Tiger team on unexpected accelerations

In a lot of ways Toyota brought this upon themselves but it's the correct response IMO. Send in the troops right away. Get to the bottom of each and every complaint. Identify the probable cause of any complaint. Put the hoaxers, prevaricators and scammers on notice that they will be Sikes'd.

In the event real issues are indentified then they can be reported to the proper people within Toyota and the authorities without delays.

 

Zymurgy's First Law of Evolving System Dynamics : Once you open a can of worms, the only way to recan them is to use a larger can. (Old worms never die, they just worm their way into larger cans.)

This is the larger can that Toyota has needed since the start of this mess. Sometimes problems require a large hammer. This should help.

Tom

 

We can only hope that it doesn't turn out to be Pandora's box that has been "opened".

 

Except being Sikes'd isn't good enough. The FBI needs to start arresting the hoaxers, prevaricators and scammers just like they did in the Pepsi syringe scare.

 

Did they start with Blame Old People, then decide SMART sounded better than BOP. I would think Toyota would be savy enough to emphasize safety instead of Market Analysis. It is also crazy to spin unintended to unexpected. That can't build trust.

Baby steps, at least Toyota is promising to investigate.

 

Toyota response to complaints takes on a confrontational tone - Los Angeles Times

 

How is the scientific approach "confrontational"?

 

LA Times can't grasp the nature of problems. Thus, they'd assume 100% of problems need fixing. That means it can't be related to an idiot driver. Thus, LA Times reports, "sometimes they (Toyota) discredit them (idiot drivers)". A manufacturere can't make everyone happy. Some will say, "They need to do more" ... while still others will whine, "They've opened too big a can of worms". It gives me a pain behind my left eye.


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If there is a lawsuit in this particular case then it would be the non-performing dealer who'd be responsible. TMC provides the expertise, the directions, the materials to make the repairs but it's the dealer techs who are responsible for actually doing them and doing them properly.

This is typical of the LiAr Times.

BREAKING NEWS from the LiAr Times:
Today the sun was blocked by clouds in the East as it rose into skies darkened by deception from Toyota. Details to follow.

 

What in the worIld are you talking about?
This is the statement from the LA times article sited above.

But the SMART team may have helped Toyota's adversaries on March 12, when it inspected a 2007 Camry after an alleged sudden acceleration event.

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I don't see anything factually incorrect in the statement. You seemed to read something that is not there, and then went to name calling. It says to me that the SMART team may have helped trial lawyers. It did not place blame. The media isn't perfect but the article seems to be a factual report. It is better to look at sources of information beyond just the press release.

 

Scientific approach is not confrontational and should be applied.

How the SMART teams work has been confrontational at times such as the Sikes incident. The real question is if there is a problem with confronting customers. IMHO its perfectly appropriate sometimes. Toyota just needs to be careful.

 

It implicates Toyota in something where Toyota is not involved. It's a common slimy journalistic tactic. 'When exactly did you stop beating your wife?'

The LiAr Times implicates Toyota in something that's a dealer issue. It says "the SMART team may have helped Toyota's adversaries". It doesn't say that "the SMART team may have helped the Toyota dealer's adversaries". It's the dealer that's responsible for doing the fix properly, not Toyota.

There's an even more egregious statement by the LiAr Times. THIS is a bold-face lie.

This is why the moniker LiAr Times is going to follow that rag around. The Harrison Police already found that the housekeeper never touched the brake. Yet here they are the LiAr Times two weeks later implying exactly the opposite. Notice that they gave no indication that the matter had been settled with the finding of the Harrison police.

 

The poor LA Times. They just can't keep their stories straight. Two months ago, the story was that the accelerator pedals weren't the problem, it was gremlins in Toyota's electronics. The pedal recall was simply a smokescreen to hide the real problem. Now apparently the accelerator pedals are responsible for SUAs.

Don't blame the manufacturer for dealer issues. Don't blame the dealer for manufacturer issues.

I still think we will all find out that most Sudden Unintended Acceleration incidents (like with all of the Audis in the 80s) are caused by the same thing that causes Sudden Intended Acceleration incidents.

 

If you stop with the Liar times fake rhetoric, you might be able to have a civil discussion.

Reporters don't often split hairs the way you are. I agree to your point that the entity not doing the repair is responsible. I am not a lawyer, but my tiny bit of business law says that if you show an agency relationship to the manufacturer, that manufacturer is also responsible. Any lawyers out there please chime in. This does not mean the suit will be successful, but it is likely both the dealer and Toyota would be included in the lawsuit. This leaves the story factually correct. IMHO the story isn't biased.

 

Clearly you do not grasp the concept of "deep pockets."
;-)

 

According to documents given to congress by toyota pedals and floor mats (which are just a different pedal problem to me) can only account for 16% of unintended (not unexpected) acceleration. As of February no vehicle that an owner claimed experienced unintended acceleration had been tested for electronic problems again according to those 70,000 Toyota documents. I hope that the SMART teams and NASA can categorize those 84%.

See my statement above. There is reason to believe that along with pedal problems, other problems may exist. There is not a logical error in this line of reasoning. It was also the finding of the congressional subcommittee and most of their experts.

Agree here.

Yes most will be some kind of user error. Hitting the wrong pedal is not intended acceleration, but it is not the fault of the car either. The question is really what is causing those problems that are not categorized. So far 5 user error, 1 dealer fraud (just guess, why actually repair something when you can just charge and say you did), and I don't even want to categorize sikes. 7 down lots more to go.

 

We agree. However the rag goes out of its way to use its expertise in word, sentence and paragraph structure to paint an erroneous picture. It's clearly intentional.

One simple statement at the end of the referenced paragraph would have made the paragraph factually accurate.

This omission was intentional. Thus the LiAr Times gets no respect from this quarter.