Toyota accelerator issue...

guitargeek · Post by **guitargeek** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 4:01 pm

One more reason I love old cars & bikes...

MATPOC · Post by **MATPOC** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 5:24 pm

Metalredneck wrote:Toyota wanted to be as big as GM, not as good as GM.

Actually Toyota and Ford have been contesting number one spot in the world market for a while now, GM is nowhere in the picture.

And McLovin I'm sure you meant "Throttle and brake"?

As for the quality, Toyota had plenty of problems, Truck frames weren't the least of it, V6 engine failures in the trucks all throughout the 80's and 90's, they replaced 1000's of them on the "extended" warranty (recall). Countless Camry and Supra head gaskets were replaced under same warranty well after the it ran out. Truck frames rusted out, but Toyota have bought back ALL the effected trucks for top dollar and most of the owners ended up with a new Tacoma for little extra $$.

Every company has it's dark days, but it's all about how they deal with it, Ford had very similar problem with Taurus subframe frame rusting out and causing the entire engine and transmission to fall out! That also caused loss of steering and brakes. Same Taurus and any other 3.8L V6 Ford was prone to a head gasket failure but Ford did not address that till 1000's of them were done at customers expense.

Mitsubishi had issue with crankshafts braking due to incorrect torque on the front pulley bolt, did not get recalled and they saved millions, but I will never buy a Mitsu for that reason alone!

Honda is my cage of choice, as far as quality it's on par with Toyota, but it's been 2 decades since Toyota made any exciting car (unless you count Lexus which is beyond my means) Honda seems to be heading the same route, still Civic is waaaay sportier than any Corolla currently made and I could afford one without selling off any major body parts. If it wasn't for that I still consider Toyota, sticky gas pedal and all!

SomeMook · Post by **SomeMook** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 7:24 pm

maniacles · Post by **maniacles** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 7:49 pm

This should make you feel better! HARLEYS are throttle by wire!

It kinda solves a problem that doesn't exist.........

Toonce(s) · Post by **Toonce(s)** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 8:18 pm

Out of happenstance both of our cages are currently 2000ish Fix-Or-Repair-Dailys. An Expedition that has become a maintenance hazard at about 175k miles and a V6 Mustang that has been a high maintenance bitch. That being said I like them both, they were both bought used (of course) and I expected the Mustang to be pissy and the Expy has actually been pretty reliable up until the last 6 months. No complaints. At this point I might lean toward Found-OnThe-Roadside-Dead in the future.

I must add that the Kawasaki is the most reliable of our vehicles.

stiles · Post by **stiles** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 10:56 pm

Jaeger wrote: Stiles, you're implying that this issue has been going on for a while. Has Toyota changed management so that they're no longer as quality conscious? Or did they just rest on their laurels too long?

Toyota has had quite a few problems, many of which cropped up after they decided to agressively go after GM and knock them off the #1 title for carmaker (by sales) in the world.

In addition to the Tundra frame rust (440,000 units) , Google "toyota engine sludge" (3.5 million covered units) , "tacoma rust buyback" (800,000 Tacomas)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0729075220080508 tacoma frame rust

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/autom ... LUDGE.html

NY Times article covering settlement for 3.5 million Toyotas and Lexuses with blown engines from oil sludging (also mentions other makes with sludge problems)

There are also a host of smaller recalls, affecting "only" 100,000 cars or so each, like this one:

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08 ... mall-cars/ for brake failure in very cold weather.

The 2010 Prius (not covered by the recall) is reportedly now being investigated by the Japanese government for brake irregularities.

To be sure, every automaker will have recalls, but it's rare to see such blatant stalling tactics, public denial and secretive hush-hush settlements used for years for such a huge safety issue for a company whose only sales tactic hinges on safety, reliability and being cheap to run. I expect these appalling shenanigans from, say, Mitsubishi (perpetually shrouded in scandal and coverup every few years, with executives killing themselves every now and then).

Nobody buys a Toyota because it is fun to drive or provocatively styled. Without that halo of safety and reliability, the got nothin' ; the Koreans nailed the value/cheap to run aspect of the market as of a few years back.

Civics are also my car of choice; thus far they have all been both bulletproof and fun to drive.

MATPOC · Post by **MATPOC** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 5:10 am

I don't want to get in a pissing contest but I remember reading in the printed media in the past X? years about Toyota vs Ford battle for world market domination, perhaps it was before they dumped Volvo and Jag?

As for Civic, the new American only market model, the same one I own, is not that great, SI model is prone to manual transmission failures, they have been plagued with steering rack problems and rear control arm recalls and there are some engine failures as well, still I bought one. Fun to drive with a manual trans and I average 35 MPG combined city/highway even though EPA rating was 34 highway. A friend of mine gets consistent 40 MPG!

Jaeger · Post by **Jaeger** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 6:33 am

stiles wrote: Nobody buys a Toyota because it is fun to drive or provocatively styled. Without that halo of safety and reliability, the got nothin' ; the Koreans nailed the value/cheap to run aspect of the market as of a few years back.

A-yep on both counts, especially the bit about the Koreans "figuring it out." M and I rented a Hyundai last time we were in LA, and frankly it was AT LEAST as nice as our Honda Accord, and apparently had better pick-up on the highway. The fit and finish were nicer too. Once Hyundai gets past the stigma of being "a cheap car" they're totally going to kick ass.

I'm just gobsmacked that Toyota has fallen quite so far so quickly. Like I said, I saw hundreds (maybe thousands?) of vehicles in the courier biz, and the two go-to auto manufacturers for folks that drive a LOT of miles (50-100k/year+) have historically been Honda and Toyota.

stiles wrote:Civics are also my car of choice; thus far they have all been both bulletproof and fun to drive.

Also agreed -- my last two cars were Honda Civics, and they are the #1 courier car on the road, period. There are others, but for sheer practicality and reliability they are the anecdotal cage to have.

If Honda made a real pickup truck (Ridgeline doesn't count) I'd have one. Instead, I wound up with a Taco. I've been contemplating trying to upgrade to an extended cab (the standard cab is "snug," to put it kindly), and the only manufacturer in my search has been Toyota... but that may change with all the new information.

--Jaeger

stiles · Post by **stiles** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 11:01 pm

MATPOC wrote:I don't want to get in a pissing contest but I remember reading in the printed media in the past X? years about Toyota vs Ford battle for world market domination, perhaps it was before they dumped Volvo and Jag?

GM led worldwide sales from 1931-2007:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/busin ... 23555.html

Ford is not a contender, even including Volvo, Jag, Land Rover etc.

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Toyota accelerator issue...