Toyota Recall

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/09/29/japanese-automaker-toyota-to-announce-largest-us-recall-in-its-h/

"The safety concern was prompted by a fiery crash in California that killed four family members in August near San Diego. The crash killed California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, 45, and three others on State Route 125 in Santee."

Pretty scary situation... It was a loaner car from a local dealer... A back seat passenger called 911 before the crash. The driver chose to take an off ramp which dead ended in a T-Intersection. The other option was a high speed sweeping right hander with a concrete restraint about at least 4 feet high, relatively easy at 70mph, I suspect a skilled driver like a Highway Patrol Officer could have "ridden the rail" and probably made it...

Lots of unanswered questions... Why the driver didn't take it out of gear, why the driver didn't kill the engine, I guess these new cars with keyless ignitions have a button you need to push for 3 seconds to kill the engine...

All in all a very sad situation and it's probably worth considering what to do if faced with a similar situation with your own car. I suspect that the fact that the car was a loaner meant the driver was probably too concerned about damaging the car and waited too long to do something that would possibly damage the car...

JOn

Jon Isaacs said:

All in all a very sad situation and it's probably worth considering what to do if faced with a similar situation with your own car...

It's actually pretty simple and should be the natural result of most drivers' panic reaction; just mash down on the brake pedal until the car stops. I have yet to drive a car that couldn't be stopped with the brakes, even with the throttle stuck wide open. If you can't stop your car in this manner, then either you need new brakes or your car has way too much horsepower.

On a side note, nearly all driving instruction programs in the US are terribly inadequate. Little if any time is spent on driving (or not driving) in inclement weather, handling emergency situations, and decision making. Too many drivers, when faced with the unexpected, throw up their hands and think "Ooh, what do I do?!". It's a good thing Capt. Chesley Sullenberger didn't do that.

I recall a rash of manufacturer defective accelerator linkages back when I was a kid in the early 1960's. News stories of folk hanging on for dear life on the expressway, going faster and faster til they would end the journey on a bridge abutment or those dangerous chain-link highway fences with the top-pipe. If struck, the fence top-pipes seemed fond of impaling drivers or passengers.

It was all over the news back then, warning folks to just turn off the ignition. At least they had ignition switches. Such a simple solution, easily forgotten in a panic.

I have an 07 Tacoma...the floor mat is hooked in place by a plastic hook that is attached to the floor of the vehicle. It seems odd that this is a problem. The bigger problem I have had with my Tacoma is indeed the throttle, but from a different source. I have a 5 speed manual (relatively rare for this model) when I am powering up hills at higher elevations, towing a trailer, or hauling a heavy load, the throttle gets stuck when I shift gears. For instance, going up a pretty steep incline in third gear, then switching to fourth, the engine races up to 4000RPM (without me touching the gas) when I depress the clutch. This requires me to either

a) dump the clutch into the next gear
b) slow down to a near complete stop till the engine reverts back to idle, then I can restart.

Toyota dealers have acknowledged this is an issue for the manual Tacomas, but have repeatedly told me there is no fix. Apparently, this is a programming issue with the ECM (engine control module) is what I have been told. When Toyota issues an update, I will be notified. ...

On edit, all new Toyotas have electronic throttle control, there is no cable like in the old days. A computer determines the amount of throttle the engine is given so as to better control emissions, the "gas pedal" works with a sensor that determines the amount you have pressed it down. The computer will then calculate the correct throttle based on the desire of the driver, ballanced with emissions standards. Throttle by wire is nice technology, but in the case of my truck, I am less than impressed. It is very frustrating when the my truck is doing what it is supposed to do (work) and it acts up.


Just venting. I suspect the same sort of failure is to blame in this tragic accident, I suspect Topyota is gonna get flamed for this one.

Toyota floor mats do seem to suck. The floormats on our Highlander always seem to get pushed up around and under the pedals. I don't know why they can't just stay put.