Toyota to Replace 3.8 Million Gas Pedals

[babylonsister]

Toyota to Replace 3.8 Million Gas Pedals
Published: November 25, 2009


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Toyota Motor Corporation said Wednesday that it would replace accelerator pedals on 3.8 million recalled vehicles in the United States to address problems with the pedals becoming jammed in the floor mat.

As a temporary step, Toyota will have dealers shorten the length of the gas pedals beginning in January while the company develops replacement pedals, the Transportation Department and Toyota said. New pedals will be available beginning in April, and some vehicles will have brake override systems installed as a precaution.

Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, announced the recall in late September and told owners to remove the driver’s side floor mats to prevent the gas pedal from potentially becoming jammed.

“The safety of our owners and the public is our utmost concern and Toyota has and will continue to thoroughly investigate and take appropriate measures to address any defect trends that are identified,” Toyota said in a statement.

Popular vehicles like the Toyota Camry, the top-selling passenger car in America, and the Toyota Prius, the best-selling gas-electric hybrid, are part of the recall. It includes the 2007-10 model year Camry, 2005-10 Toyota Avalon, 2004-09 Prius, 2005-10 Toyota Tacoma, 2007-10 Toyota Tundra, 2007-10 Lexus ES350 and 2006-10 Lexus IS250/350.

The recall involving the accelerators was Toyota’s largest in the United States. It was prompted by a high-speed crash in August involving a 2009 Lexus ES350 that killed a California Highway Patrol officer and three members of his family as they were driving near San Diego. The Lexus hit speeds exceeding 120 m.p.h., struck a sport utility vehicle, hit off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames.

A family member in the runaway Lexus made a frantic 911 call moments before the crash, telling emergency responders that the accelerator was stuck and the driver could not stop the car. The call ended as someone was overheard urging others to hold on and pray, followed by a woman’s scream.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/business/26toyota.html?hp

[doc03]

1. Why didn't they just put the transmission in neutral? You

can't make a car idiot proof.

[Fumesucker]

2. There was a quote from a guy at Toyota in one of the earlier stories..

He said that a lot of people even at Toyota had no clue what neutral was for.

I'm guessing that you can drive a stick, that's not true of most Americans these days.

It really is a different driving mindset if you have never learned to drive a stick.

[conscious evolution]

3. I don't think you can on that car

Some vehicles have a lockout to prevent you from shifting to nuetral while in motion in an attempt to prevent redlining and blowing up the motor.

[Fumesucker]

4. Nope, the engine management systems won't let you overrev a motor these days..

They cut either the fuel or the ignition, typically the fuel when the rpm gets to redline.

I've had cars made over twenty years ago that did just that.

And keep in mind there are still plenty of cars made with clutches and stick shifts.

[doc03]

5. That could be I guess in that particular car. I can shift in

neutral with my Tacoma, shift to the lowest gear or just shut off the ignition. I have heard in the Lexus they have a push button ignition and you have to hold the button in 3 seconds to shut the engine off.

[snooper2]

7. The only lockout's I have seen are for reverse and park...

I have never seen a car that has a lockout for neutral, cite one example?

Also the emergency brakes and regular brakes would have been plenty to keep the car from going up to 120...

[Fumesucker]

12. It depends on how fast you get on the brakes and how hard..

Get on the brakes really fast and really hard and they should stop you, if you screw around with half measures the brakes will get hot and become ineffective.

Not to mention that the vast majority of power brake boosters are vacuum operated from the engine and there is very little engine vacuum at full throttle. The power assist may well not be working at all in the instance of a full throttle runaway.

[nebenaube]

11. I have a Prius and I have gamed this scenario..

There is no recourse... the system won't kill when you are moving. You can't just shut the motor down and it won't shift to neutral.

[Fumesucker]

14. This is the shifter in an 07 Prius, you can't move it from D to N while moving?

Frankly I find that hard to believe.

[NNN0LHI]

6. Find neutral on this shifter as you are careening out of control at 120 MPH in heavy traffic

[Ron Green]

8. Well, if you're in "D" you'd just move it forward a notch.

Pretty much like any modern "hybrid" automatic transmission.

[NNN0LHI]

10. Doesn't look like any modern "hybrid" automatic transmission shifter I have ever operated

[Fumesucker]

13. I had a '65 GTO that had a shifter very much like that..

It's called a "dual gate" but the great majority of people leave it in the right side where it's fully automatic and all you have to do is push forward on the stick to get to neutral.

My son in law's Acura has a very similar shifter also.

[snooper2]

9. never mind...

nt

[DainBramaged]

15. 3 Brazillion gas pedals

Wow, how are they going to find them among millions of cars????


:rofl:

[Fumesucker]

16. Probably the same way Chrysler found all those ball joints that rust out..

And let the wheel fall off..

:rofl:

[DainBramaged]

17. Good point

Or the tailgate restraint cables on the GM pickups a few years back that rusted to shit in salt using areas thanks to lack of galvanizing by the Chinese supplier............save a few pennies now, pay a few dollars later......what did the Fram guy used to say???


Happy Thanksgiving bud.......:hug:

[Fumesucker]

18. Same to you, man..

:fistbump: