Archive for November, 2009

Toyota Recall November 2009.

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it will replace accelerator gas pedals on about 4 million recalled vehicles in the United States because the pedals can get stuck in the floor mats, another blow to the reputation of the world’s largest automaker.

Toyota said dealers will offer to shorten the length of the gas pedals by about 3/4 inch beginning in January, as a stopgap measure while the company develops replacement pedals for their vehicles. New pedals will be installed by dealers on a rolling basis beginning in April, and some vehicles will have brake override systems installed as a precaution.

Toyota announced the massive recall in late September and told owners to remove the driver’s side floor mats to keep the gas pedal from becoming jammed.

Popular vehicles such as the Toyota Camry, the top-selling passenger car in America, and the Toyota Prius, the best-selling gas-electric hybrid, are among those getting fixed. The recall also included the luxury Lexus ES350, the vehicle in a fiery fatal accident in California that focused public attention on the danger.

“The safety of our owners and the public is our utmost concern and Toyota has and will continue to thoroughly investigate and take appropriate measures to address any defect trends that are identified,” the Japanese automaker said in a statement.

Toyota spokesman Irv Miller said the company was “very, very confident that we have addressed this issue” with the new fix. Toyota has found “no reason to believe that there is a problem with the electronic control systems,” he said.

Toyota officials said the floor mats are only sold in the U.S. and the recall would be limited to North America.

Toyota declined to provide a cost estimate for the fix, but analysts said it would be extremely expensive because of the extensive repairs involved and the manufacturing of new pedals. Toyota also said it would provide newly designed replacement floor mats for the driver and front-passenger side.

The recall represents the latest blemish for Toyota, which developed a sterling reputation for quality in the U.S. by selling reliable family vehicles but faced challenges as it rapidly expanded. While recalls do not always indicate diminished reliability, Toyota executives have expressed concern about large numbers of recalls and pushed for improved quality controls.

In a separate action, Toyota announced Tuesday that it would recall 110,000 Tundra trucks from the 2000-03 model years to address excessive rust on the vehicle’s frame.

“Their reputation has taken a hit because the actual quality has taken a hit,” said Aaron Bragman, an automotive analyst for the consulting firm IHS Global Insight. “That’s absolutely critical for Toyota to get that fixed because that’s the central pillar that they’ve built their business on.”

The accelerator pedal recall is Toyota’s largest in the U.S. and the seventh-largest ever in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It includes 3.8 million vehicles, including the 2007-10 model year Camry, 2005-10 Toyota Avalon, 2004-09 Prius, 2005-10 Toyota Tacoma, 2007-10 Toyota Tundra, 2007-10 Lexus ES350 and 2006-10 Lexus IS250/350. Toyota officials said about 4 million vehicles would be covered, including new cars and trucks sold since September and others manufactured since the recall was announced.

It was prompted by a high-speed crash in August involving a 2009 Lexus ES350 that killed a California Highway Patrol officer and three members of his family near San Diego. The Lexus hit speeds exceeding 120 mph, struck a sport utility vehicle, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames. In a frantic 911 call, a family member told emergency responders that the accelerator was stuck and the driver couldn’t stop.

NHTSA investigators determined that a rubber all-weather floor mat found in the wreckage was slightly longer than the mat that belonged in the vehicle, and could have snared or covered the accelerator pedal.

The government has attributed at least five deaths and two injuries to floor mat-related unintended acceleration in the Toyota vehicles and has received reports of more than 100 incidents in which the accelerator may have become stuck. A Massachusetts-based safety consultant who has investigated the Toyota cases, however, has found more than 2,000 incidents involving 16 deaths and 243 injuries potentially tied to the Toyota gas pedals.

To fix the problem, Toyota and the government said dealers will shorten the length of the accelerator pedal on the recalled vehicles and in some cases remove foam from beneath the carpeting near the pedal to increase the space between the pedal and the floor. They said owners of the ES350, Camry and Avalon would be the first to receive notification because the vehicles are believed to have the highest risk for pedal entrapment.

Toyota also plans to install a brake override system on the Camry, Avalon and Lexus ES350, IS350 and IS250 models, Toyota and NHTSA said. The brake override system will ensure the vehicle will stop if the brake and the accelerator pedals are applied at the same time.

Toyota plans to make the brake override system standard equipment throughout the Toyota and Lexus lineup by the end of 2010.

The automaker and government regulators have been discussing a potential fix for several weeks. Toyota urged owners in September to remove driver’s side floor mats and not replace them until the company had determined a fix. The automaker said unhooked floor mats or replacement mats stacked on top of the originals could lead to stuck accelerators.

In November, Toyota issued a statement saying NHTSA had confirmed “that no defect exists in vehicles in which the driver’s floor mat is compatible with the vehicle and properly secured.” But in a rare rebuke, NHTSA accused Toyota of releasing misleading information about the recall, saying removing the mats did not “correct the underlying defect.” Toyota said it was not the company’s intention to mislead anyone.

For more information, owners can contact Toyota at 800-331-4331 or the NHTSA hot line at 888-327-4236.

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On the Net:

Toyota Motor Corp.: http://www.toyota.com

Lexus: http://www.lexus.com

Traffic Report for today, more cars are on the road than ever for the Thanksgiving holiday due to higher airfares. Drivers are running into the day before Thanksgiving traffic jams already in New York City and other major cities. Construction, breakdowns, accidents and detours are adding to the travel headaches as drivers try to make their way to Thanksgiving dinner.

There are several ways to get up to the minute traffic other than waiting for a radio broadcast that typically only happens every half hour. The Internet has several great sites that can immediately update drivers on current traffic conditions across the U.S. If a laptop is not handy, drivers can use their mobile or smartphone to go to the site and enter location information.

Traffic.com is a comprehensive traffic and travel site. Drivers enter the zip code or city of the area they are heading to or currently driving in. A full map with indications of traffic, construction and detours is given and updated constantly.

The smallest state in the union, Rhode Island, utilizes Twitter and Facebook to keep drivers informed about holiday traffic, construction and detours within the ocean state. If you’re passing through Rhode Island during your holiday travels, learn more about the Rhode Island traffic updates here.

Bing.com is a fantastic resource for traffic conditions. Set your local area or where you are headed this Thanksgiving and Bing will give you a map and an associate list of all traffic sites that will give you an up-to-date driving report.

Traffic is heavy the day before Thanksgiving as many drivers took to the road this afternoon and delays should be expected. Patience, safe driving and stopping to get a break from the traffic is important when driving during the holiday season. The online traffic reports will help the road trip go a bit smoother.

Written by Cheryl Phillips
HULIQ.com

Jay Leno likes the all America made electric Inertia Brammo motorcycle.

The gist is that once you have bitten into the electric drive, you know how superior it is to a conventional internal combustion engine, ICE.  However, having Jay Leno, renowned car collector aficionado back your electric motorcycle is a win for Inertia’s Brammo, electric motorcycle.

Jay Leno’s Garage.  Jay Leno’s new show, the Jay Leno’s Garage highlighted the Inertia Brammo and it fair to say Jay likes it.

Here is the video:

The first comment should make you wonder.  Indeed, does it really matter whether or not something is made in the U.S. or anywhere else for that matter of fact?  A good point indeed since frankly nothing is made in any one given location.  Components come from all over the world, some built locally with the final product assembled somewhere.  But this highlights another aspect of our changing society.  Caught between two worlds, an old one where Made In The … is important to some and another where the global welfare is more important, we seem to be moving away from antiquated notions of barriers into a more encompassing team work, even if it stretches beyond traditional borders.

The EV movement is truly global all encompassing.  Old notions of nation might will be less and less relevant as consumers realize parts are manufactured everywhere, assembled somewhere and helping other economies strive in a better global balance.