by wildcherry on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 | Automotive, News | No Comments

Here are three ways to stop the vehicle, according to Toyota:

_ Step on the brake pedal with both feet using firm and steady pressure. Do not pump the brakes.

_ Shift the transmission gear selector into neutral. Use the brakes to make a controlled stop by the side of the road.

_ If you’re unable to put the vehicle in neutral, turn off the engine. This will cut off power assist to the steering wheel and brakes, but as long as the key is in the ignition, you will still be able to steer and brake. If you have an engine start/stop button, press it firmly for three seconds to turn the engine off. Do not tap it. If you have a conventional key ignition, turn the ignition key to the ACC position. Do not remove the key from the ignition.

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by wildcherry on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 | Automotive, News | No Comments

Toyota Prius driver James Sikes called 911 about 1:30 p.m. after accelerating to pass another vehicle on Interstate 8 near La Posta and finding that he could not control his car, the CHP said.

“I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny… it jumped and it just stuck there,” the 61-year-old driver said at a news conference. “As it was going, I was trying the brakes…it wasn’t stopping, it wasn’t doing anything and it just kept speeding up,” Sikes said, adding he could smell the brakes burning he was pressing the pedal so hard.

A patrol car pulled alongside the Prius and officers told Sikes over a loudspeaker to push the brake pedal to the floor and apply the emergency brake.

“They also got it going on a steep upgrade,” said Officer Jesse Udovich. “Between those three things, they got it to slow down.”

After the car decelerated to about 50 mph, Sikes turned off the engine and coasted to a halt.

The officer then maneuvered his car in front of the Prius as a precautionary block, Udovich said.

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by wildcherry on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 | Automotive, News | No Comments

The latest Toyota defect, faulty hoses can cause engine noise and light up the oil pressure light on vehicle dashboards, according to Toyota. In the U.S., the problem also affects the best-selling Camry and two Lexus models.

Repairs on 45,000 vehicles in Japan have already been rolled out since October. The problem affects an additional 230,000 vehicles in 90 other nations, Takeuchi said. The models involved in Japan are the Harrier luxury model, Estima minivan, Blade hatchback, Mark X Zio sedan and Vanguard crossover.

Toyota does not consider the latest repair a recall because the problem doesn’t endanger safety, and categorizes it as a “service campaign,” with owners receiving notices through dealers about the needed repair.

“This is a routine measure,” said Takeuchi. “We are not hiding anything.”

The automaker earlier Tuesday said some 1 million vehicles were affected after the repair for the oil-supply engine hose was expanded overnight in the U.S. to include 2007 and 2009 RAV4 sport utility vehicles and some Avalon sedan models, totaling 217,800 vehicles.

It was unclear when U.S. owners would receive notices on the Highlander and Sienna repairs, but Toyota was making preparations now, Takeuchi said.

Toyota’s quality standards have come under intense scrutiny following global recalls of some 8.5 million vehicles for gas pedal, floor mat and braking problems, mostly in the U.S.

In Europe, the global recalls affects 1.7 million vehicles for the gas-pedal problems, and nearly 53,000 Prius hybrids for the antilock braking glitch, according to an updated tally.

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by wildcherry on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 | Automotive, News | No Comments

General Motors Co. is recalling 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac compact cars sold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to fix power steering motors that can fail.

The 2010 GM Car recall affects :

2005 to 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts,
2007 to 2010 Pontiac G5s
2005 and 2006 Pontiac Pursuits sold in Canada
2005 and 2006 Pontiac G4s sold in Mexico.

GM said Monday the vehicles are still safe to drive and never lose their steering, but it may be harder to steer them when traveling under 15 mph.

GM spokesman Alan Adler said it will take time for the automaker to get 1.3 million new power steering motors from the supplier, JTEKT Corp., and GM will notify car owners when the parts are available.
Adler said the failures are rare and the cars can still be driven until motors can be replaced by dealers. Drivers will see a warning light and hear a chime if the power steering fails, but they could be surprised when the steering becomes more difficult.

GM told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the recall on Monday. NHTSA began an investigation into 905,000 of the models on Jan. 27 after getting 1,100 complaints that the cars lost their power steering assist. The complaints included 14 crashes and one injury.

GM will fix older models first because it usually takes 20,000 to 30,000 miles of driving for the condition to develop, Adler said. GM also will have to repair thousands of vehicles on dealer lots before they can be sold, he said.

“Recalling these vehicles is the right thing to do for our customers’ peace of mind,” Jamie Hresko, GM’s vice president of quality, said in a statement.
Adler said if the power steering assist fails, it usually comes back for a time after the car is shut off and restarted.

The recall comes at a time of heightened interest in auto safety after sudden acceleration problems experienced in some Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles.

Toyota has had to recall 8.5 million vehicles worldwide to fix problems with sticky gas pedals, floor mats that can snag the gas pedal and cause unintended acceleration, and brake software problems with the Prius gas-electric hybrid.

Toyota executives have been summoned to testify before congressional committees investigating the company’s actions and whether NHTSA did enough to make sure the Toyotas are safe.

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by wildcherry on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 | Automotive, News | No Comments

The Toyota Motor Corp. considering massive recall their top selling Corolla Model after the complaints about the power steering problems. The President Akio Toyoda said that hee won’t be attending the U.S. congressional hearing on the automaker’s quality lapses, entrusting the job to U.S. Corolla Recall steering problems, which is not sold in the UK, said that there’s no decision had been made as it was still looking into complaints over the power.

“I trust that our officials in the U.S. will amply answer the questions, We are sending the best people to the hearing, and I hope to back up the efforts from headquarters.” Akio Toyoda on Wednesday in his third news conference in two weeks.
The Company also denied any cover-up as the U.S. investigates whether it was enough in recalling millions of Toyota cars over the problems affecting other car models. Toyota said there are currently less than 100 potential complaints with the Corolla Recall in the US. The Toyota Corolla

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by wildcherry on Monday, February 8th, 2010 | Automotive, News | No Comments

The recall of the 2010 Prius and two other hybrids will affect 437,000 cars across the world, and around 8,500 in the UK.

Toyota’s president Akio Toyoda announced the recall at a news conference. He said customers should take their cars back to the dealer where a simple 40 minute process will make them safe.

He said: “We have decided to recall as we regard safety for our customers as our foremost priority.”
Also being recalled are two other hybrid models - the Lexus HS250h sedan, sold in the US and Japan, and the Sai, which is sold only in Japan.

The braking problem for the third-generation Prius is the latest safety concern for Toyota, which has already recalled millions of vehicles due to other defects, including a sticky accelerator pedal.
US safety officials have launched an investigation into problems with the brakes.

There have been nearly 200 complaints in Japan and the US of drivers experiencing a short delay before the brakes are effective. The problem can be fixed with a software programming change

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by wildcherry on Monday, February 8th, 2010 | Automotive, News | No Comments

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota plans to recall about 300,000 Prius hybrids worldwide over a brake problem and is likely to notify both the U.S. and Japanese governments Tuesday, news reports said, as a top executive will testify before U.S. lawmakers about defects that have tarnished its reputation for quality and safety.

The recall of the gas-electric Prius will cover the latest version of the cars that went on sale from May last year, Kyodo News agency reported late Monday.

Kyodo, which did not identify its sources for the information, said the automaker planned to notify authorities in Japan on Tuesday and probably also in the U.S. on the same day. The recall will cover about 270,000 of the hybrids sold in the two countries — 170,000 in Japan and 100,000 in the U.S., Kyodo said.

Japan’s Nikkei business daily carried a similar report about Toyota’s recall plans on its Web site, saying the automaker would notify authorities in Japan on Tuesday and was also likely to do so in the U.S. at about the same time.

Toyota Motor Corp. spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said no decision on a Prius recall has been made. Kenji Sugai, an official in Japan’s Transport Ministry section in charge of recalls, said it had not been informed of any such plan by Toyota.

The automaker is still weighing its options on how to handle the Prius repairs in the U.S., but it intends to begin fixing them soon, according to a person briefed on the matter who asked not to be identified because the remedy hasn’t been made public.

Toyota has said among its options are a service campaign in which owners would be notified to bring their cars in for repairs, or a full-fledged safety recall. Toyota is communicating with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on how to handle the fix.

A service campaign wouldn’t have the stigma of a safety recall, but regulators may press for the recall.

The reports follow others in Japanese media recently that the world’s largest automaker has decided to announce a recall early this week as a way of regaining damaged consumer trust. Toyota has already recalled more than 7 million other cars for repairs in the U.S. and other countries over a sticky accelerator and floor mats that can get caught in the gas pedal.

The company has consistently only said it will soon announce plans to deal with the braking problem in the Prius.

At least 100 drivers of Prius cars in the U.S. have complained to Washington that their antilock brakes seemed to fail momentarily while driving on bumpy roads. The Japanese government has also received dozens of complaints. The U.S. says the problem is suspected in four crashes that caused two minor injuries.

Toyota says a software glitch is behind the problem. The company says it has already fixed vehicles that went on sale since last month. It has also said that the brakes will work if the driver keeps pushing the pedal.

The Prius is the world’s top-selling gas-electric hybrid and its fuel efficiency has drawn intense interest amid concerns about global warming and dependence on fossil fuels.

Toyota has sold a little more than 300,000 of the vehicles in about 60 countries since May, according to the company — and any recall was likely to eventually affect most of those cars.

Kyodo also reported that recalls and other measures in other countries will follow those in Japan and the U.S.

Toyota sales expert Yoshimi Inaba will appear before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Wednesday along with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Administrator David Strickland. The name of the hearing: “Toyota Gas Pedals: Is the Public at Risk?”

Inaba was hand-picked from semiretirement by Toyota President Akio Toyoda last year to head the North American operations and help steer Toyota through the company’s biggest earnings slump in its 72-year history as global auto sales dived.

General Motors Co. said Monday it will start shipping parts to dealers this week to fix about 99,000 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibes equipped with the same sticky gas pedal systems as Toyota’s. The Vibe is essentially the same car as a Toyota Matrix, built by a joint venture between the two automakers. The Vibe also is covered by the floor mat recall, and GM is urging customers to take out removable mats and put them in the trunk until a fix is ready.

Associated Press Writer Mari Yamaguchi and AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo and AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.

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by wildcherry on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 | Automotive, News | No Comments

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood now says he misspoke when telling owners of recalled Toyotas to stop driving then.

Instead, LaHood says take them to dealerships to get them repaired.

LaHood told reporters it was “obviously a misstatement” when he told a House panel earlier Wednesday that he would advise owners not to drive recalled vehicles. The remark came during testimony to the Appropriations subcommittee on transportation.

Toyota’s most recent recall in the United States affects 2.3 million vehicles with the potential for sticking gas pedals.

His comments at the hearing, which appeared to be off the cuff, came shortly after he told reporters that he planned to call the president of Toyota, Akio Toyoda, about the recalls and after the Japanese government told the carmaker to examine the brakes on its hybrid Prius. Drivers in Japan and the United States have complained that the brakes momentarily stopped working when driving at low speeds.

“I’m going to take the initiative to have a conversation with Mr. Toyoda very soon, to talk to him about how serious this is, and to make sure that he understands,” Mr. LaHood said. “I think he understands, but I’ve never talked to him. I just feel like I need to have a conversation with him.”

Mr. LaHood’s comments Wednesday were the latest in an aggressive campaign by his department over the Toyota situation. Last week, Mr. LaHood took credit for the company’s decision to stop building and selling eight models involved in a recall over accelerator pedals that could potentially stick, saying Toyota did not take the step until urged to do so by the department.

Some safety advocates said however that Mr. LaHood might be trying to protect federal safety regulators from potential liability issues over their role in investigating defects.

Mr. LaHood told reporters that regulators have the resources and expertise to conduct a thorough review of consumer complaints regarding unintended acceleration in Toyota focusing on electronic throttles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “is not finished with this safety issue involving Toyota,” he said, explaining that the department would look into the possibility of electromagnetic interference with the accelerator system.

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by wildcherry on Monday, February 1st, 2010 | Automotive, News | No Comments

Toyota has officially announced details of its plan to fix potentially sticky accelerator pedals in 2.3 million recalled vehicles. Repairs to affected vehicles will begin this week.

A “fix” has been developed for the recalled vehicles that includes reinforcing the pedal mechanism to eliminate the friction that could have caused a sticking accelerator pedal. In addition, Toyota has worked with the pedal supplier to create a new pedal that will be used on newly-manufactured Toyota models.

Toyota will, however, continue as planned with the temporary closing of many of its North American plans for this week.

“Nothing is more important to us than the safety and reliability of the vehicles our customers drive,” said Jim Lentz, president and COO at Toyota USA.

Lentz also said that many dealerships will work 24 hours a day to fix potentially faulty accelerator pedals. “We want to demonstrate that our commitment to safety is as high as ever and that our commitment to our customers is unwavering,” he said.

The accelerator pedal recall affects 2.3 million vehicles in North America, including eight models: 2009-2010 RAV4, 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Matrix, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 Camry, 2010 Highlander, 2007-2010 Tundra and 2008-2010 Sequoia.

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by wildcherry on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 | Automotive, News | No Comments

The sales suspension and recall includes Toyota’s top-selling vehicle in North America, the Camry, for model years since 2007.

Also included are the 2009-2010 model year RAV4, Corolla and Matrix, the 2008-2010 model year Sequoia, the 2007-2010 model year Tundra, the 2005-2010 model year Avalon and the 2010 model year Highlander. You can read our previous article regarding 2010 Toyota recall list.

Annual combined sales of these models are 1 million cars in North America, more than half of Toyota’s annual sales there last year, according to Advance Research’s Endo.

Toyota is suspending production of the models for the first week of February at plants in North America. The plants are located in Indiana, Texas, Kentucky, and in Ontario.

Bob Carter, Toyota U.S. group vice president, said the world’s No.1 automaker is taking the actions to ensure safety and restore confidence in Toyota among consumers.

“This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized,” Carter said in a statement. “We’re making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible.”

Toyota said last week it would recall 2.3 million vehicles in the United States to fix potentially faulty accelerator pedals, its second massive recall in four months in the U.S.

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