Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Toyota Halts Sales of Popular Models - Accelerator Stuck Problem Recall

1…2627293132…69

Comments

  • tlongtlong Member Posts: 5,194
    If you have a 2005-2009 Camry, two Toyota engineers would like to speak with you. Meet them on I-10 outside Los Angeles and look for the red corporate Camry going 120mph!
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    But Denso US's parent company, NipponDenso

    I should have said not a high quality vendor. I was referring to the sub standard NAV audio system in my Sequoia built by Denso.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    This is no "captive" gps/nav system that isn't SUB-STANDARD.

    Market is far too competitive given the time it takes for a captive one to be adopted and brought to market.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    There are exceptions to all "rules".

    I stand by mine.
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,314
    Rocky..., is that really you? It seems like forever since I have seen you post.
    Glad to read one. :)
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • graphicguygraphicguy Member Posts: 13,665
    wwest...I can say emphatically that recent Denso electronics (particularly, audio and Nav electronics by Denso) are woeful....and well behind the current curve. let alone anything more recent).

    This is from personal experience with Denso units I've had in farily recent Cadillacs and other GM vehicles.
    2023 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring
  • carbuff1171carbuff1171 Member Posts: 77
    What I don't understand is why there is all this recognition that there are Lexus models with the exact same acceleration problem, yet they are not included in any recall and nobody is questioning it.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    If they include Lexus models that are made in Japan it will bring into question the Denso parts. I think Toyota is only doing what they have to do to please the NHTSA. They supposedly covered the Lexus with the Floor mat recall. I look for millions more vehicles to be recalled before it is all said and done.

    I had a message on my recorder today from the dealer I bought my 2007 Sequoia from. It said I needed to call and set up an appointment for the recall update on my vehicle. I have not seen the 2007 Sequoia on any recall list. I will call in the morning and get the scoop. Maybe they will fix my lousy NAV and tailgate struts that don't go all the way up.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    Sorry, I didn't mean to make any claims of denso quality, if anything the reverse is true.
  • jon219jon219 Member Posts: 5
    I, too, had received nothing from Toyota concerning my 2009 Avalon so I called my dealer in Westminster, MD and, when I requested it, they performed the accelerator pedal repair (installing the shim and "reshaping" the accelerator pedal by trimming off the corners on the bottom of the pedal). I was told by the dealer that the reflashing of the engine management computer firmware to install the brake override software would not take place until April at the earliest since Toyota had not yet approved the final fix.
  • graphicguygraphicguy Member Posts: 13,665
    gagrice....I suspect that Toyota is actually doing updates to their Lexus models under the radar, as best they can to try and keep the perception people have of them intact.

    One of my neighbors has an ES350 (unsure of the year, but it's no more than about 2 or 3 years old). Like you, he thought his vehicle was "OK", until he got a similar call from his dealership. They want him to bring it in for a free "upgrade" (whatever that is). The dealership is offering a free oil change as the enticement.

    At first, he thought it was a way to get him to come in to buy another vehicle. Until he calloed them and they said they wanted to install a software update. They wouldn't elaborate on it, though, at least not over the phone.

    I asked him if he would quizz them on what this "software update" does when he takes it in. So, we'll see what they tell him, if anything.
    2023 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring
  • carbuff1171carbuff1171 Member Posts: 77
    Actually I am not wondering why Toyota is not doing anything. I am wondering why with all the documented reports about Lexus models and all the attention on this problem, why it seems the investigations by government and the press are completely missing it. For example:
    Make: LEXUS Model: ES350 Year: 2008 Complaint Number: 10252860 Summary: ON NOVEMBER 5, 2008 I WAS DRIVING ON A FREEWAY IN MY 2008 LEXUS ES 350 WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ON. I GAVE THE CAR A LITTLE EXTRA GAS TO PASS ANOTHER CAR AND THE CAR JUST TOOK OFF. I TRIED TO DISENGAGE THE ACCELERATOR BY TRYING TO TURN OFF THE CRUISE CONTROL SWITCH AS WELL AS TAPPING ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, BUT IT WOULD NOT DISENGAGE. I TRIED TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE BY PUSHING THE KEYLESS IGNITION BUTTON, BUT IT WOULD NOT TURN OFF. I CHECKED THE FLOOR TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WASN'T ANYTHING ON THE ACCELERATOR, AND THERE WASN'T. I THEN PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL, BUT WHEN I DID THIS, THE ENGINE SOUNDED AS IF IT WERE GOING TO EXPLODE, SO I PUT IT BACK IN GEAR. BY THIS TIME, I WAS GOING WELL OVER 100 MPH. MY ONLY CHOICE WAS TO STAND ON THE BRAKES. WITHIN SECONDS, THE CAR WAS IN A CLOUD OF SMOKE COMING FROM THE 4 WHEELS/BRAKES. THE CAR BEGAN TO SLOW AS THANKFULLY THE BRAKES WERE STRONGER THAN THE ENGINE WHICH WAS GOING AT ITS MAXIMUM RPM'S. THE CAR WENT OVER A MILE BEFORE FINALLY COMING TO A STOP. I WAS THEN ABLE TO PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND STOP THE ENGINE. AFTER A FEW MOMENTS, WHEN I HAD CALMED DOWN A BIT, I STARTED THE ENGINE AGAIN AND IT IMMEDIATELY START RACING AT MAXIMUM RPM'S AGAIN, SO I SHUT IT OFF AND CALLED HENDRICK LEXUS. THEY SENT A TOW TRUCK TO TOW THE CAR IN. WHEN WE GOT TO THE DEALERSHIP, I TOLD THE SERVICE DIRECTOR THAT I WAS LUCKY THAT I WASN'T KILLED AND I DID NOT WANT TO EVER GET IN THAT CAR AGAIN. HE STATED THAT HE UNDERSTOOD THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE EVENT. LEXUS INVESTIGATED AND SAID THAT THERE MUST HAVE BEEN SOMETHING HEAVY ON THE ACCELERATOR. THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE. THE "EXPERTS" THAT LEXUS BROUGHT IN FROM OUT TO DO AN INVESTIGATION NEVER EVEN ACKNOWLEDGED THAT I WAS UNABLE TO DISENGAGE THE CRUISE CONTROL DURING THIS LIFE THREATENING SITUATION. AN INTERNET SEARCH HAS DETERMINED THAT THERE ARE MORE THAN 40 CASES OF "RUNAWAY ACCELERATOR" REPORTED TO THE NHTSA ON THE ES350, AND MANY OF THESE INCIDENTS HAVE RESULTED IN SERIOUS CRASHES AND PERSONAL INJURIES.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    The Denso NAV and audio units in the Jags and Rovers I have experience with have always been good.
  • popsavalonpopsavalon Member Posts: 231
    CB, is this a personal experience, or is there a website for this and other similar complaints? What does complaint #10252860 actually reference to?

    With all the smoke and mirrors from Toyota, it is very hard to discerne what the magnitude of their problem actually is. As posted earlier, the real problem is that Toyota will not admit that they have vehicle problems!
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    "..Denso...Jags and rovers...."

    I have often wondered who acquired Lucas.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    edited February 2010
    GM actually well Delphi.

    Most of the Lucas electrical components built through the 80s were actually just Delphi or GM parts with Lucas stamped on them. Some of those parts made it into the 90s and a few might have started in the late 70s. Those parts weren't really that bad either well at least the ones in the 80s to 90s the 70s were bad for anything electronic in an automobile.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    The Denso NAV and audio units in the Jags and Rovers I have experience with have always been good.

    Hopefully they are not the same units Toyota uses. Though with Jaguar and Rover having new owners I would not bet on it. The NAV looks good. They are good at identifying your location. The routing logic is horribly flawed. If that is Navteq, why do other cheap units give better directions? I will say that the BMW NAV I played with in an X5 was not even as good as mine. Makes me wonder if any OEM NAV is worth the money. Best Unit I have seen installed in a vehicle was a Pioneer. That was one slick voice activated NAV. And cost less than the OEM in my Sequoia.

    Just talked to the service people at Poway Toyota. No updates for my 2007 Sequoia. The service man told me they are just making blanket calls to customers. His first statement was let me set you up an appointment. I said is my car under recall. That is when he took about 5 minutes to find that it was not. So if I was just blindly following the dealers lead. I would be wasting over half a day, plus an 80 mile round trip. Better to dig deep and waste a long distance call than just follow blindly.
  • beachfish2beachfish2 Member Posts: 177
    "SO I PUT IT BACK IN GEAR. BY THIS TIME, I WAS GOING WELL OVER 100 MPH."

    Hold my beer and watch this...
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    My first thought would be if the engine blows up the dealer will blame me. I cannot believe how many here would rather blame the customer than Toyota. It says a lot about how far down we have come from the old adage "The Customer is Always Right".
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,150
    > the engine blows up the dealer will blame me. I cannot believe how many here would rather blame the customer than Toyota.

    This all started with the sludge problem that was always the customers' faults.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • mnfmnf Member Posts: 405
    Take the CAPS off please where are my eye drops.....
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited February 2010
    That was a cut and paste from the NHTSA, and that's the way they publish them.
  • PMOPMO Member Posts: 278
    The sensors will not allow it to over rev. This is a fact,try it.
  • dookie84dookie84 Member Posts: 33
    I haven't gotten any letters/notifications from Toyota either.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    That may not be easy to tell if it limits the engine to say 6500 RPM. And maybe the sensor went bad causing the problem. Sensors are probably the biggest money maker for dealers after the warranty is gone. And the Customer is the victim.
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,314
    as long as the sensors are working within their designed parameters.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165
    I haven't gotten any letters/notifications from Toyota either.

    Me neither, nor have I heard from the dealer. Pretty pathetic really. I'd be more plussed up if I thought these two issues really solved anything.
  • popsavalonpopsavalon Member Posts: 231
    B, I agree with you. I don't believe that either of the proposed "fixes" (grind the accelerator pedal or install the shim) will really fix UA. Based on previous posts, it now seems that the computer reflash for the brake override (the one worthwhile fix, in my opinion) will not happen until later this spring, if at all. Toyota is once again outmanuvering their customers with a smoke and mirrors approach to vehicle safety issues.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Mother of two victims of runaway Lexus crash to testify before Congress

    The mother of two victims of a runaway Lexus crash in Santee last year will appear before Congress Wednesday as lawmakers look at the federal government’s response to the recall of millions of Toyota vehicles.

    Fe Lastrella, the mother of Chris Lastrella and Cleofe Saylor, plans to travel from her home in Vallejo with her husband to testify in front of the House Oversight and Government Performance Committee, said family attorney Tim Pestotnik.

    Chris Lastrella, Cleofe and Mark Saylor, and their young daughter, Mahala, were killed Aug. 28 when the accelerator of the Lexus ES 350 sedan stuck in the open position. The car reached speeds between 112 and 150 mph before crashing, investigators said.

    The county Sheriff’s Department in December determined the crash was likely caused by a wrong-sized floor mat that entrapped the accelerator. The report concluded that other factors such as electrical, mechanical or computer glitches could not be ruled out because of the severity of damage to the car.

    The crash prompted the largest vehicle recall in U.S. history, the first of several issued by Toyota Motor Corp. Since November, the automaker has recalled 8.5 million vehicles worldwide.

    Pestotnik said the family plans to look at any factors that may have caused the fatal crash. He said the family doesn’t believe it is “prudent to rush to judgment” over the cause of the accident.

    “We are not about to give up and say, that because Toyota believes they have uncovered a problem that they’ve uncovered all the problems,” he said.

    http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/19/mother-two-victims-runaway-lexus-- crash-testify-con/
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    It makes no sense, basically, to install a BTO (Brake Throttle Override) within the firmware package which of itself may be the prime causative factor for UA.
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    edited February 2010
    I hope however this turns out, you'll at least get a "real fix" for your vehicle out of this debacle.

    Well I thankfully am not one of the screwed over customers of Toyota. I never drank the koolaid. My father was a GM worker and the UAW obtained inside knowledge of these hidden recalls more than a decade ago. Toyota kept them hidden in the 1990's even from the Japanese people until a couple of excutives were arrested.

    Thankfully our government woke up due to this pedal problem and started doing some investigating and perhaps some of those very old recalls on older makes and models will finally happen as you said. ;)

    -Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    That is absolutely correct, lemko!!! There is evidence. This whistle blower guy is going to fry their asses during the congressional meetings!!! He is playing the role of Jose Canseco. I guarantee you there were death threats if you said anything publicly. Will be interesting!!!! ;)

    -Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    But they could replace a known faulty steering system and you not know the difference!!! ;)

    -Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    Well that is where the money is made for a dealership. "Parts and Service" ;) The difference was after GM had the whole exploding gas tank thing blow up in there faces which cost them billions of dollars well they will basically recall a squeaky wiper. Toyota thought there skeletons would never make it out of the closet. ;)

    -Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    Thanks, bud!!!....Glad to see you too :) I have been back on edmunds for about a month or so now. Spend most of my time in the off-topic forum, inside line, and the GM Fans thread when I get on. ;)

    -Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    I recall "pardon the cliche" :P reading about that about a year ago but don't remember where I read it. I tried to search for it but all the recent recall stories bombard the search engine. :(

    -Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    Please be sure to update us on this story and I totally agree with you that Toyota, does not want this recall to sprinkle over into Lexus. However if they also have recalls not being fixed at the sake of saving a buck or face well that is plain wrong. :mad:

    -Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    I think that might be the article I read last year!!! Thanks for finding it!!! :)

    -Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    Hold my beer and watch this...

    LMAO!!! :D

    What isn't fair is Toyota owners can drive on our highways like it's the autobahn and not be ticketed!!!! :P

    -Rocky
  • carbuff1171carbuff1171 Member Posts: 77
    As Steve says, this was a copy and paste from NHTSA's website where there are many more such reports.
    http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    This all started with the sludge problem that was always the customers' faults.

    Right!!! ;) But these quality issues started way before that!!! :(

    -Rocky
  • graphicguygraphicguy Member Posts: 13,665
    So, sticking with the title of the thread, now that Toyota has resumed selling the recalled models, has anyone actually gone into a dealership to buy one? Or, given the drop in resale, and further potential recalls looming, are people staying out of Toyota dealerships?
    2023 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring
  • smarty666smarty666 Member Posts: 1,503
    the last two days when I went by my local Toyota dealer, they were busy a heck outside the showroom showing cars to a lot of people I guess interested so I don't know if that is a indication of anything but I've still seen a lot of people going in there despite all the recalls and problems!
  • graphicguygraphicguy Member Posts: 13,665
    smarty....just the opposite around here (SW OH). Toyota showrooms around here are deader than doornails. Service depts seem to be busy, though. I see lots of vehicles backed up to get into the service bays.

    Don't know if the service business turns into people wandering into the new car showroom though.
    2023 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring
  • graphicguygraphicguy Member Posts: 13,665
    edited February 2010
    My son just returned from the local Toyota dealership. He was shopping for a Scion. The local dealership merged the Scion and Toyota dealerships.

    While my son was interested in a new Tc, I advised him to hold off for another year or so to see how all of this plays out. Knowing him, he'll probably nix the Scion idea. Now, he's got his eye on a Civic Si, instead.

    He said he was the only person in the new car showroom. The good news is, they seem to have stocked up on used vehicles. And, there were some people in the used lot looking around.
    2023 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,150
    >just the opposite around here (SW OH). Toyota showrooms around here are deader than doornails. Service depts seem to be busy, though. I see lots of vehicles backed up to get into the service bays.

    I see humor in that after all these years of Honda and toyo owners talking about how their cars don't need service compared to the competition. Now their service bays are flooded and the showrooms are empty! :sick:

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • graphicguygraphicguy Member Posts: 13,665
    edited February 2010
    imid....my son was at the performance stores...with Honda and Toyota/Scion right next to each other.
    2023 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring
  • graphicguygraphicguy Member Posts: 13,665
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100221/ap_on_bi_ge/us_toyota_recall
    2023 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring
  • gizzer777gizzer777 Member Posts: 335
    I wonder why they waited until now to post this? looks like someone is going to take a fall
    Just saw it myself....
  • graphicguygraphicguy Member Posts: 13,665
    gizzer...I think that's the big complaint against Toyota.....they stalled, deflected, and hid safety problems in order to save money. In addition, it's now clear that those complaints against Toyota not reacting are legitimate. Until these documents were requested by Congress, I doubt Toyota would ever have let anyone know how they viewed their safety problems.....that is, the longer they could delay implementing safety related fixes, all the better, since it saved them millions of dollars.

    This is the first time I've seen the issues spread to the Lexus LS, as was stated in Toyota's memos. So, the fact that it's not only Toyota, but Lexus, too, and not only the Lexus ES, but LS, also....that tells me the problems are more wide spread than Toyota admitted initially.

    We haven't even seen the memos on the Prius/Lexus hybrids. Nor, the memos on the Corolla steering issues, Tacoma driveshafts, and V6 sludge problems, either. Those should be upcoming, and I'd bet all of the information is going to be "damning".
    2023 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring
Sign In or Register to comment.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles