Anyone else effected by this Toyota recall?

[quatre_temps]

I am. My 2009 Tundra is on the list of vehicles requiring a new gas pedal. I actually got a notice before Christmas but didn't realize how huge this recall was.

[ElChingon7]

My Mom has a Corolla that needs to go in.

The fact that they're halting production is pretty amazing. A big kick in the nuts for sure.

Can't be quite as bad as the Firestone recall

[ezcheese]

This is pretty major stuff. It's tough being king if the hill.

[userfriendly]

Amazingly none of my close relatives have a vehicle affected by this recall. My dad has Tacoma and that is not affected by this recall. At least they're fixing it before any more people are injured or killed. Kind of amazing that they stopped production and sales of these vehicles.

[Diaboliq]

Can't be quite as bad as the Firestone recall

Spot on!

[ezcheese]

Actually, this could lead to the downfall of Toyota. They are skirting the real issue with this situation. They need to come out and be honest with customers.

The issue is NOT "sticking" gas pedals or floor mats that get bunched up. It's most likely in the electronics. How many of the cars in the recall use "drive by wire" accelerators? My guess is that they all do.

They haven't even addressed the Prius issue. Priuses are just randomly taking off. A friend of Emily's parents crashed into her neighbor's fence when she was pulling into her driveway in her new Prius just a few months ago. The thing just darted into the damn fence. She had to pay for the repairs to the fence, but it was the car's fault.

If Toyota doesn't come out and make this right, there will be dire consequences.

Remember the tampering incident with Tylenol? We did a case study in business school about how the company handled that situation. They ordered a total recall after much deliberation at a HUGE cost. But they knew they needed to make things right.

If there is potential for serious injury or death because of a problem with your product, you need to make it right.

[jimyritz]

I would agree..I think it is a huge issue for a car a company that typically ranks 1st in quality..

[Pasquale]

I am. My 2009 Tundra is on the list of vehicles requiring a new gas pedal. I actually got a notice before Christmas but didn't realize how huge this recall was.

[quatre_temps]

The issue is NOT "sticking" gas pedals or floor mats that get bunched up. It's most likely in the electronics. How many of the cars in the recall use "drive by wire" accelerators? My guess is that they all do.

That's exactly what I believe the problem to be. Toyota doesn't have a brake override like German cars do (Well, except for cruise control) but I too believe its the drive by wire and I even said it at a local Toyota meet and greet. They were sure fast to dismiss that theory in front of everyone but I still stand firm to my beliefs.

[hazmatman]

My GF's 05 4runner is clear of this, as far as I know. She was just at the dealer for an oil change or something, and she said they were dealing with A LOT of customers on this recall BUT they were simply "cutting" the gas pedal. Making it smaller.

They are sticking with the "floor mat story." Once I heard they halted sales, you knew this was HUGE. Dealers don't stop selling you defective vehicles, they just advise you of the recall at your next service (assuming it is not a safety related recall).

So they actually halted production??? That's bad.

The Mini was a "throttle by wire" vehicle. No cable; just wires, sensors, actuators. I don't know when they'll ever go to a true drive by wire production car. You'd need redundant systems for safety purposes, like aircraft. I think the safety requirements will keep that too cost-prohibitive for a while to come.

Examples:
***All of us have had hydraulic brakes (brake by fluid)...BUT if they leak, you can still stop...unless you're e-brake is toast. We also have all had power-assisted brakes as well, so add in brake by air/vacuum.
***Virtually all of us have had power steering (steer by fluid)...BUT if it fails, you can muscle it. The PS rack in my Mini failed one day. Now I've owned several old trucks with manual steering, but I was surprised how hard it was to steer that little car.
***I've had hydraulic clutchs (shift by fluid)...BUT if they leak, you're stuck where you are; you cannot put it into gear.
***I have a vacuum actuated drive axle on my Jeep (engage by air, or the lack of actually)...BUT if it leaks, I lose 4 wheel drive. Stuck again.
None of those scenarios is automatically life-threatening except losing hydraulic brakes w/o a mechanical secondary parking brake...a redundant system which all cars still have.

If we had a true drive by wire car, meaning everything including your steering input was transmitted electronically to an actuator or motor...and then, everything worked BUT your steering, you could be really screwed, especially if it was not designed to fail-safe, say in a neutral position. You might be going 60mph and your steering actuator fails...not good...even at 20mph, not good at all. You just keep going left or right, whatever...add in brake failure, or a systems wide failure...ouch!!! What if you car got a virus!?!?!?!?

Think of the aircraft model for accident investigations linked to part or system failures: A few of "steer-by-wire" failures leading to fatal multi-vehicle collisions and then NTSB is ordering owners of private vehicles they cannot drive until a part is inspected or replaced. Then dealers have to go to the cars to preform the recall, because it might be too unsafe to allow people to drive them to a dealership for inspection & repair. How's that for a nightmare scenario.

[ezcheese]

You know I meant throttle by wire.

I totally agree. Having old school mechanical systems just make me feel better. As these on board computer systems get more complicated, there is more that can go wrong.

[quatre_temps]

Excellent input! Good to know it's 'throttle' not 'drive' by wire .

As for the pedal? If they cut my pedal and tell me it's fixed I'm going to freak on them (And I'm not a person to lose my temper quickly)

[BSears]

Add me to the affected list. 2007 Avalon After all the f'n bragging I've done about Toyota's quality and how I'll only drive a Toyota or Lexus, this crap comes out. I haven't taken mine in yet, but I'm seriously considering trading it for a truck anyway. Which truck you ask? Well, thanks for asking - a 2010 chevy silverado z71 4x4 LTZ Or a GMC in the same class. Haven't made my mind up yet, but I want another truck.

[hazmatman]

You know I meant throttle by wire.

Did I???

I totally agree. Having old school mechanical systems just make me feel better. As these on board computer systems get more complicated, there is more that can go wrong.

More importantly, the shadetree mechanic can do less and less to fix his own vehicle, meaning more & more $$$ for the manufacturers. Mechanics plug your car in, a code pops up, and they simply R&R...remove & replace modules, until it's fixed. Not really fixing cars anymore, just swapping parts. You need programming skills to really work on cars now.

Excellent input! Good to know it's 'throttle' not 'drive' by wire .

As for the pedal? If they cut my pedal and tell me it's fixed I'm going to freak on them (And I'm not a person to lose my temper quickly)

Last thing we want to do is have you turn Banker Cat loose on this!

Thread successfully hi-jacked.

[BSears]

You know I meant throttle by wire.

Did I???

I totally agree. Having old school mechanical systems just make me feel better. As these on board computer systems get more complicated, there is more that can go wrong.

More importantly, the shadetree mechanic can do less and less to fix his own vehicle, meaning more & more $$$ for the manufacturers. Mechanics plug your car in, a code pops up, and they simply R&R...remove & replace modules, until it's fixed. Not really fixing cars anymore, just swapping parts. You need programming skills to really work on cars now.

Excellent input! Good to know it's 'throttle' not 'drive' by wire .

As for the pedal? If they cut my pedal and tell me it's fixed I'm going to freak on them (And I'm not a person to lose my temper quickly)

Last thing we want to do is have you turn Banker Cat loose on this!

Thread successfully hi-jacked.

BANKER CAT!!!!

[ezcheese]

Add me to the affected list. 2007 Avalon After all the f'n bragging I've done about Toyota's quality and how I'll only drive a Toyota or Lexus, this crap comes out. I haven't taken mine in yet, but I'm seriously considering trading it for a truck anyway. Which truck you ask? Well, thanks for asking - a 2010 chevy silverado z71 4x4 LTZ Or a GMC in the same class. Haven't made my mind up yet, but I want another truck.

I have had a hankerin' for a truck lately too.

[ezcheese]

You know I meant throttle by wire.

Did I???

I was close enough for wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_by_wire

[quatre_temps]

I'm seriously considering trading it for a truck anyway. Which truck you ask? Well, thanks for asking - a 2010 chevy silverado z71 4x4 LTZ Or a GMC in the same class. Haven't made my mind up yet, but I want another truck.

The GMC Sierra 1500 SLE with a 6" lift and mud grapplers are nice! There are two on my street and they get a lot of stares.

I myself was deciding on the new Dodge Ram Hemi 4X4 or the Toyota Tundra SR5 4X4. As you can see I went with the Toyota simply for the reason a) It's a Toyota and was expecting Toyota quality b) It's got the most power and torque in it's class c) It's made in the USA.

Don't get me wrong...I still love my Tundra but this accelerator recall doesn't give me as much confidence in Toyota's product as when I first bought it.

[hazmatman]

You know I meant throttle by wire.

Did I???

I was close enough for wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_by_wire

Wikipedia? Hmmm, don't bet the farm on wikipedia...I've even contributed to wikipedia, that'll tell ya how strigent they are!

They are definitely right about some of the issues like the response curves of electronic throttles. The Mini had a slight lag in throttle response at low revs that I could not trace to anything except the electronic throttle.

[ezcheese]

Bump and an "I called it!"

[quatre_temps]

[quatre_temps]

[deepcdvr]

Not affected here. I was going to buy a Tundra and decided to buy a Titan instead. I really liked both trucks and decided on Nissan because it was about 4K cheaper for the same stuff. I've had the truck a couple of years and will drive it into the ground. It's the best vehicle I've ever owned. Period.

Good luck with your truck! I imagine it sucks being one of the "recalled".

Those kind of corporate shenanigans really get my goat..

[quatre_temps]

Thanks. I'm not worried about the pedal though. More concerned whether Toyota is addressing the actual problem (Still believe it's the electronics). Regardless, I saw on a news site that the odds of experiencing a problem with sudden acceleration is .09%.

Nissan Titans are nice. The Tundra and Titan taillights look very similar. I like the looks of both and to be honest could have bought a Titan. I went with the Tundra because at the time it had the most power and torque in it's class. Now that's changed because GMC and Dodge have increased their HP to surpass that of the Toyota. I don't race the truck though so I don't care. As long as it pulls my, soon to be, 30' trailer through the country while traveling I'm happy.

[ezcheese]

Great pics. This is interesting. I think we will learn quite a bit more about this problem and the cover up in the coming weeks.