Toyota Recall

Here's one of the gas pedal explanations, other demos of the actual repair out there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9Gd6QglJbg
Fly by wire gas pedal seems scary to me but that's progress.
I had an 85 Corolla, rear wheel drive, that I got for $200 from a guy that was selling his farm. That car was so durable I wouldn't doubt somebody is still driving it. Metal gas pedal hooked up to a good 'ole steel cable!

Maybe the inherent fear of a fly by wire accellerator is fueling the panic.

I saw the actual proceedure to put a fatter shim under the return spring. Hope it does the trick, lol.

I remember some of the 60's GM throttle linkages could jam if there was a bad motor mount! The whole engine could torque and lift up enough to jam the mechanical linkage!

"You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before."

Rahm Emanuel

Wait until Ford Motor Company has another problem, you know, the only American company that didn't take bail out cash.

This government of goons will make them pay for it, heavily.

Ford sales are up 24% as a result of this, as are GM's .. up 16%. Chrysler couldn't even take advantage of 'yota being out of the game ... sales DOWN 8%. I think Chrysler will be done by the end of this year, if not sooner.

This is one of the main reasons I will never sell my '72 'Camino. It will always be there, & no matter how long it sits, it can be brought back to running condition with about an hour of my time tops. No emissions bullshit to figure out when it breaks, so useless ABS, no computers - nothing. Just turn the key & get where I need to go. The way it should be. And if some idiot backs into me in the parking lot, all the damage will be to their vehicle. I'll never buy new again.

Dann757 wrote:Fly by wire gas pedal seems scary to me but that's progress.

Thank a tree-hugger for this bit of "progress". The MFG's like to say it's a part of traction control et al but in reality it allows them to keep the engine out of areas that could cause excessive emissions. Rate of acceleration is determined by the ECM not your right foot.

My F150 and the wifes Mustang are both "fly by wire" pedals. slightly different feel, and not quite as responsive, but you get used to it.

My '02 Jetta TDI has drive-by-wire as well as our (soon to be gone) Liberty CRD diesel. 152,000 miles on the TDI and never a hint of throttle problems. Everything else on the Jeep is a P.O.S. but no throttle problems either. As far as I know, I've never heard of ANY problems with the VW TDI throttle assembly aside from it just simply wearing out - then you get a "limp" mode to at least get you to a safe place.

LOL, even the FORKLIFTS I build are drive by wire! The parts can and do wear out, but they just throw a code and call time for replacement. It is just a simple dual circuit potentiometer setup.

Toyota has been infected with "Detroit-itis". They got fat, dumb and happy sitting on their a$$ and drinking sake, thinking they can keep selling cars forever based upon the reputation they developed in the 80's and 90's. I've been in a few late model Toyotas, and I've NOT been impressed with fit, finish, quality, or performance. Highly over-rated and over-priced, and they've had a lot of recent issues - the engine sludge is one I remember well. Toyota blew that off as "poor customer maintenance" for the longest time until they finally admitted there was a design problem.

We just bought a '10 Subaru Outback. Sube's sales are up over 28%. They are not without issues, either, but everything I've read shows that Subaru of America actively listens and tries to work with customers and dealers to identify, fix, and resolve issues BEFORE they turn into recalls, class action lawsuits, govermental pentalties, etc. Why? Maybe it is because they care about their customers or maybe it's simply because they aren't large enough to give the corporate finger to everyone like Toyota.

Toyota is gonna burn for this - badly. I forsee a few Seppuku rituals by some Toyota execs in the near future.

And for Chrysler - they are going to have to perform miracles. The entire company culture is "as long as it makes it out of warranty" for quality and durability. Most of the time they don't even make it that far. At least GM has been coming out with some pretty good stuff the last few years. What has Chrysler done???

Just so you know.....The part in question was made by CTS an American company in Elkhart In. Fords, and many others have this same part in them so be expecting a letter in the mail since they are trying to keep it hush hush so they do sell American cars.

jeromemsn wrote:Just so you know.....The part in question was made by CTS an American company in Elkhart In. Fords, and many others have this same part in them so be expecting a letter in the mail since they are trying to keep it hush hush so they do sell American cars.

CTS manufactures SIMILAR parts for other makers, but not the exact same part as Toyota uses. This isn't a CTS issue, it's a Toyota DESIGN issue.

Just like Firestone....it wasn't Firestone's fault that Ford Exploders were rolling over and if you had Firestone's on your S-10 Blazer it didn't mean it was going to flip over. Firestone only supplied Ford what Ford specified. Add that to Ford's lousy front suspension design and too-low air pressure specifications and BOOM.

Exactly. Suppliers are only allowed to design & built parts TO THE PURCHASING COMPANY'S SPECS. Otherwise CTS wouldn't be in business .Toyota supplied the specs, & CTS made them.

SMITTY wrote:... so useless ABS ...

LOVE my ABS, especially for winter driving. Stability control is supposed to be the next big thing, but I am skeptical.... The big unknown is, when it breaks, how expensive will it be to fix?

SMITTY wrote:Exactly. Suppliers are only allowed to design & built parts TO THE PURCHASING COMPANY'S SPECS. Otherwise CTS wouldn't be in business .Toyota supplied the specs, & CTS made them.

That's a incomplete view of the overall design process. All electronic component manufactures have sample designs, using parts they manufacture. They need too, that's how they get their future customers interested in buying. Engineers buy these sample designs and integrate them into the overall prototype system they are designing. If the prototype makes it to production, often the sample design part gets specified in. Yes, there is a procurement spec issued by the end manufacturing company but it is essentially a part that was completely designed by the component supplier. If CTS is the supplier of the potentiometer at the root cause of the electronic version of the acceleration problem it's CTS's problem. However, just like the Firestone tire problem if the potentiometer was misapplied then it's a Toyota problem. Due to the blame game it's impossible for the public to really know who is at fault. Pick the press release you want to believe.

most electronic component failures i have seen in the auto industry isnt usually caused by the circutry or actual component but the silly connectors and or the mounting system thus the old resistance/heat issue and or the vibration/location issue. lord knows enough choppers hit the dirt due to scotch-lock connectors during repair. lets use smaller and smaller guage wire of unique alloys and insulation and different plug configurations so as to allow more part numbersand .......profit,profit,profit......

jeromemsn wrote:Just so you know.....The part in question was made by CTS an American company in Elkhart In.

It is actually made in Canada.

I don't believe it is the pedal assembly, if it was, a bungee cord would fix it. The techs are reflashing the ECM when the repair is made. Does that sound like a sticky mechanical device to you?

coaledsweat wrote:I don't believe it is the pedal assembly, if it was, a bungee cord would fix it. The techs are reflashing the ECM when the repair is made. Does that sound like a sticky mechanical device to you?

When you rework the pedal, you usually have to "relearn" the idle and full-throttle positions of the pedal so the ECM knows the voltage values at the ends of the pedal stroke. At least that's my experience, FWIW.

Of course, it indeed could be something completely different.....maybe they forgot to include some logic to roll back the throttle if you stand on the brake??? I think my TDI has something like that even....