Toyota recalls 6.4m cars

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/04/09/toyota-recalls/7497031/

It looks like the ones pertaining to North America are airbag clockspring failures totalling 1.67m in NA and seats that don't lock in place totalling 670k in NA.

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Toyota models affected by one or more of the defects include: RAV4, Corolla, Matrix/ Vibe, Trezia/Viz, Yaris, Highlander, Tacoma and Hilux pickups, Reiz, Fortuner, Innova, Land Cruiser Prado and Camry nameplates.
 
I am glad cars are not planes. I would never fly.

Seems there have been a ton lately.

I just saw one for 900,000 Odossey mini vans for fear of fire.

Such is life I suppose, with all the parts in a car there are bound to be problems and recalls.

It is my understanding that recalls are only required when it is a safety concern. Has nothing to do with poor design that do no affect safety like poor gaskets, engine slude, or sub par interior parts.
 
I'm glad cars aren't priced like planes. I can live with a few recalls for a few dollars saved.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
I'm glad cars aren't priced like planes. I can live with a few recalls for a few dollars saved.


Until you are one of the people who has to die to get anyone to notice...
 
Originally Posted By: supton
I'm glad cars aren't priced like planes. I can live with a few recalls for a few dollars saved.

No doubt. They also go through some serious testing.
 
Great, looks like my 05 Matrix is on the list and is one of the issues it suffers from. The airbag light comes on every now and then and the clock light fades in and out. Only 75k miles on it and original owner. Glad this will be covered.
 
Originally Posted By: racer12306
Originally Posted By: supton
I'm glad cars aren't priced like planes. I can live with a few recalls for a few dollars saved.


Until you are one of the people who has to die to get anyone to notice...


Sure. But that happens in planes too. Several years ago I watched a video on a plane crash in Florida, where the plane tipped over and flew straight into a marsh. In the end it was due to one of the plane retrofit companies. They removed a bunch of outdated O2 canisters from planes and then shipped them in the cargo hold. To save literally a penny per canister they omitted the installation of a plastic bit which would prevent any accidental turn-on of the O2 canister. While in flight, one turned on. These canisters make lots of heat, and it started a fire. Which then burned through the electrical wiring which ran though (above?) the cargo hold. Pilots abruptly lost control, plane flew straight into the ground.

No fire detector in the cargo hold. Wasn't required. I forget if it got required after this incident or not. The argument was, being in the cargo hold a fire would not sustain itself at altitude, no O2 to feed the fire.

How did they justify saving a the cost of a smoke detector on a plane???? Everything is built to a price point. People generally have to die in order for any regulation to change.
 
Originally Posted By: racer12306
Originally Posted By: supton
I'm glad cars aren't priced like planes. I can live with a few recalls for a few dollars saved.


Until you are one of the people who has to die to get anyone to notice...


Thankfully there haven't been any crashes or deaths tied to these recalls.

The last time my Highlander was recalled it was for a different clip to hold a trim piece on and different brake booster seals to maintain compatibility with third party brake fluid. These weren't necessary but the dealer visit was top notch and my car was washed free, and done pretty quickly. The idea these manufacturers have to wait for people to die and they only fix life threatening issues has certainly not been my experience with Toyota.

As to planes vs cars I doubt many could afford cars if they received the same scrutiny as airplanes. And it's not as though small airplanes are without their risks. As both are designed by humans even if there weren't cost and time constraints on design there would still be defects.
 
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I guess the airbag thing may kill with no fault to the driver. But this GM ignition switch thing seems way overblown.

My take is folks shouldn't be driving if they can't respond to the engine stalling, etc. Not to mention there is an easy work around, don't put 5# of crud on your key ring.

But like most things, it's get blown up in the "media" and internet echo chambers.

Originally Posted By: racer12306
Originally Posted By: supton
I'm glad cars aren't priced like planes. I can live with a few recalls for a few dollars saved.


Until you are one of the people who has to die to get anyone to notice...
 
While I agree about people should be able to respond to an engine stalling event and that you shouldn't put a ton of junk on your key ring.

However, wasn't the previous Toyota issue, that they were just fined over, all because people were killed while driving an uncontrollable car and Toyota was found to be ignoring it?
 
The standard that automakers get held to now is pretty amazingly high. I mean seriously... there's a Jeep recall for brake boosters that may eventually corrode and leak.. Not a critial braking system component, just the POWER BOOSTER which used to be entirely optional equipment. The car can still be stopped, just with more pedal effort. Recall-worthy? Seriously? No. Especially since most of them WON'T reach that level of corrosion in 20 years or more.

And the GM thing- wow. Ignition switches that may turn off being blamed for DEATHS? OK, if the steering wheel also locks, that's seriously bad- but I've never seen it stated that this is what happens. The engine just quits. I've had older cars where too many keys on the key-ring swinging back and forth would flip the ignition off! If a driver can't handle the engine shutting down safely, they shouldn't be driving. Because it DOES happen for all sorts of reasons. That used to be basic drivers' ed.- my instructor reached over and flipped the ignition off when I least expected it on at least one occasion.

I'm not saying its a bad thing to recall for minor things like this, but that standard of perfection is a big part of what makes cars cost more than houses used to cost.
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
The standard that automakers get held to now is pretty amazingly high. I mean seriously... there's a Jeep recall for brake boosters that may eventually corrode and leak.. Not a critial braking system component, just the POWER BOOSTER which used to be entirely optional equipment. The car can still be stopped, just with more pedal effort. Recall-worthy? Seriously? No. Especially since most of them WON'T reach that level of corrosion in 20 years or more.

And the GM thing- wow. Ignition switches that may turn off being blamed for DEATHS? OK, if the steering wheel also locks, that's seriously bad- but I've never seen it stated that this is what happens. The engine just quits. I've had older cars where too many keys on the key-ring swinging back and forth would flip the ignition off! If a driver can't handle the engine shutting down safely, they shouldn't be driving. Because it DOES happen for all sorts of reasons. That used to be basic drivers' ed.- my instructor reached over and flipped the ignition off when I least expected it on at least one occasion.

I'm not saying its a bad thing to recall for minor things like this, but that standard of perfection is a big part of what makes cars cost more than houses used to cost.



+1, Well said.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: racer12306
Originally Posted By: supton
I'm glad cars aren't priced like planes. I can live with a few recalls for a few dollars saved.


Until you are one of the people who has to die to get anyone to notice...


Sure. But that happens in planes too. Several years ago I watched a video on a plane crash in Florida, where the plane tipped over and flew straight into a marsh.


I remember that one well, as I was commuting to FLL fairly often at the time. The crash that ended Valu-Jet as a viable airline. And rightly so, it was much more than "a retrofit company" at fault. Negligence was rife top to bottom at Valu-Jet, including the fact that O2 generators were being improperly transported by the airline, and the intercom wasn't working and the FA had to open the cockpit door (allowing smoke to enter, probably disabling the pilots sooner than would have happened otherwise.)

Clear negligence is one thing, but an unreasonable expectation of perfection is also wrong. It causes drivers to fail to exercise normal precautions, and to be unprepared for statistically common emergencies like an engine stall or stuck throttle. A couple of generations of drivers now don't know what its like to have a car that might stall if you accelerate too quickly when its still cold. Or to drive without power brakes, let alone how to get to the side of the road safely without power brakes and power steering. And while I don't want those less reliable vehicles back, I do think that unrealistic expectations of perfect safety are also a very bad thing. New cars run out of gas. Belts break. Vacuum hoses crack. Drivers have to handle these events.
 
IMO - all good points that drivers should be prepared for the "what if" scenarios, engine shutting down being one of them.

That said, purely anecdotal, I've been the driver twice in a car that stalled, once going around a bend at about 50, the other stopped at a light. I didn't have any issues (injury) but it's not a situation I'd like to wonder about driving down the road either. If I had been further along in a commute, I may have found myself going 75+ mph in 3 - 4 lanes of traffic on a road that, IMO is dangerous to drive in the right lane due to entering and exiting strategies.

There are tons of roads (here at least - but I'm sure not just here) that other drivers would rather move past you as quickly as possible rather than allow you to exit from whatever lane you are in, regardless of what issues your vehicle is having.
 
Why GMs airbags dont work in ACC position is a mystery.Their key pattern is OFF-ACC-RUN-Start,not the old time ACC-OFF-RUN-Start,so when these switches get hit with a knee they go to ACC...engine wont run in ACC but lots of other things do..
 
What slays me is that they show commercials with all this "encased in ice" type testing and machines slamming doors and spy photos of the newest models being tested in Saudi Arabian heat....

YET!!!!!

I have a Camry that is turning musty !!!! (have plenty of knowledge on why so no need to reply on this issue)

A Camry with drain tube and pan design flaws.

Neighbor has a sludge machine.

An impala with a transmission that knowingly blows at around 50-80k

An impala that knowingly doesnt hold an allignemnt and for which they only called back the cop versions for eating the rear tires bare.

I GET IT!!!!

Ther are quirks to all machines and things that cannot be simulated but hey, alot of thesre ARE things that the testing I mentioned above WOULD catch using common sense.

SO many computers, virtual simulations etc. and they arent able to catch so much as a musty evaporator issue or a floor mat problem or a key that turns to easily (GM)

Today's news has reallllly disappointed me.
 
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I find it very interesting that not a single poster has sworn to never buy a Toyota like they did in the GM recall thread.
 
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