Toyota Suspends Sales of Eight Models - NOT Prius

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Originally Posted by paprius4030

The Camry hybrid is built in Georgetown,Ky. But I believe I read somewhere that only line #1 is stopping production there or something like that which leads me to speculate that maybe the Camry hybrid is staying in production there.

I stand corrected about my belief that all Toyota hybrids are currently made in Japan. Another post has noted that CTS-supplied pedal assemblies from Statesville, Ontario are the source of the problem, but that Denso assemblies are OK. So they're sorting out which North America-made cars, among the models involved, actually need pedal assembly replacement. So Camry hybrids might (or not) be clear of the problem.

In any case, if your VIN begins with "J", all is well with respect to this issue.

[cwerdna]

Originally Posted by LeadingEdgeBoomer

I stand corrected about my belief that all Toyota hybrids are currently made in Japan. Another post has noted that CTS-supplied pedal assemblies from Statesville, Ontario are the source of the problem, but that Denso assemblies are OK. So they're sorting out which North America-made cars, among the models involved, actually need pedal assembly replacement. So Camry hybrids might (or not) be clear of the problem.

In any case, if your VIN begins with "J", all is well with respect to this issue.

Per Toyota Vehicles : Toyota Recall January 2010: Voluntary Safety Gas Pedal Recall / Toyota :

No Lexus Division or Scion vehicles are affected by these actions. Also not affected are Toyota Prius, Tacoma, Sienna, Venza, Solara, Yaris, 4Runner, FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser and select Camry models, including all Camry hybrids, which will remain for sale.

[cwerdna]

Originally Posted by jendbbay

I called the dealer, as we own a 2009 Corolla. I think I received conflicting/confused info. First of all, she said that my particular car, according to its VIN was manufactured in Japan, so there is no recall on it. I then asked her about the Prius. it is not recalled -- today -- but did receive a recall notice last year for carpets. She said that there is no recall on it, and doesn't know why it would receive the notice -- the notice is for carpets.

To further clarify my response, if you look at all the links at the bottom of Toyota Vehicles : Toyota Recall January 2010: Voluntary Safety Gas Pedal Recall / Toyota, no Corolla is included in the floor mat "recall". I also didn't find any recall relating to floor mats when I looked up the 09 Corolla on safercar.gov. But yes, the 04-09 Prius is included in the floor mat "recall".

[DeadPhish]

Originally Posted by cwerdna

To further clarify my response, if you look at all the links at the bottom of Toyota Vehicles : Toyota Recall January 2010: Voluntary Safety Gas Pedal Recall / Toyota, no Corolla is included in the floor mat "recall". I also didn't find any recall relating to floor mats when I looked up the 09 Corolla on safercar.gov. But yes, the 04-09 Prius is included in the floor mat "recall".

In my opinion the first recall about the mats is bogus.

The NHTSA due to the Explorer fiasco has to be agressive in 'forcing' automakers to resolve potential risks. The potential risk concerning the mats is one that someone will not follow instructions and will use multiple mats and not secure those mats properly.

If one uses only the correct mats and secures them properly on the anchors then there's no way for the pedal to become trapped.

But some simply won't follow instructions ( such as the SD Lexus dealer ) so double and triple layers of error avoidance seem to be required. For those of us who have a shred of common sense and do follow instructions we can see that there is no risk of the mats interfering with the pedal. It's a bogus issue in my case and no one is touching my mats or reshaping my gas pedal.

[bwilson4web]

Originally Posted by paprius4030

The Camry hybrid is built in Georgetown,Ky. But I believe I read somewhere that only line #1 is stopping production there or something like that which leads me to speculate that maybe the Camry hybrid is staying in production there.

When I was last there about two years ago, Georgetown made:

• Camry hybrid
• Solara
• Venza
• Camry(*)
• Avalon(*)

(*) announced in sales halt

Originally Posted by DeadPhish

. . .
If one uses only the correct mats and secures them properly on the anchors then there's no way for the pedal to become trapped.
. . .
But some simply won't follow instructions ( such as the SD Lexus dealer ) . . .

We can add to that list the sales critter who received our 2010 Prius and missed that the floor mat was unsecured. I drove back two days later to get the floor mat hooks and installed them myself. A couple of weeks later, he was gone but the last time I saw him, he'd also given me a 'business card' that made him a sales manager . . . kinda of a strange fellow . . . it happens. I never complained but fully understood his absence.

Bob Wilson

[acdii]

The floor mat recall was a red herring. I dont care how much the floor mat is on a gas pedal, unless it totally binds up the pedal, which is a design flaw, taking your foot off the brake, even momentarily will drop the accelerator. I have had it happen in the past a few times from the mat slipping, and this was before they put hooks in to keep them in place. I have also driven the Camry with a rubber mat on top of the carpeted one with no problems, even though it slid around, it never interfered with the gas pedal.

I have had the Camry surge while coming to a stop, it happened to me and my wife. All this time she thought I was goofing around slamming on the brake when coming to a stop, until it happened to her. I always said, Toyota has a problem with their accelerators, and now here's the proof that there is.

I am so glad I got rid of it for a Ford. Between the crappy over sensitive Traction Control and poor cross wind handling of the Prius, and the poor handling and poor quality of the material in the Camry, I am sorely disappointed in Toyota.

[jayman]

Originally Posted by acdii

I always said, Toyota has a problem with their accelerators, and now here's the proof that there is.

I am so glad I got rid of it for a Ford. Between the crappy over sensitive Traction Control and poor cross wind handling of the Prius, and the poor handling and poor quality of the material in the Camry, I am sorely disappointed in Toyota.

Seems not that long ago, Toyota issued an apology for how their quality had slipped in their rush to be the largest carmaker out there.

Toyota quality on the new models is at a standstill, if not actually slipping. The initial build quality of my truck-like FJ Cruiser was far better than my Prius, although FJ's also have a series of problems that - fortunately - have not affected me yet

A lot of the hype behind Toyota, which proved true for a long time, was the edge in quality and durability. That may no longer be true, why pay a premium for a phantom and perceived quality that may not be there?

Just as there are GM fanboys that hotly defend their products, and Ford fanboys that hotly defend their products, there are also Toyota fanboys that hotly defend whatever Toyota does. I'm no longer one of those fanboys

So far my FJ has held up very well, but I've never been truly offroad. Apparently, if you do push the FJ to its advertised limits - eg water fording - you can expect to replace all the sealed wheel bearings (Very expensive), and the starter will also give you grief. But driven on roads like mine is, no problems

This issue with the gas pedal I find quite interesting. Apparently, Toyota no longer does product testing and subassembly testing. They had to find a way to cut corners to improve their bottom line, well, they found a way.

If I am ever in the market for a second vehicle, eg a car, it will probably not be a Toyota

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by jendbbay

Let me put this question in clearer terms. EEEEGAAAADSSSS Is there really a runaway car issue? If so, is it due to accelerator pedal, carpet, both, or.... and this is what I am really worried about....

some other mystery issue?

If there is some other issue, please tell me more!!!!

No other issue. There has been a lot of misinformation tossed about, but the Prius has not been subject to runaway car issues, other than driver error or floor mat problems. Even the floor mat problems, as far as I know, are only related to using large, all weather mats, or improperly securing the factory mats. Properly hooked, there is no way for the factory mat to interfere.

Tom

[GreenGuy33]

Originally Posted by jayman

Seems not that long ago, Toyota issued an apology for how their quality had slipped in their rush to be the largest carmaker out there.

Toyota quality on the new models is at a standstill, if not actually slipping. The initial build quality of my truck-like FJ Cruiser was far better than my Prius, although FJ's also have a series of problems that - fortunately - have not affected me yet

A lot of the hype behind Toyota, which proved true for a long time, was the edge in quality and durability. That may no longer be true, why pay a premium for a phantom and perceived quality that may not be there?

Just as there are GM fanboys that hotly defend their products, and Ford fanboys that hotly defend their products, there are also Toyota fanboys that hotly defend whatever Toyota does. I'm no longer one of those fanboys

So far my FJ has held up very well, but I've never been truly offroad. Apparently, if you do push the FJ to its advertised limits - eg water fording - you can expect to replace all the sealed wheel bearings (Very expensive), and the starter will also give you grief. But driven on roads like mine is, no problems

This issue with the gas pedal I find quite interesting. Apparently, Toyota no longer does product testing and subassembly testing. They had to find a way to cut corners to improve their bottom line, well, they found a way.

If I am ever in the market for a second vehicle, eg a car, it will probably not be a Toyota

This is very embarrassing for Toyota, but I will still only buy Toyotas.

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by GreenGuy33

This is very embarrassing for Toyota, but I will still only buy Toyotas.

I've had mixed success with many auto manufactures:

My 1972 Jeep CJ-5 was a POS. I loved it dearly, and it would take me almost anywhere, but it lacked terribly in design and quality. It came from the factory missing the entire emergency flasher wiring harness. Likewise, it had rust on it when it came off the factory truck. On the plus side, you could fix anything on it with a wrench and a screwdriver.

Our early Honda Accord rusted badly. To their credit, Honda stood behind it and replaced the rusted parts.

My next Honda, a CRX, had no rust issues at all. Honda had fixed that problem. The CRX did suffer from some minor issues: fasteners vibrated loose, the gas door release cable would freeze, brake retaining clips would fall off. It was a good car, but not perfect.

We had a Subaru that was nice and especially good in the winter. Unfortunately it was one of their early turbo models, and it would blow out seals. It was a fact of ownership: you either paid big bucks on a regular basis to replace the seals, or you lived with slow oil leaks. We called it "the crop duster" because it slowly dripped oil onto the exhaust manifold, leaving a blue cloud of smoke behind us.

Despite the bad reputation of Detroit, I recently sold our 1994 Ford Aerostar van. This was an Eddie Bauer model with a digital dash, fancy stereo, and electronic 4wd. We put a couple of hundred thousand miles on that van and never had a bit of trouble. Even the seats were amazing: they still looked like new when I sold it.

My point is that even good manufactures stumble from time to time, and poor manufactures can get lucky. You have to look at long term trends, and also watch how a manufacturer deals with problems. Toyota is going through a rough spot. How they deal with this will tell a lot.

Tom