Toyota problems could be electronics

[GAJ]

Update big surprise: the pedal fix didn't work...things are looking down for Toyota!

And their stock went UP!

Man that's whacked.

Toyota's secrecy regarding the black box data tells me that, indeed, it is an electronic problem as many have thought all along.

 

[Holeshot]

...and from what I've read GAJ, it's about the hardware failsafes as well. They're really setting themsevles up bad. Consumer reports just downgraded them as well.

 

[slim313]

...and yet noone cares.

 

[GAJ]

...and yet noone cares.

Only a few million!

 

[Holeshot]

OR billion...if you count the lawsuit dollars.

 

[TheRobSJ]

Notice how some other brands are doing some recalls right now? Good strategy. Get it over with while Toyota is out in the spotlight being a lightning rod for bad publicity and they get to sneak under the radar.

 

[Mike95060]

Notice how some other brands are doing some recalls right now? Good strategy. Get it over with while Toyota is out in the spotlight being a lightning rod for bad publicity and they get to sneak under the radar.

Yeah Nissan recalled my pick up for a bad fuel gauge sensor and some Titans for brake problems. Timing is everything.

 

[sephy]

I've had floor mats get in the way and hold the gas down (I realize this may not be the issue here) and it was a non-issue, period.

I laughed my ass off when I got my floor mat recall for my Tacoma. Needless to say, I did not bring my mats in to be replaced / cut / removed or whatever they had planned for them.

 

[Ducky_Fresh]

I laughed my ass off when I got my floor mat recall for my Tacoma. Needless to say, I did not bring my mats in to be replaced / cut / removed or whatever they had planned for them.

It's certainly your life and right to do what you want. But how ironic would it be if you had a crash as a result of those floor mats you got a recall notice for?

 

[Cheyenne]

It's certainly your life and right to do what you want. But how ironic would it be if you had a crash as a result of those floor mats you got a recall notice for?

How ironic would it be if the floor mats actually had much to do with Toyota's problems?

 

[mlm]

Perhaps it's not the computer after all. :|

What's really fucked up, and telling IMO, is that some folks reported unintended acceleration AFTER the fix...surprising they lived to tell about it Of course I guess you still have to be alive to sue.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14634290?source=rss&nclick_check=1

Stanford prof to run Toyota demo today to counter claims of faulty electronics

WASHINGTON (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. plans to rebut claims that the electronics of its cars and trucks are to blame for unwanted acceleration problems that are behind the recall of more than eight million vehicles.

The automaker will hold a demonstration Monday afternoon to counter tests by an engineering professor that show Toyota engines can be revved by tinkering with the electronics that control acceleration. Many safety experts have suggested electronics are to blame for vehicles that speed of unexpectedly.

Toyota believes that sticky gas pedals and floor mats are to the cause, and the automaker is in the process of fixing millions of vehicles to correct those conditions. But some drivers have reported continued problems in vehicles that have already been fixed.

Toyota will aim to duplicate the scenario created by David W. Gilbert, an automotive technology professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Gilbert told Congress last month he was able to recreate unwanted acceleration in a Toyota vehicle by manipulating its electronics.

The company is calling in the director of Stanford University's Center for Automotive Research to try to refute the claims. Toyota said Stanford professor Chris Gerdes will show that the malfunctions Gilbert produced "are completely unrealistic under real-world conditions and can easily be reproduced on a wide range of vehicles made by other manufacturers."

Stanford's Center for Automotive Research is funded by a group of auto companies, including Toyota.

Toyota also has hired a consulting firm to study whether electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The firm, Exponent Inc., released an interim report that has found no link between the two.

Gilbert told a congressional hearing on Feb. 23 that he was able to recreate sudden acceleration in a Toyota Tundra, which is covered by two recalls, by short-circuiting the electronic accelerator pedal without triggering any trouble codes in the truck's computer.

Gilbert, during the hearing, said he made a "startling discovery" that showed the electronic throttle control system could have a problem without producing a trouble code. Without a code, the vehicle's computer will not enter in a fail-safe mode that would lead to the brake overriding the accelerator.

House lawmakers seized on Gilbert's testimony as evidence that Toyota engineers missed a potential problem with the electronics that could have caused some vehicles to suddenly surge forward without any warning.

According to an Exponent report last week, Gilbert connected sensor wires from the pedal of a 2010 Toyota Avalon to an engineered circuit. This allowed him to rev the engine without using the pedal. Gilbert demonstrated the method in an ABC News story last month.

Exponent said it reproduced the test on the same model year Avalon and a 2007 Camry and was able to rev the engine. But it concluded that the electronic throttle system would have to be tampered with significantly to create the right conditions.

"Dr. Gilbert's scenario amounts to connecting the accelerator pedal sensors to an engineered circuit that would be highly unlikely to occur naturally, and that can only be contrived in a laboratory," the report states.

Exponent was also able to rev the engine of some Toyota competitors using the same technique. The report stresses the tests do not imply there is any defect with those other brands.

The event planned Monday is part of a broad campaign by the world's biggest automaker to discredit critics, repair its damaged reputation and begin restoring trust in its vehicles.

On Friday, a congressional committee questioned Toyota's efforts to find the causes of the problems. It also questioned whether the company had sufficiently investigated the issue of electronic defects.

Toyota executives also will address recall issues at its annual suppliers meeting in Kentucky on Tuesday.

 

[Holeshot]

Toyota's problem goes far beyond that when they've hired ex NHTSA employees to keep the recalls from happening. I don't trust anything from the company anymore given how poorly they dealt with the recall issues/ complaints begining in the early Milenium.

They've got a severe problem and instead of hiring consultants, they should fix the issue...of course, maybe this what gives them more time? I think they're pretty fucked and they know it...

 

[mlm]

Toyota's problem goes far beyond that when they've hired ex NHTSA employees to keep the recalls from happening. I don't trust anything from the company anymore given how poorly they dealt with the recall issues/ complaints begining in the early Milenium.

They've got a severe problem and instead of hiring consultants, they should fix the issue...of course, maybe this what gives them more time? I think they're pretty fucked and they know it...

I'm, not saying Toyota doesn't have some problems, but what exactly are they supposed to fix? You say there's a problem with Toyota trying to hold off the recalls, but you say the recalls didn't fix the problem either?

FWIW, No computer software is perfect, and all systems can be made better...doesn't mean they aren't adequate and safe.

IMO this is driven by hysteria more than reality.

 

[Holeshot]

It could be, like the Audi 5000's. But mostly, it'll be driven by the lawyers and the lawsuits. Toyota has deep pockets and that's a problem in the liability world, now that they've opened the door so wide with their moves regarding this issue.

They've got a whole host of systemic quality problems beyond this as well. That's a big problem for them.

 

[mlm]

It could be, like the Audi 5000's. But mostly, it'll be driven by the lawyers and the lawsuits. Toyota has deep pockets and that's a problem in the liability world, now that they've opened the door so wide with their moves regarding this issue.

They've got a whole host of systemic quality problems beyond this as well. That's a big problem for them.

Agreed. IMO it's a lose, lose game in a lot of aspects. I think they can recover from some of their own mistakes, but the deep pockets will always be there.

edit: Was searching for an article I'd read a month or so ago...finally found it here: http://www.economist.com/business-finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15576506

 

[maxandgrinch]

A California Highway Patrol officer used his cruiser Monday to stop a runaway Toyota Prius that sped out of control for about 30 miles on Interstate 8 in the East County, apparently due to a stuck accelerator, authorities said.




Link to San Diego news story

 

[Phaedrus]

A California Highway Patrol officer used his cruiser Monday to stop a runaway Toyota Prius that sped out of control for about 30 miles on Interstate 8 in the East County, apparently due to a stuck accelerator, authorities said.




Link to San Diego news story

Gotta love Crown Vics and big ol' disc brakes!

 

[My900ss]

^^^From the story and you will see it was his loud speaker and not the brakes... "Driver, step on your brakes". The idiot behind the wheel not withstanding Toyota has some serious problems and their sales will certainly fall even farther.

 

[Aluisious]

Sources say the Prius reached speeds upwards of 70 miles per hour before the driver brought it to a halt by steering the car towards an uphill grade.

 

[Aluisious]

^^^From the story and you will see it was his loud speaker and not the brakes... "Driver, step on your brakes". The idiot behind the wheel not withstanding Toyota has some serious problems and their sales will certainly fall even farther.

Highway Patrol personnel caught up with the blue car near Kitchen Creek Road, and one officer pulled up alongside and used his loudspeaker to talk Sikes through the process of slowing down by using his emergency brake and then turning off the engine.

Looks like Mr. Sikes is an idiot.