Yeah, there seem to be a lot more at the airports. That's probably how they kept some volume going during the media hysterics and still managed to show a very healthy corporate profit this past quarter. Their dealers seem to be moving more metal now, so I expect a year from now you'll likely see fewer of them as rentals. I actually saw a new Honda Accord as a school driver's ed car the other day.
Some of the metal may not be available - "the strength of the Japanese yen making it unprofitable for Toyota to export some of its fuel-efficient vehicles to the U.S".
Sorry, my post wasn't very clear, what I meant was that VW/Audi was among the first to emply the brake-throttle override, yet complaints rates are still highest.
Rental fleets have been using import-brand cars for quite a while now, that's nothing new. It's an easy way to get volume, though not usually at a profit since fleet prices are low. They can get economies of scale, though. The trade-off is residuals usually take a ding.
Last trip to Florida we shopped for a van, a Grand Caravan was $300 or so and a Sienna was (gulp!) over $600! No thanks!
We ended up getting an E-series Ford van that took all 14 of us. The trip before that we had an Accord, though. Nowadays there's much more variety.
Here's a post on Yahoo following the news of the GM recall.
Miss Jean 3 minutes ago: I love my Buick Enclave and am willing to have the seat belts rechecked. The reason I bought American was because my LEXUS RX350 YR 2008 (SUV) NEARLY killed me and my two grandchildren in March. I was attempting to pull out of my daughter's driveway with the babies in the backseat in their baby seats and as soon as I started the car and put it into reverse it bolted backwards out of her driveway like a missile. The engine was roaring like a construction vehicle it was so loud. I had a whole neighborhood of witnesses plus workmen outside to watch the whole event happening. I knew exactly what was happening at the time so I tried to put the car in neutral but with driving backwards and holding onto the steering wheel with both hands,I pushed through neutral by mistake because everything was happening so fast and slipped into drive. I was at this point going down my daughters driveway heading for her house. I decided to go onto the grass to buy myself some time but going so fast I decided to end this madness and kill my Lexus before it killed me and the babies. I headed for her neighbors tree and BAM it stopped. It must have been going 45 minutes an hr when I hit. Thank God no one was seriously hurt because of the muddy ground slowing me down a little and the way I hit the tree was the correct way. Toyota sent me a sloppy form letter (dates were wrong) basically telling me it certainly must have been my fault. They have a huge problem on their hands and I'm never going to stop telling people about what happened to me. Because of my calmness during this bizaarre experience I saved them the problem of adding 3 more people to their list of dead drivers due to faulty computers (which I think is the problem). Good luck those of you who continue to drive the Toyota products. They know what the problem is and this is a disgrace that they are continuing to blame the drivers or floor mats for the problem. Believe me, if it happens to you, you will believe.
If she was going to make up a story, at least she should have chosen a model without a gated shifter. A 2002 Camry would have been more believable because the shifter isn't gated:
Yes, strange, but sorry I haven't verified your posted statements or where they came from. If actually true, maybe have inadequate/good brake overrride system that in not independant of computerized system ??? For example - BMW's. Have no idea. Another whole area for intensive investigation.
At a claimed 45mph (yeah right) no less...well, nothing else would work and the car was evil and had to be stopped. There's no chance this is a case of driver error.
Damn , these are ridiculous efforts to discredit Toyota in every way possible irrespective of any logic.. Your 10 step story was hilarious. If the media puts in this much effort in better things rather than denigrating Toyota and sensationalising news,, we would have been in a much better situation. :P
toyota is imploding unto theirselves quite nicely all on their own.
By how their vehicles don't seem to be operating correctly or safely. No need to muddle the info. up with the media's input. Another in a long list of malfunctioning toyota ECU propulsion nightmares to add to the growing pile.
I will admit her story has more holes by far than Sike's case. I would attribute it to Toyota bashing from a GM customer. Without any links from the media it will never make it to court or out of court settlement. Sike's will if he has not already been rewarded. My guess is the latter. Nothing in the news after March. Just silence of the lambs.
Folks, I don't think toyota is on the mend, their cost cutting is still outrageous, and it is much worse in less developed countries like the Philippines. Here's what I found by accident, a best selling model MPV, the toyota innova, have many cases of fuel tanks warping, bending, and resulting in fuel leaks and the tank cracks, fails. To the toyota fans and Detroit " haters ", have you ever heard of such an outrageous result of crazy cost cutting by Detroit Metal ?
Interesting read, and these poor toyota customers even have to fight for months to get free replacements, because initially, as usual, toyota Philippines must have argued that its DRIVER ERROR :
"....Here in Tsikot, there are already a lot of owners who do experience this problem not just once but twice or three times during the warranty period. But some like me have shoulder the cost of replacing it because I'm not aware that this is due to faulty design and components.
Then after less than 9 months, the gas tank again warped on the same spot. This time I already knew that this is a real defect from components and negative pressure build up is flipping my gas tank floor inward, I tried opening the gas filler cap and instantaneously a loud flipping sound of metal from the gas tank could be heard. This explains the cracks and fuel leak, the constant flipping out and flipping in of gas tank floor weakens the cornered portion of the gas tank just beneath the front strap.
Here's the picture of my second gas tank, claimed under warranty that took me around 2 months to battle my claims with TMP. See how deep the the dent on the gas tank floor due to negative pressure. Together with replacing my gas tank, TMP also replaced my Charcoal Canister assembly and Filler Cap. I'm still hoping it won't happen again
Picture of warped gas tank showing how large is the dent due to negative pressure.
Other owners who experienced this, just show up and be counted, and to other owners who will experience this and your unit is still under warranty, be firm to claim it under warranty as this is really due to faulty components.
To the moderators, please have this thread sticky to warn others and to let them know that they should claim it under warranty. __________________ Toyota Innova Club - Philippines...."
"....i had this problem also. just after my PMS and when Im about to start my car I smelled gasoline. I look underneath to check if that smell is comming from my car, lo and behold! my gas tank is leaking. I told TPT that i brought my unit for PMS and after being serviced nabutas yung tank!!! I have no choice but to leave my unit sa TPT.
The next afternoon nakuha ko na sya. thet replaced the canister, cap and the tank. Buti na lang at under warranty! and I need not argue my case with TPT. hopefully di na ito maulit. Imagine the gas tank costs around 20K! ...."
"....Surely it is not from the E10 blend. It was the negative pressure build up on the tank when the engine is running which causes the deformation on the tank floor (sucking the floor inward), and when the engine is off the negative pressure is then released slowly and the the tank floor flips back to its original position. Constant bending and flipping of the tank floor would result to permanent huge dent plus crack on the cornered bends just beneath the tank
"front" support strap. The huge dent and crack would always be visible beneath the front support strap.
The problematic leak area is uniform to every cases I have known and seen, and this is suppose to be a serious matter that Toyota should consider and have disclose.
I have spent the effort to put skid plates on the gas tank to prove that the dent was not due to accident but rather a faulty fuel system which should be covered by warranty but still I battle my claim that took more than a month before they replace my 2nd gas tank plus charcoal canister and filler cap...."
Trust me guys, a leopard will NOT change its SPOTS. And pity those toyota customers in the less developed countries, where the media and government is even more scared of toyota. The cost cutting is even more brutal there.
Right ? Still want to buy from the ULTIMATE COST CUTTER ? Go on. But bear the ultimate consequences in the future !!
I like this part of her story. I'm sure it was a terrifying experience.
" I knew exactly what was happening at the time so I tried to put the car in neutral but with driving backwards and holding onto the steering wheel with both hands,I pushed through neutral by mistake because everything was happening so fast and slipped into drive. I was at this point going down my daughters driveway heading for her house."
How do you hold on the wheel with both hands AND shift at the same time?
I hope that Caddy looks better in real life than in those pics. They say the camera adds 10 pounds to people, so I'm hoping that bloated look is just from the camera.
have you ever heard of such an outrageous result of crazy cost cutting by Detroit Metal ?
Never, domestic cars are perfect and have never been recalled, never, not once!
Anything you think was faulty is clearly a PR campaign by Toyota and other imports to gain market share.
The quarter million bad seat belts? Probably from a Toyota supplier.
The engine fires in the ol' Iron Duke? A bigger oil filter was a genius solution. I bet the old small filter was sourced from Japan. A-ha!
Side saddle gas tanks? Dateline rigged the explosion. The hundreds of deaths are driver error AND/OR those gas tanks were surplus tanks from the Toyota Innova, clearly!
Ford Pinto rear bumper explosions? Obviously caused by being rear ended by suddenly accelerating Toyotas, every single one!
Ford/Firestone fiasco? Let's see if Fireston re-badged tires from Kumho or Sumitomo, must be Asian tires.
Let's blame Toyota for everything! C'mon, it's fun!
Global warming - I mean, all those cars coming on ships from Japan, imagine all the energy wasted. GW is their fault, too!
Whales near extinction? Toyota boats ran them over. Must be!
Today's Headline:
Plastic surgeon was texting in car before fatal crash
How do we know he wasn't driving a Camry? Prolly was.
Story doesn't say what car he was driving, therefore we can conclude with 100% certainty that it was a Toyota and their PR machine is covering it up! They even faked the texting on his phone bill!
You have been warned !!
Toyota is evil, everything they do is bad, and everything bad is their fault! It's true! I read it on the internets!!!111!11!1!1eleven!!!
GM did not copy Toyota's extremely popular Swagger Wagon campaign for the new Sienna, which went viral and had millions of hits on YouTube.
Clearly Toyota invented a time machine, and went forward to the future, where they saw the Cadillac ad, then went back and copied GM! Remember, Toyota = Evil!
Any who, that CTS wagon is HAWT. I'll take mine with the leather dash, please. Will there be a CTS-V wagon? I've only read about the sedan and the coupe so far.
Toyota is evil, everything they do is bad, and everything bad is their fault! It's true! I read it on the internets!!!111!11!1!1eleven!!!
And it's about time! (LOL). They and Honda have absolutely walked between the raindrops, courtesy of most media, for a couple of decades right up until this year. Detroit big recall: page one Japan big recall: section C, page 13!
Well OK, exaggeration is courtesy of me, but I've seen it again and again over the years.
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Dunno about that, I recall a front page story of the Honda CR-V engine fire issue, and they had a giant photo plastered on the front page, flames shooting out.
Some mags, like C&D, seem to be in love with Honda and BMW, or certain brands, and tend to favor those. And of course there's that senior writer (forget the name right now) who loves all things Mercedes and Subaru. I'm sure there are just as many Mopar, GM, or Ford fans.
But the domestics still play on home turf. Look at how UA nearly killed Audi, yet GM's side saddle gas tanks killed many more people yet GM had Dateline apologizing to them.
There's definitely a home-field advantage. Some may even argue that with the Fed owning a chunk of GM and Chrysler, a conflict of interest, even.
I'm not really sure why some stories seem to grab more attention than others.
In recent Toyota cases, I think it's because they are already under the microscope. So any little (even alleged) problem and the media is all over them. That's how Sikes was front page news.
As for Car & Driver, they never really liked Toyotas. I recall a letter to the Editor that mentioned not a single Toyota made their 10Best list, year after year. They sell appliances, while car mags like enthusiast cars.
Although I was aware of both of those recalls through the newspaper for the fire and through owning a Cobalt for the other (quick repair and I never had the issue--amazing! All GM's are crap, aren't they?!), if there is a 'selective reporting' on Toyota recalls, this year is the first. And it darn well might be. Please tell me you can see that this year is the first though! (LOL)
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There was this one time when I was texting, shaving, reading AARP monthly, and eating a sandwich while driving, all at the same time, but I'm sure it was UA that caused that fender bender, and not my fault. :P
The woman, who was coming home from shopping, accidentally hit the accelerator while parking, and the front of her car went right through the apartment building on Baron Park Lane.
There's definitely a home-field advantage. Some may even argue that with the Fed owning a chunk of GM and Chrysler, a conflict of interest, even.
I would respectfully ask if you're kidding here. Look at Cash For Clunkers. The Japanese brands cleaned the Big Three's clocks...even "Government Motors".
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By now I finally figured out how toyota got this big today. They created a Virtuous circle for themselves. Heres how it works :
First, cut costs to the bone, so that profit is maximized. Then use just a small part of the cash flow to bribe and collaborate with organizations like NHTSA so that reports of problems and recalls are covered up or delayed. At the same time " work together " with jd power ,cr etc so that they will always get the top rankings in their published result. Also pay-off victims to keep them quiet.
Thus no wonder why with all the cover-ups and padded favourable ratings from medias like jd power / cr, more and more people are convinced that only toyota make the best stuff and the others including the domestics make junks (Wonder why if this is so, why is it that the Chinese decided to buy much more American and German cars than toyotas, could the Chinese be one of the dumbest group of car consumers in the world ?)
And as more Americans keep buying more toyotas because they are impressed that toyota did so well in the rankings, so it must be true, never mind that jd power, cr is not God but a group of people who can be bought off like NHTSA. toyota get more money, and thus have even more ammunition to buy off the media, jd power, NHTSA, and so on.
Draw the circle and you will realize that its indeed a virtuous circle that have helped them for quite sometime. No wonder many people thought that other automakers like Nissan, Hyundai, the domestics etc are nothing compared to toyota.
Unfortunately, toyota got too greedy, and today, even their massive wealth can no longer cover up the fact that AT BEST, their cars are similar to other car makers. But I don't think so. Their cars are below average. And I don't care for what jd power and cr says because if toyota can be bed mates with NHTSA, what makes one think that they can't do the same with jd power and cr ?
Here I quote some telling stories which clearly shows that many of their top brass are pretty arrogant and greedy people. No wonder their cars have so many problems today. I quote sections that are really telling, :
"...Mr Toyoda and his allies have been saying openly that when he took the top job last year after a 15-year hiatus for the Toyoda clan, he inherited a company weakened by non-family predecessors who SACRIFICED QUALITY for faster growth and FATTER MARGINS.
(Hey folks, here is it toyoda himself ADMITTED that toyota SACRIFICED QUALITY FOR MONEY but here in this forum many toyota fans tried so hard to persuade us all that toyota is still the best. HOW FUNNY !!! I mean akio toyoda himself said so and yet....Makes me laugh !!!) Read on....
The problems arose when "some people just got too big-headed and FOCUSED TOO EXCESSIVELY on PROFIT," Mr Toyoda said at a Beijing news conference in March. He acknowledged the "ultimate responsibility for mistakes... lies in me".
(Yea, he may be more honest than the other toyota big wigs, but someone pointed out that when the cash is big and those big cases did not yet appear, akio toyoda himself kept quiet. So he is not guilt free either. Its like those Germans who did nothing to stop the [non-permissible content removed] when they are scoring victories in Europe and committing atrocities, and after the war said they are against [non-permissible content removed]. Strange eh ?)
A week earlier, Jim Press -- once the top Toyota executive in the US before he jumped to a rival automaker -- issued a statement declaring: "The ROOT CAUSE of their problems is that the company was hijacked, some years ago, by anti-family, FINANCIALLY ORIENTED PIRATES."
Privately, the non-family managers have been waging their own campaign within the Toyota group. They say Mr Toyoda NEVER publicly opposed their profit-growth strategy when the company was widely praised for making BIG money and surpassing General Motors to become the world's No.1 carmaker. (A Ha ! Like I said, akio toyoda himself is not guilt free)
They say Toyota's current troubles are LESS a quality crisis and more a management and public-relations crisis of Mr Toyoda's making, reflecting their longstanding warnings that he wasn't ready to run a global corporation. (So, according to these toyota big wigs, those toyota car troubles are not really engineering troubles, they are a PR crisis !!! What kind of people these guys are ?)
"Is Akio ducking criticism of being a beneficiary of nepotism by accusing us and trying to justify his ascendancy to the top job?" one of Mr Watanabe's top aides said. "One of our biggest social responsibilities is to generate profits and pay taxes. To criticise the company's effort to maximise profits and thus taxes is just complete nonsense." (Now you know why toyota landed where it is today, according to honourable watanabe, they must earn more and more money and pay more and more taxes, and that consumer safety and product quality comes after that !)
Hiroshi Okuda, a non-family president who ran the company from 1995 through 1999, has told at least two associates since the recalls of cars involved in sudden acceleration incidents earlier this year: "Akio needs to go." The 77-year-old remains a key company adviser even though he gave up his board seat last year. Toyota declined to make Mr Okuda available for comment. The Toyota spokeswoman declined to comment.
(So this toyota big wig is not only greedy but CALLOUS and UNGRATEFUL !! If not for akio's father who promoted him, WHERE WILL HE BE TODAY ? Maybe he will be a bum on the street with a tin cup. Yet he has the guts to call for akio's RESIGNATION ! This, folks, is the kind of people running toyota for a long time. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you !!! And he remains a key advisor till today folks ! Talk about buying cars run by these kind of people !!!)
"....As part of his strategy, Mr Okuda sought to diminish the family's role. According to executives close to him, Mr Okuda said founding-family dominance was an outdated concept -- especially when the family controlled less than 2 per cent of the stock in the publicly traded company.
At the peak of his power, Mr Okuda publicly was frank about that belief. "The Toyoda family will eventually become a 'shrine' to the company's foundation, to which we will pay respect once a year," he told The Wall Street Journal in a 2000 interview.
Asked then about future prospects for Mr Toyoda, then a 43-year-old general manager, Mr Okuda said: "Nepotism just doesn't belong in our future." He elaborated: "Akio-class talents are rolling around all over Toyota, like so many potatoes." (How disrespectful ! Not matter what, again, if not for akio's ancestors, where will HE be TODAY ? toyota's founders must be turning in their graves today for promoting this guy)
At the time, Mr Toyoda seemed to have been sidelined. When he was assigned to lead Toyota's Chinese operations in 2001, China was still a backwater in Toyota's global strategy. Mr Okuda, by then Toyota chairman, likened the job to "MOPPING THE FLOORS" -- a safe place for grooming a scion with more ambition than experience, according to a separate Journal interview in 2003.
Two separate surveys conducted by J.D. Power & Associates show the Toyota brand quality has actually improved over the past decade, measured by a decline in the rate of owner complaints. This occurred even as the number of vehicles the company recalled around the world skyrocketed in that time.
(What did I say ? jd power was BRIBED. How can they say toyotas improved when RECALLS are SKYROCKETING ?!!) Its like saying your CANCER IMPROVED even if the tumours are getting BIGGER. Nonsensical eh ?)
The non-family executives acknowledge they made some mistakes. One says a LARGE number of INEXPERIENCED contract engineers hired from outside agencies -- an effort to SAVE MONEY as they tried to boost engineering capacity --led to at least some of the increase in quality glitches. (So guys, some of yr toyotas are designed by ROOKIES because toyota, already so rich, tried to save even more )
But the non-family managers blame Mr Toyoda's management style -- both external and internal -- as much as anything for letting the defects turn from a fixable problem into a full crisis. Mr Toyoda's in-house detractors say the president has created an informal team of loyalists, making it tough for managers trying to communicate through the formal channels. One non-family manager says the current executive structure operates like a "shadow management team," doubling up information and management.
My God, these guys are still in power, bickering among themselves, do you think superb quality will come out from their factories run by people like these cartoons ?
Comments
Some of the metal may not be available - "the strength of the Japanese yen making it unprofitable for Toyota to export some of its fuel-efficient vehicles to the U.S".
Yen's Strength Makes It Unprofitable for Toyota to Export Yaris and Corolla to U.S. (Green Car Advisor)
Sorry, my post wasn't very clear, what I meant was that VW/Audi was among the first to emply the brake-throttle override, yet complaints rates are still highest.
Strange.
Last trip to Florida we shopped for a van, a Grand Caravan was $300 or so and a Sienna was (gulp!) over $600! No thanks!
We ended up getting an E-series Ford van that took all 14 of us. The trip before that we had an Accord, though. Nowadays there's much more variety.
Miss Jean 3 minutes ago:
I love my Buick Enclave and am willing to have the seat belts rechecked. The reason I bought American was because my LEXUS RX350 YR 2008 (SUV) NEARLY killed me and my two grandchildren in March. I was attempting to pull out of my daughter's driveway with the babies in the backseat in their baby seats and as soon as I started the car and put it into reverse it bolted backwards out of her driveway like a missile. The engine was roaring like a construction vehicle it was so loud. I had a whole neighborhood of witnesses plus workmen outside to watch the whole event happening. I knew exactly what was happening at the time so I tried to put the car in neutral but with driving backwards and holding onto the steering wheel with both hands,I pushed through neutral by mistake because everything was happening so fast and slipped into drive. I was at this point going down my daughters driveway heading for her house. I decided to go onto the grass to buy myself some time but going so fast I decided to end this madness and kill my Lexus before it killed me and the babies. I headed for her neighbors tree and BAM it stopped. It must have been going 45 minutes an hr when I hit. Thank God no one was seriously hurt because of the muddy ground slowing me down a little and the way I hit the tree was the correct way. Toyota sent me a sloppy form letter (dates were wrong) basically telling me it certainly must have been my fault. They have a huge problem on their hands and I'm never going to stop telling people about what happened to me. Because of my calmness during this bizaarre experience I saved them the problem of adding 3 more people to their list of dead drivers due to faulty computers (which I think is the problem). Good luck those of you who continue to drive the Toyota products. They know what the problem is and this is a disgrace that they are continuing to blame the drivers or floor mats for the problem. Believe me, if it happens to you, you will believe.
To shift out of park there is a park-brake interlock, so her foot would have to have been on the brakes. Doesn't add up.
The brake interlock was added after the Audi UA crisis, ironically.
Not possible - it's a stepped shifter and it stops at N when you try to go from R to D.
Edit to add image:
http://a904.g.akamai.net/7/904/506/v0011/www.autobytel.com/images/2007/Lexus/RX3- 50/400/07_Lexus_RX350_15.jpg
1. The park-brake interlock broke.
2. Then the brakes broke.
3. Then the throttle broke.
4. Then the gated shifter broke.
5. Then the shifter detent broke.
6. Then the Lexus broke.
7. Then the tree broke.
Either all that is true, or Grandma just can't drive. My money's on the latter.
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/vehicle-pictures/2002/toyota/camry/0757-087-- gear-shifter-center-console-480.jpg
She's still have to change the part about it jumping off suddenly in reverse, though, because of the park-brake interlock.
Stories like this crack me up.
Even funnier is that some people believe them.
I bet there's a cellphone or a bowl of food mssing from that story, too.
My favorite part is how she AIMED for the tree, on purpose, with 2 grandkids in the car.
Busy today.
By how their vehicles don't seem to be operating correctly or safely. No need to muddle the info. up with the media's input. Another in a long list of malfunctioning toyota ECU propulsion nightmares to add to the growing pile.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2011 Mercedes-Benz R350 Cruise's Unintended Acceleration (Edmunds CarPool)
Looks like the shoe fits here.
Interesting read, and these poor toyota customers even have to fight for months to get free replacements, because initially, as usual, toyota Philippines must have argued that its DRIVER ERROR :
http://tsikot.yehey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67724
"....Here in Tsikot, there are already a lot of owners who do experience this
problem not just once but twice or three times during the warranty period. But
some like me have shoulder the cost of replacing it because I'm not aware that
this is due to faulty design and components.
Then after less than 9 months, the gas tank again warped on the same spot. This
time I already knew that this is a real defect from components and negative
pressure build up is flipping my gas tank floor inward, I tried opening the gas
filler cap and instantaneously a loud flipping sound of metal from the gas tank
could be heard. This explains the cracks and fuel leak, the constant flipping
out and flipping in of gas tank floor weakens the cornered portion of the gas
tank just beneath the front strap.
Here's the picture of my second gas tank, claimed under warranty that took me
around 2 months to battle my claims with TMP. See how deep the the dent on the
gas tank floor due to negative pressure. Together with replacing my gas tank,
TMP also replaced my Charcoal Canister assembly and Filler Cap. I'm still hoping
it won't happen again
Picture of warped gas tank showing how large is the dent due to negative
pressure.
Other owners who experienced this, just show up and be counted, and to other
owners who will experience this and your unit is still under warranty, be firm
to claim it under warranty as this is really due to faulty components.
To the moderators, please have this thread sticky to warn others and to let them
know that they should claim it under warranty.
__________________
Toyota Innova Club - Philippines...."
"....i had this problem also. just after my PMS and when Im about to start my
car I smelled gasoline. I look underneath to check if that smell is comming from
my car, lo and behold! my gas tank is leaking. I told TPT that i brought my unit
for PMS and after being serviced nabutas yung tank!!! I have no choice but to
leave my unit sa TPT.
The next afternoon nakuha ko na sya. thet replaced the
canister, cap and the tank. Buti na lang at under warranty! and I need not argue
my case with TPT. hopefully di na ito maulit. Imagine the gas tank costs around
20K! ...."
http://tsikot.yehey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67724&page=5
"....Surely it is not from the E10 blend. It was the negative pressure build up
on the tank when the engine is running which causes the deformation on the tank
floor (sucking the floor inward), and when the engine is off the negative
pressure is then released slowly and the the tank floor flips back to its
original position. Constant bending and flipping of the tank floor would result
to permanent huge dent plus crack on the cornered bends just beneath the tank
"front" support strap. The huge dent and crack would always be visible beneath
the front support strap.
The problematic leak area is uniform to every cases I have known and seen, and
this is suppose to be a serious matter that Toyota should consider and have
disclose.
I have spent the effort to put skid plates on the gas tank to prove that the
dent was not due to accident but rather a faulty fuel system which should be
covered by warranty but still I battle my claim that took more than a month
before they replace my 2nd gas tank plus charcoal canister and filler cap...."
Trust me guys, a leopard will NOT change its SPOTS. And pity those toyota customers in the less developed countries, where the media and government is even more scared of toyota. The cost cutting is even more brutal there.
Right ? Still want to buy from the ULTIMATE COST CUTTER ? Go on. But bear the ultimate consequences in the future !!
You have been warned !!
" I knew exactly what was happening at the time so I tried to put the car in neutral but with driving backwards and holding onto the steering wheel with both hands,I pushed through neutral by mistake because everything was happening so fast and slipped into drive. I was at this point going down my daughters driveway heading for her house."
How do you hold on the wheel with both hands AND shift at the same time?
I have often wished I'd had a 3rd hand.
John
The arrogance is astounding.
Maybe it just needs some fins.
Never, domestic cars are perfect and have never been recalled, never, not once!
Anything you think was faulty is clearly a PR campaign by Toyota and other imports to gain market share.
The quarter million bad seat belts? Probably from a Toyota supplier.
The engine fires in the ol' Iron Duke? A bigger oil filter was a genius solution. I bet the old small filter was sourced from Japan. A-ha!
Side saddle gas tanks? Dateline rigged the explosion. The hundreds of deaths are driver error AND/OR those gas tanks were surplus tanks from the Toyota Innova, clearly!
Ford Pinto rear bumper explosions? Obviously caused by being rear ended by suddenly accelerating Toyotas, every single one!
Ford/Firestone fiasco? Let's see if Fireston re-badged tires from Kumho or Sumitomo, must be Asian tires.
Let's blame Toyota for everything! C'mon, it's fun!
Global warming - I mean, all those cars coming on ships from Japan, imagine all the energy wasted. GW is their fault, too!
Whales near extinction? Toyota boats ran them over. Must be!
Today's Headline:
Plastic surgeon was texting in car before fatal crash
How do we know he wasn't driving a Camry? Prolly was.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/celebrity.news.gossip/08/18/plastic.surgeon.text- - ing.ppl/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn
Story doesn't say what car he was driving, therefore we can conclude with 100% certainty that it was a Toyota and their PR machine is covering it up! They even faked the texting on his phone bill!
You have been warned !!
Toyota is evil, everything they do is bad, and everything bad is their fault! It's true! I read it on the internets!!!111!11!1!1eleven!!!
Clearly Toyota invented a time machine, and went forward to the future, where they saw the Cadillac ad, then went back and copied GM! Remember, Toyota = Evil!
Any who, that CTS wagon is HAWT. I'll take mine with the leather dash, please. Will there be a CTS-V wagon? I've only read about the sedan and the coupe so far.
At last, you understand what toyota has done through the years. Finally....
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Anything anyone ELSE does that is bad, is indirectly Toyota's fault!
Even being overweight is Toyota's fault.
Our Sienna has dual A/C, that means 2 evaporators. That dries the interior, dehydrates my body, and increases my appetite.
Toyota added 20 pounds to my waist!
Don't get me started on food and water shortage, World Hunger, etc. Clearly Toyota's fault, too.
And it's about time! (LOL). They and Honda have absolutely walked between the raindrops, courtesy of most media, for a couple of decades right up until this year.
Detroit big recall: page one
Japan big recall: section C, page 13!
Well OK, exaggeration is courtesy of me, but I've seen it again and again over the years.
Some mags, like C&D, seem to be in love with Honda and BMW, or certain brands, and tend to favor those. And of course there's that senior writer (forget the name right now) who loves all things Mercedes and Subaru. I'm sure there are just as many Mopar, GM, or Ford fans.
But the domestics still play on home turf. Look at how UA nearly killed Audi, yet GM's side saddle gas tanks killed many more people yet GM had Dateline apologizing to them.
There's definitely a home-field advantage. Some may even argue that with the Fed owning a chunk of GM and Chrysler, a conflict of interest, even.
Steering Recall affects 1.3 million Rental cars
or this
1.4 million more recalled due to engine fires
Selective reporting for sure.
In recent Toyota cases, I think it's because they are already under the microscope. So any little (even alleged) problem and the media is all over them. That's how Sikes was front page news.
As for Car & Driver, they never really liked Toyotas. I recall a letter to the Editor that mentioned not a single Toyota made their 10Best list, year after year. They sell appliances, while car mags like enthusiast cars.
Must be a Toyota part.
>Anything anyone ELSE does that is bad, is indirectly Toyota's fault!
Does your van have runaway acceleration.
Here's another example that toyota is selling all those deceptive pedal cars to people too old to drive them:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/crime/car-crashes-into-panera-bread-restaura- nt-866648.html
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
You catch on fast.
There was this one time when I was texting, shaving, reading AARP monthly, and eating a sandwich while driving, all at the same time, but I'm sure it was UA that caused that fender bender, and not my fault. :P
"Car plows through apt building in Burlington"
The woman, who was coming home from shopping, accidentally hit the accelerator while parking, and the front of her car went right through the apartment building on Baron Park Lane.
Aw snap! no UA here... :sick:
The driver apparently hit the gas instead of the break
"Car slams into crowded CVS in Chelmsford"
The fire captain said the driver was calm, and claimed the car accelerated forward.
Authorities said that according to early reports, it appeared the gas pedal was pushed as the back tires did not spin.
But, but, but!!! What about?
Mitsubishi Raider (by Toyota)
Ford Focus (by Toyota)
Infiniti G35 (by Toyota)
Even Toyotas that they don't make anymore!
(plymouth Acclaim by Toyota)a>
And more, and more, and more
:shades:
Still Toyota's fault.
I've had the repair already. It was quick and painless.
Drives itself off the road, sending me off a cliff? I think you're thinking about that Lexus story.
So now the conflict of interest will only be half as bad as before.
I would respectfully ask if you're kidding here. Look at Cash For Clunkers. The Japanese brands cleaned the Big Three's clocks...even "Government Motors".
C4C simply required more fuel efficient vehicles than whatever you traded.
Domestics were at a disadvantage because they focus on large trucks, SUVs, and medium/large sedans.
Most of the cars that were eligible were smaller and more fuel efficient, and guess who makes those?
That's changing - look at the Direct Injection 4 cylinder Chevy Equinox, for instance.
Plus, wasn't it Ford that sold the most under C4C? To be honet I don't recall.
Any how, people voted with their wallets.
Drives itself off the road, sending me off a cliff? I think you're thinking about that Lexus story.
Now I posted a smiley with that but it didn't come out...
I DO hope you didn't take that seriously.
Couldn't say about the Lexus. Never owned one.
First, cut costs to the bone, so that profit is maximized. Then use just a small part of the cash flow to bribe and collaborate with organizations like NHTSA so that reports of problems and recalls are covered up or delayed. At the same time " work together " with jd power ,cr etc so that they will always get the top rankings in their published result. Also pay-off victims to keep them quiet.
Thus no wonder why with all the cover-ups and padded favourable ratings from medias like jd power / cr, more and more people are convinced that only toyota make the best stuff and the others including the domestics make junks (Wonder why if this is so, why is it that the Chinese decided to buy much more American and German cars than toyotas, could the Chinese be one of the dumbest group of car consumers in the world ?)
And as more Americans keep buying more toyotas because they are impressed that toyota did so well in the rankings, so it must be true, never mind that jd power, cr is not God but a group of people who can be bought off like NHTSA. toyota get more money, and thus have even more ammunition to buy off the media, jd power, NHTSA, and so on.
Draw the circle and you will realize that its indeed a virtuous circle that have helped them for quite sometime. No wonder many people thought that other automakers like Nissan, Hyundai, the domestics etc are nothing compared to toyota.
Unfortunately, toyota got too greedy, and today, even their massive wealth can no longer cover up the fact that AT BEST, their cars are similar to other car makers. But I don't think so. Their cars are below average. And I don't care for what jd power and cr says because if toyota can be bed mates with NHTSA, what makes one think that they can't do the same with jd power and cr ?
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/toyota-crisis-exposes-internal-feu- d/story-e6frg90x-1225853591238
"...Mr Toyoda and his allies have been saying openly that when he took the top job last year after a 15-year hiatus for the Toyoda clan, he inherited a company weakened by non-family predecessors who SACRIFICED QUALITY for faster growth and FATTER MARGINS.
(Hey folks, here is it toyoda himself ADMITTED that toyota SACRIFICED QUALITY FOR MONEY but here in this forum many toyota fans tried so hard to persuade us all that toyota is still the best. HOW FUNNY !!! I mean akio toyoda himself said so and yet....Makes me laugh !!!) Read on....
The problems arose when "some people just got too big-headed and FOCUSED TOO EXCESSIVELY on PROFIT," Mr Toyoda said at a Beijing news conference in March. He acknowledged the "ultimate responsibility for mistakes... lies in me".
(Yea, he may be more honest than the other toyota big wigs, but someone pointed out that when the cash is big and those big cases did not yet appear, akio toyoda himself kept quiet. So he is not guilt free either. Its like those Germans who did nothing to stop the [non-permissible content removed] when they are scoring victories in Europe and committing atrocities, and after the war said they are against [non-permissible content removed]. Strange eh ?)
A week earlier, Jim Press -- once the top Toyota executive in the US before he jumped to a rival automaker -- issued a statement declaring: "The ROOT CAUSE of their problems is that the company was hijacked, some years ago, by anti-family, FINANCIALLY ORIENTED PIRATES."
Privately, the non-family managers have been waging their own campaign within the Toyota group. They say Mr Toyoda NEVER publicly opposed their profit-growth strategy when the company was widely praised for making BIG money and surpassing General Motors to become the world's No.1 carmaker. (A Ha ! Like I said, akio toyoda himself is not guilt free)
They say Toyota's current troubles are LESS a quality crisis and more a management and public-relations crisis of Mr Toyoda's making, reflecting their longstanding warnings that he wasn't ready to run a global corporation. (So, according to these toyota big wigs, those toyota car troubles are not really engineering troubles, they are a PR crisis !!! What kind of people these guys are ?)
"Is Akio ducking criticism of being a beneficiary of nepotism by accusing us and trying to justify his ascendancy to the top job?" one of Mr Watanabe's top aides said. "One of our biggest social responsibilities is to generate profits and pay taxes. To criticise the company's effort to maximise profits and thus taxes is just complete nonsense." (Now you know why toyota landed where it is today, according to honourable watanabe, they must earn more and more money and pay more and more taxes, and that consumer safety and product quality comes after that !)
Hiroshi Okuda, a non-family president who ran the company from 1995 through 1999, has told at least two associates since the recalls of cars involved in sudden acceleration incidents earlier this year: "Akio needs to go." The 77-year-old remains a key company adviser even though he gave up his board seat last year. Toyota declined to make Mr Okuda available for comment. The Toyota spokeswoman declined to comment.
(So this toyota big wig is not only greedy but CALLOUS and UNGRATEFUL !! If not for akio's father who promoted him, WHERE WILL HE BE TODAY ? Maybe he will be a bum on the street with a tin cup. Yet he has the guts to call for akio's RESIGNATION ! This, folks, is the kind of people running toyota for a long time. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you !!! And he remains a key advisor till today folks ! Talk about buying cars run by these kind of people !!!)
"....As part of his strategy, Mr Okuda sought to diminish the family's role. According to executives close to him, Mr Okuda said founding-family dominance was an outdated concept -- especially when the family controlled less than 2 per cent of the stock in the publicly traded company.
At the peak of his power, Mr Okuda publicly was frank about that belief. "The Toyoda family will eventually become a 'shrine' to the company's foundation, to which we will pay respect once a year," he told The Wall Street Journal in a 2000 interview.
Asked then about future prospects for Mr Toyoda, then a 43-year-old general manager, Mr Okuda said: "Nepotism just doesn't belong in our future." He elaborated: "Akio-class talents are rolling around all over Toyota, like so many potatoes." (How disrespectful ! Not matter what, again, if not for akio's ancestors, where will HE be TODAY ? toyota's founders must be turning in their graves today for promoting this guy)
At the time, Mr Toyoda seemed to have been sidelined. When he was assigned to lead Toyota's Chinese operations in 2001, China was still a backwater in Toyota's global strategy. Mr Okuda, by then Toyota chairman, likened the job to "MOPPING THE FLOORS" -- a safe place for grooming a scion with more ambition than experience, according to a separate Journal interview in 2003.
Two separate surveys conducted by J.D. Power & Associates show the Toyota brand quality has actually improved over the past decade, measured by a decline in the rate of owner complaints. This occurred even as the number of vehicles the company recalled around the world skyrocketed in that time.
(What did I say ? jd power was BRIBED. How can they say toyotas improved when RECALLS are SKYROCKETING ?!!) Its like saying your CANCER IMPROVED even if the tumours are getting BIGGER. Nonsensical eh ?)
The non-family executives acknowledge they made some mistakes. One says a LARGE number of INEXPERIENCED contract engineers hired from outside agencies -- an effort to SAVE MONEY as they tried to boost engineering capacity --led to at least some of the increase in quality glitches. (So guys, some of yr toyotas are designed by ROOKIES because toyota, already so rich, tried to save even more )
But the non-family managers blame Mr Toyoda's management style -- both external and internal -- as much as anything for letting the defects turn from a fixable problem into a full crisis. Mr Toyoda's in-house detractors say the president has created an informal team of loyalists, making it tough for managers trying to communicate through the formal channels. One non-family manager says the current executive structure operates like a "shadow management team," doubling up information and management.
My God, these guys are still in power, bickering among themselves, do you think superb quality will come out from their factories run by people like these cartoons ?