Posted: Nov. 26, 2009
Toyota has a lot riding on fixes for recalled vehicles
Changes won’t be cheap, but they may protect firm’s image
BY GREG GARDNER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
Toyota Motor Corp.’s willingness to go beyond replacing floor mats
will raise the cost of its largest-ever recall, but it may contain any
damage in the marketplace, industry experts said Wednesday.
Beginning in January, dealers will cut nearly an inch off the lower
edge of the gas pedal and adjust the width, a company spokesman said.
Replacement pedals are to be available starting in April.
That may not cost much in the short term. But on some of the vehicles
being recalled — 2005 through 2010 model-year Toyota Avalons and 2007
through 2010 Camrys and Lexus ES350s — the automaker will reconfigure
the floor surface beneath the pedal to create more space between the
pedal and the floor. Those three models, along with the Lexus IS250
and IS350, also are to be outfitted with a new brake override system.
Those fixes will add up, but Toyota did not reveal a cost.
"If you have to dig into the vehicle like in the powertrain or under
the dash, the cost is high, even if the part cost is low," said David
Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that on
most recalls, only 72% of affected owners bring their vehicles in for
prescribed repairs. That means Toyota dealers can expect to see 2.7
million of the 3.8 million vehicles recalled. That’s more than
Toyota’s total U.S. sales in the prerecession year of 2007.
"It’s going to be a lengthy process," said Aaron Bragman, an analyst
with IHS Global Insight in Troy. "But they have to do something."
A serious problem
At least a dozen fatalities have occurred when Toyota or Lexus
vehicles have surged unexpectedly and drivers supposedly could not
stop them by stomping hard on the brake.
Last month, the family of a 77-year-old Flint woman, Guadalupe
Alberto, sued Toyota in Genesee County Circuit Court. Alberto died in
April 2008 after her 2005 Camry is said to have accelerated from 25 to
80 m.p.h. and hit two trees. She died from the impact.
Lawyers charged that Alberto lost control because of a malfunctioning
electronic throttle control.
Toyota’s solutions
Toyota initially advised owners to remove driver’s-side floor mats,
which it said caused the acceleration when they became trapped between
drivers’ feet and the gas pedal.
Cutting the gas pedal is meant to reduce the risk that the floor mat
will become pinched, but Toyota plans more sophisticated repairs to
recalled Camrys, Avalons and Lexus ES350s, IS350s and IS250s. It will
install a brake override system meant to ensure that the engine will
lose power if the brake and the accelerator are applied
simultaneously.
That upgrade will become standard on all Toyota and Lexus models by
the end of next year, the company said.
Uncertain outcome
It’s unclear whether these steps will contain or reduce Toyota’s legal
exposure from lawsuits already filed.
"It helps in that it looks like they’re trying to do something," said
Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor specializing in
product liability law. "In the end, it comes down to: When did the
company know about the issue and did it take action voluntarily?"
As for the impact on sales, it’s too early to know. "Baby boomers will
be forgiving, but if it has any impact, it may be among Generation Y
buyers who haven’t yet formed any brand loyalty," Bragman, of Global
Insight, said.
Contact GREG GARDNER: 313-222-8762 or ggard…@freepress.com
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091126/BUSINESS01/9…
On Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:10:48 -0800, john wrote:
> Posted: Nov. 26, 2009
> Toyota has a lot riding on fixes for recalled vehicles Changes won’t be
> cheap, but they may protect firm’s image
> BY GREG GARDNER
> FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
> Toyota Motor Corp.’s willingness to go beyond replacing floor mats will
> raise the cost of its largest-ever recall, but it may contain any damage
> in the marketplace, industry experts said Wednesday.
> Beginning in January, dealers will cut nearly an inch off the lower edge
> of the gas pedal and adjust the width, a company spokesman said.
> Replacement pedals are to be available starting in April.
See? Toyota has already made plans to rectify the situation. You can
expect them to move forward instead of regressing, too. Look for more
great cars from Toyota.
They are not cutting the pedal, they are replacing them. That only
requires removing the pin at the pivot point. The real slowdown will be
the five month delay time until they start to get millions of them from
Japan.
"john" <johngd…@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:f93f71d4-e0a0-4bf9-abf4-48f7f493230b@z35g2000prh.googlegroups.com…
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> Posted: Nov. 26, 2009
> Toyota has a lot riding on fixes for recalled vehicles
> Changes won’t be cheap, but they may protect firm’s image
> BY GREG GARDNER
> FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
> Toyota Motor Corp.’s willingness to go beyond replacing floor mats
> will raise the cost of its largest-ever recall, but it may contain any
> damage in the marketplace, industry experts said Wednesday.
> Beginning in January, dealers will cut nearly an inch off the lower
> edge of the gas pedal and adjust the width, a company spokesman said.
> Replacement pedals are to be available starting in April.
Do you just search for negative ads on Toyota? Jealous that you can’t
afford to purchase a Toyota or Lexus vehicle? Better stick with riding
public transportation. Some day you might be able to purchase a used car.
Dream big.
On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:54:23 -0800, Cleo Baines Hafsteder wrote:
> Do you just search for negative ads on Toyota? Jealous that you can’t
> afford to purchase a Toyota or Lexus vehicle? Better stick with riding
> public transportation. Some day you might be able to purchase a used car.
> Dream big.
I have an ’86 Camry I can sell him…
Nah…<85,000 miles. Too good for him.
"Hachiroku ハチロク" <Tru…@e86.GTS> wrote in message
news:pan.2009.11.27.17.40.05.413176@e86.GTS…
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:54:23 -0800, Cleo Baines Hafsteder wrote:
>> Do you just search for negative ads on Toyota? Jealous that you can’t
>> afford to purchase a Toyota or Lexus vehicle? Better stick with riding
>> public transportation. Some day you might be able to purchase a used
>> car.
>> Dream big.
> I have an ’86 Camry I can sell him…
> Nah…<85,000 miles. Too good for him.
He needs a Ford Pinto with the "exploding gas tank" !!!
Perhaps if Toyota got them from a US manufacturer they could have them in
five weeks rather than five months?
"Elmo P. Shagnasty" <el…@nastydesigns.com> wrote in message
news:elmop-BE85DF.19341526112009@nothing.attdns.com…
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> In article <4b0f0f5c$0$19796$ce5e7…@news-radius.ptd.net>,
> "Mike Hunter" <Mikehunt2@lycos,com> wrote:
>> They are not cutting the pedal, they are replacing them.
> They are cutting them while they’re waiting to get replacement pedals in
> April.
I owned six Lexus LS V8s, never again. Since I have switched to a domestic
brand for my luxury vehicle, I have saved thousands in the purchase price
and hundred in maintenance costs LOL
"Cleo Baines Hafsteder" <c…@gbaines.net> wrote in message
news:hep081$4n9$1@news.eternal-september.org…
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> Do you just search for negative ads on Toyota? Jealous that you can’t
> afford to purchase a Toyota or Lexus vehicle? Better stick with riding
> public transportation. Some day you might be able to purchase a used car.
> Dream big.
I have owned a Ford Pinto for thirty nine years. It has just over 300,000
miles on the odometer, still looks and runs great, it has yet to blow up.
LOL
.
"Cleo Baines Hafsteder" <c…@gbaines.net> wrote in message
news:hep4a7$ln3$1@news.eternal-september.org…
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> "Hachiroku ????" <Tru…@e86.GTS> wrote in message
> news:pan.2009.11.27.17.40.05.413176@e86.GTS…
>> On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:54:23 -0800, Cleo Baines Hafsteder wrote:
>>> Do you just search for negative ads on Toyota? Jealous that you can’t
>>> afford to purchase a Toyota or Lexus vehicle? Better stick with riding
>>> public transportation. Some day you might be able to purchase a used
>>> car.
>>> Dream big.
>> I have an ’86 Camry I can sell him…
>> Nah…<85,000 miles. Too good for him.
> He needs a Ford Pinto with the "exploding gas tank" !!!
john <johngd…@hotmail.com> wrote in news:f93f71d4-e0a0-4bf9-abf4-
48f7f4932…@z35g2000prh.googlegroups.com:
> Posted: Nov. 26, 2009
> Toyota has a lot riding on fixes for recalled vehicles
> Changes won’t be cheap, but they may protect firm’s image
ct GREG GARDNER: 313-222-8762 or ggard…@freepress.com
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091126/BUSINESS01/9...
vehicles&template=fullarticle
The bloody gas pedal is in upside down. Simply bad engineering.
"Elmo P. Shagnasty" <el…@nastydesigns.com> wrote in
news:elmop-DA4761.21090527112009@nothing.attdns.com:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> In article <4b1084b9$0$19712$ce5e7…@news-radius.ptd.net>,
> "Mike Hunter" <Mikehunt2@lycos,com> wrote:
>> I owned six Lexus LS V8s, never again. Since I have switched to a
>> domestic brand for my luxury vehicle, I have saved thousands in the
>> purchase price and hundred in maintenance costs LOL
> Well, let’s see. You plainly don’t know anything about TCO–because all
> you can focus on is "how much does it cost to buy from the salesman".
> And your story about "I owned six of them, never again" reminds me of a
> story I heard about a group of people sitting around, drinking, and
> ending up all going to the hospital because they drank a bottle of red
> liquid lye. You’d think that after the *first* guy drank some….but
> no, they were stupid–just like you were.
One wonders how old he is: 39 years for his Pinto (which goes back
*before* Lexus existed) and 6 Lexus before that.
Message-ID: <4b1085ad$0$19710$ce5e7886@news-radius.ptd.net>
Don’t feed the troll.
"Hachiroku ????" <Tru…@e86.GTS> wrote in message
news:pan.2009.11.26.18.55.17.126174@e86.GTS…
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> On Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:10:48 -0800, john wrote:
>> Posted: Nov. 26, 2009
>> Toyota has a lot riding on fixes for recalled vehicles Changes
>> won’t be
>> cheap, but they may protect firm’s image
>> BY GREG GARDNER
>> FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
>> Toyota Motor Corp.’s willingness to go beyond replacing floor mats
>> will
>> raise the cost of its largest-ever recall, but it may contain any
>> damage
>> in the marketplace, industry experts said Wednesday.
>> Beginning in January, dealers will cut nearly an inch off the lower
>> edge
>> of the gas pedal and adjust the width, a company spokesman said.
>> Replacement pedals are to be available starting in April.
> See? Toyota has already made plans to rectify the situation. You can
> expect them to move forward instead of regressing, too. Look for
> more
> great cars from Toyota.
What choice did Toyota have? Even if the Toyota engineers are sure it
is just a floor mat problem, a lot of the fear mongers in the world
are promoting radical (and illogical) causes for the problem. I am
sure Toyota exec see now this sort of thing came spin out of control
and blow up to include whole product lines (i.e., a crappy batch of
Firestone tires or a bad batch of crusie control switches). Doing
everything possible to correct the real problems may keep things under
control. By physically altering the accelerator pedals, Toyota is
sending a clear message that the problem is related to the pedal
shape, pedal placement, and floor mats. In a rational world, this
should be enough to dampen down all the hype. Unfortunately for
Toyota, the world is not always rational.
In the past Toyota routinely swept problems under the rug. But now
that they are the number one car brand in the US, they are the target
of every crazy conspiracy theorist and trial lawyer attack group in
the US. Who is going to waste their time making up stuff about
Chrysler products, when Toyota presents such a huge target?
Ed
"Wayne" <mygarbage…@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:hejk56$flt$1@news.eternal-september.org…
> Went over and test drove a RX350. Nice car and would like to buy one.
> However, I noticed that it had a "funny spare". This seems like a stupid
> cheapening of a $40K+ car. I have never had anything but problems with
> "funny spares". They can turn a 30 minute problem into a lost day of
> vacation.
> With that rant over…..
> Does anyone know if a full sized tire will fit in the available space?
> (The Lexus guys didn’t)
> –Wayne
The original RX300 came with a full sized spare. Looks like Toyota is trying
to squeeze out more profit.
"tww1491" <twau…@cox.net> wrote in message
news:aDjPm.167$Lq5.155@newsfe20.iad…
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> "Wayne" <mygarbage…@verizon.net> wrote in message
> news:hejk56$flt$1@news.eternal-september.org…
>> Went over and test drove a RX350. Nice car and would like to buy one.
>> However, I noticed that it had a "funny spare". This seems like a stupid
>> cheapening of a $40K+ car. I have never had anything but problems with
>> "funny spares". They can turn a 30 minute problem into a lost day of
>> vacation.
>> With that rant over…..
>> Does anyone know if a full sized tire will fit in the available space?
>> (The Lexus guys didn’t)
>> –Wayne
> The original RX300 came with a full sized spare. Looks like Toyota is
> trying to squeeze out more profit.
Heh heh…that’s an idea….
Next trip over there, pull the spare out of their RX350 and see if the full
sized spare from my RX300 will fit the hole.