington...


I don't think the government would be stupid enough to throw GM and Chrysler (at least GM) out to dry after the money they've put into them. That would be in a word, dumb. In two, really dumb.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Dude, you have some serious issues. USPS and Amtrak are actually run just fine................... You got to be kidding right.....
 
Originally Posted By: rszappa1
Dude, you have some serious issues. USPS and Amtrak are actually run just fine................... You got to be kidding right.....


Tell me what they could do better then, since you are SOOOOOO smart, and obviously know better than them, o wise one.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
USPS runs great.......You Say....

Interesting article in today’s New York Times on the US Postal Service: “Increasing Postal Deficits Intensify Talks On Solution”, July 30, B1.

This highlights a key difference between the operations of a private company and a public one. Private delivery companies like UPS and Federal Express are cutting costs to align their operations with current demand. The Post Office, however, being a public company, has its decisions subject to political considerations. Republican Representative Jo Ann Emerson from Missouri, for example, opposes a five day delivery week and the closure of post office stations.

This kind of thing is also happening at GM, Citi and more and more as the federal government owns more and more of the economy.
 
Last year the United States Postal Service lost $2.8 billion in what they considered a "decent year" and anticipate a 17% drop in volume (and thus revenue) this year, due in part to online bill paying. By 2010, the USPS anticipates losses as high as $12 billion if changes aren’t made. Since they are running out of money, the Postmaster General suggests Congress to pass legislation that will allow the elimination of either Saturday or Tuesday delivery. And they’re cutting positions by 15% and instituting a hiring freeze, Postmaster General John Potter told a Congressional subcommittee.

Wait! Wut?! A loss of 2.8 billion is considered a "decent year"? [censored]?

Postal Service spokesman James Wigdel explained the drop in revenue:

The old model was people religiously at the first of the month putting their stamp on the envelope and sent their credit card mail and all that remittance mail off. More and more people are doing that online.
That’s not the only reason: I’ve noticed that while lots of people shop online, many sellers–private and commercial–use UPS or FedEx ground service to deliver packages, maybe because they are more economical?

Additionally, the USPS will pay almost $70 billion from now through 2016 for retiree health benefits. But Postmaster General Potter pointed out that if USPS paid for retiree health benefits out of its Retiree Health Benefit Fund instead of its operating budget, that change would have allowed the service to reach a $1.6 billion profit in 2007, instead of a $5.1 billion loss. Um, isn’t that what a "retiree health benefit fund" is for–to pay retiree health benefits?

Wait! Wut?! The postal service had a $5.1 billion loss in 2007? No wonder
..............And no changes have been made............
 
I can't help but notice you did not make any real suggestions and tell me what they should be doing. I mean specifics.

Lets face it, we all like to blow smoke and act like we know what we would do and what we're talking about, but truthfully, probably not one person here could be put into an important government position, where you have to make big decisions, and do well. Most of us would probably have a seizure before the day was out. And that's the honest to gods truth.

Look at the GM decision. Let GM liquidate (Let's not kid ourselves, that is exactly what would have happened if the Govt hadn't stepped in. They would have gone Ch7). This would eliminate GM sure. But, it would also probably devastate the economy. Suppliers are ALREADY going bankrupt. If they lost GM, who supplies 20% or more of cars in the US, pretty much the entire supplier chain would be gone in a matter of months. On the other hand, it isn't popular for the government to own things. It's a trade off. Devastate the economy even more, or own the company for a few years till a private buyer can be found meanwhile you have people ticked off at you.


We need the USPS. UPS and fedex are relatively new, and neither are big enough or have the resources to take over in place of the USPS. Neither are standardized, neither have plentiful, convenient locations across the country. It just wouldn't work.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Originally Posted By: rszappa1
Chapter 7 is exactly where GM and Chrysler need to go just like any other bussiness....


So you would have the economy which was already in the pooper, drop off a cliff. It would take a very, very, VERY long time to recover from that, if ever. US supplier chain would go bust, paving the way for low cost chinese suppliers to step in. The US loses almost 2 million jobs, or more, just from this. We could never recover from something like that.
 
Originally Posted By: rszappa1
And the USPS is sooo well run along with Amtrack.........
15.gif



Maybe you could run Amtrak better. Of course you would have to learn how to spell it first.
 
Originally Posted By: rszappa1
Chapter 7 is exactly where GM and Chrysler need to go just like any other bussiness....



When you learn to spell the word bidnizz then maybe we'll talk....lol
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top