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My next job was designing computer control systems for the lumber industry. All of the operator control panels had an E-STOP button with control circuitry independent of the computer controls.
"..can be rather cheap.."
And pretty DAMN intrusive...!!
Lean over slightly to turn and check the rear attached rototiller and the engine shuts off. Bump the cutting blade drive engagement lever with your right knee and the engine shuts off.....
Find me a lawn mower or garden tractor with these "safties" still intact and I'll award you $10 but you pay me $100 for every one that isn't.
I understand completely about what you mean about the sensitivity of some safety features like the dead man shutoffs. Can that be adjusted to be less sensitive to your moving weight on it?
However, I was reared in farm country and live in an area where we're surrounded by real farms. The number of farmers who were maimed or died when they fell off their tractor as the equipment behind them ran over them was unnecessarily high. I realize that most of them did something that I would never have done in the way of being safe. But sometimes the auto shutoffs would have helped.
And almost yearly we have someone using their minitractor to mow their "estate" and they fall off and the thing maims or kills them.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
For me, cotton farming in the Mississippi river low lands in NE AR. My dad farmed with mules, never transitioned to tractors. In the early 50's a run-a-way mule team spooked by thunder put an end to his farming days.
The local SW Florida Toyota dealer beat them to it with messages on Tv that they have 300 new vehicles certified fixed. WOW. What happened to customers first.
Plenty of information to come out of Europe early this week as the tabloid press are far more willing to get into Toyota and pushe for the truth.No one over in Europe is happy with Toyotas piece of metal fix.
Punctuation, spelling and grammar are your friends. Rely on them.
2011 Hyundai Sonata
It depends where you put them. I've never put a parking brake on, unless I meant to put a parking brake on. I don't know anyone who ever has accidentally applied one while driving. Put a mechanical E-Stop down on the floor where the parking brakes used to be.
I think they farm a lot of catfish up that way, now...
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Unable to confirm validity of these statements. Can't find any other information on this so far. Hope these statement are incorrect.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fi-toyota-congress7-2010feb07,0,- 2932068.story?page=2
As to inadequate memory preventing a brake override install on some vehicles, could be. But how many cars? Which models? Why write about such stuff without providing relevant information? Maybe it applies only to vehicles 10 years old. Shame on the LA Times.
Missing from all of these articles is specific information identifying the cause of UA, its frequency, or any effort to separate incidents of human error from defective parts.
And still missing is any evidence that the gas pedal assembly has caused a single accident. European authorities had reports of 26 sluggish or sticking pedals (out of how many cars?) but not one accident resulted.
This problem appears to be less dangerous, probably far less dangerous, than driving while talking on a cell phone. We need to get a little perspective.
Sorry to hear that.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Yes, agree news report too vague. No actual facts mentioned.
I don't think there's a lot of confidence in Toyota's supposed fix actually addresses the true cause of the UA and brake issues that have been widely reported.
It's going to take more than just a simple apology. I think something more tangible is needed here...perhaps substantially extending their warranties. But, that's something they don't seem to be willing to do, at least not yet. I don't see anyway around that, though.
In every newspaper I've looked at, Toyota's woes are on the front page, almost daily. Every news broadcast I've seen has at least one blurb on Toyota's issues. Not only do they have a safety and quality problem (probably the worst possible problem to have for any car manufacturer....that their cars aren't safe), they also have a perception problem.
It's going to take a good long while, much longer than it takes to fix their cars to overcome the perception problem.
Resale values of recalled vehicles drop amid worries
Many Toyota owners who are trying to sell their cars may have to drop their asking prices.
Resale values for Toyotas that have been recalled fell by as much as 3% this week, or about $450 on a car valued at $15,000, according to Kelley Blue Book. They could fall further next week if Toyota's quality issues stay in the news.
And they likely will.
Next week, Toyota is slated to testify before a congressional committee about the automaker's massive recalls. The federal government also continues to investigate brake issues in the 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid.
Meanwhile, owners of models that Toyota has told its dealers to stop selling, such as the popular Camry, are finding it tough to attract buyers.
Todd Oakley, 46, of Jackson, who is trying to sell a 2007 Camry, said he is waiting for the controversy to blow over.
"We'll still try to sell it," he said. "I'm sure it will take a little extra time."
Selling a recalled Toyota
Tony Schepis sees a challenging task in his future: selling a recalled Toyota.
"I think it's going to be impossible," said Schepis, who owns Schep's Garage in Lansing, where he often sells vehicles for his customers.
A few inquirers of the green 2009 Toyota Corolla stopped calling after Toyota stopped selling and making eight recalled models last week, including the Corolla.
"It's been absolutely quiet," said Schepis. "People have backed right off. I think they're waiting to see what's going to come of this."
I'm considerably less sure about that than you. Unfortunately, Toyota doesn't have the answers either. The media and public demand that they fix a problem that, so far, remains unidentified, or even accurately quantified. So, they're now going about fixing anything that looks even possibly defective, hoping they get lucky.
I doubt the gesture would accomplish much. People are easily frightened. Nothing short of an end to the reported incidents will likely calm the waters. Publicity alone, though, will generate more reports of problems, whether from jumpy people or real defects we won't know for a long time.
Yes, it is going to take more than an apology. But absent knowing the cause of the problem, they're in a tough bind.
What? Did someone else post that, too?
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They really need to retrofit the 'smart throttle' technology to all their 'DBW' vehicles.
That's just my own opinion, of course.
Since Ford's 2008 NHTSA complaint ratio was roughly double their market share, what are they doing different than Toyota? Are they ignoring, or "blowing off" in your words, the complaints or are they simply stumped, like Toyota?
They need to add the 'fail safe' to their 'DBW' vehicles.
'DBW' is here to stay, has a lot of benefits, and costs less (fewer actual parts).
Some new stories indicate Toyota is moving in that direction. Good, imo.
I was initially annoyed when confronted with a brake interlock system on a new car I bought, but I understood why it was there.
I do image you'll be on the road for a while so make sure you stock up on food/drinks for your drive (though healthy food/drinks, you don't want a heart attack or stroke while you drive). Also make sure you aren't following too closely to the car in front of you, as when your Camry gets a case of "UA" you won't be able to shift into neutral (why, that's what all the "experts" are saying, and by experts I mean the internet folk) so you'll need the room to shut off your car and get on the brakes. Maybe though the car won't allow you to turn off the ignition, darn electronics!!!! NOW WHAT?????
Jeez, after thinking about this maybe it isn't such a good idea to do this. Best to stay indoors, make sure though you stay away from the part of your house by a road, don't want a Toyota with "UA" flying through the home hitting you. If you do go out doors make sure you have a cell phone in case you see a case of "UA". Well, maybe not, as cell phone's may cause brain cancer, just stay inside, in a basement if possible. Though make sure you have a radon detector, as radon can cause lung cancer. Also make sure you don't use the computer too much, you don't want to develop carpal tunnel syndrome. Avoid porn sites, you don't want to end up like Tiger W do you?
If your going to be in your basement until Toyota corrects the "UA" problem make sure you have good lightning, you want to avoid eye strain. If you use those newer Cfl bulbs bulbs be sure to be careful with them. They have a small amount of mercury, if you break one you may become exposed to the mercury, which isn't good for your health. Stay safe Revit, dangerous world with Toyota out there!
if i am getting ready to drive a toyota that fell under the recall, or whatever you want to call it, wouldn't it be great to know the fix was applied?
if they are going to reprogram the computers, how about including something that lets you know it has been applied?
in reality, i don't think that will work, since after a while it will just remind you that you are about to drive one of 'those' cars.
i apologize, i am making this up as i go along.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Stay safe revit. We are all awaiting your rerturn. Hope you made it thru the weekend, it's a dangerous world out there with all the runaway Toyotas out there. Be safe! Toyota is out to get you!
In the words of the director of automotive testing for Consumer Reports (to paraphrase) the incident of this problem is quite small relative to the number of cars Toyota makes.
When the NY Times reports 26 incidents of sluggish or sticky accelerator pedals in Europe (but no accidents) they provide only the numerator. We need the denominator to know what's going on. 26 out of what . . . . 10 thousand, 2 million? It makes a difference . . . . . to me anyway.
If you have an automatic transmission you MUST use the brakes to release the shifter from the park position. With a DBW failsafe the gas pedal will be inoperative if the brake is even lightly applied.
IMMHO it would be patently FOOLISH to use an already suspect engine/transaxle control ECU module and its embedded, even more "suspect" firmware, for implementing a throttle/brake failsafe.
An alternative implementation MUST be used to implement a truly relaible failsafe.
how can the next buyer of one of 'those' cars feel confident that the car they want to buy has had been 'fixed' with the ECU update?
there is no physical way to check.
>An alternative implementation MUST be used to implement a truly relaible failsafe.
I agree completely.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I figure if the driver's side mat is popriveted to the floor and the bottom third of the gas pedal is missing then the other thing was probably fixed too.
Go Saints
John
Will not the dealer provide paperwork when the fix is done? If it becomes an issue for buyers, sellers may find they have trouble selling if they haven't saved the receipt.
Bottom line, a dealer can access repair/warranty history with a VIN number.
Toyota set to recall Prius hybrid over brake failure
In a further humiliation for the company, the owners of 300,000 cars will be told that their brakes may fail on icy surfaces
Toyota is to order a humiliating global recall of the Prius — the hybrid electric car which has become the leader of the green motoring revolution.
In a deepening of the crisis at the world’s largest car manufacturer, Toyota will this week warn 300,000 Prius owners — 3,500 of them in the UK — that the brakes on their car may fail in icy conditions or on bumpy surfaces.
The news follows hard on last month’s recall of 8 million Toyotas over fears of accelerator pedal defects in several models. In Britain, the owners of 180,000 Toyotas have been told that their cars may have problems which lawyers in the US claim have led to 19 deaths.
Sources close to the company told The Times that the recall of the third generation Prius, launched last year, will happen within the next 72 hours.
I don't think this is the kind of Biggest Toyota had in mind. :sick:
I love my 2007 Avalon, but a reality check started with Toyota's lack of response to the VVTI oil line ruptures, and is continuing. Toyota has not, and will never, put their customer issues first.
Or is this just the beginning of Toyota's fall.
La Times report - remember I said I had not verified the acuracy of report.
As far as modifiying earlier models - development/engineering. This is what my son does for Porsche, BMW, Audi, Bentley, VW, etc. I am not the expert here, so you may be right if other changes must be made also.
http://www.lexusreports.com/blog/1037059_toyota-lexus-floor-mat-recall-update-co- nsumer-reports-tests-stuck-accelerators