"In Toyota lore, the ultimate symbol of the company’s attention to detail is the “andon cord,†a rope that workers on the assembly line can pull if something is wrong, immediately shutting down the entire line. The point is to fix a small problem before it becomes a larger one. But in the broadest sense, Toyota itself failed to pull the andon cord on this issue, and treated a growing safety issue as a minor glitch — a point the company’s executives are now acknowledging in a series of humbling apologies." It's not only a failure of equipment, it's a failure of Toyota's character.
It would be better if Toyota admitted not really knowing the root cause. First, it's the floor mats, now it's the CTS pedals but Lexus/Prius pedals are fine even when the 911 crash involved a Lexus, etc etc
That's because the car in the 911 crash had a truck floormat either installed by the previous owner or added by the dealer.
The San Diego Lexus crash is often portrayed as an unsolved mystery. Thanks for reminding us that, in this case, the mystery appears to have been solved. Details here and here, a picture here.
You think your first statement would be better? That would leave uncertainty in the minds of consumers and potential buyers. Also, what would they "fix" or alter? As for the "911 crash involved a Lexus", as mentioned by others, the wrong floor mat was installed. See Consumer Reports Cars Blog: More than floor mats: NHTSA report gives more details on Lexus crash and the NHTSA report at http://www.safetyresearch.net/Library/NHTSA_Santee_Inspect.pdf.
I'm waiting for Toyota to implement the software change that would ensure that a depressed brake pedal would reduce engine power - rather than allow the brake system to remain totally separate from the powertrain control system. That was earlier announced, but I haven't noticed any recent updates indicating when/if this would happen. It sounds like there are multiple issues: driver error, floor mats, sticking accelerator pedals, and (so far unadmitted by Toyota mgmt) the occasional electronic glitch. The software change mentioned above might serve as a band-aid to deal with the occasional glitches.
This, to me, is crux of the whole thing. There were all sorts of variables which makes it extremely difficult to pinpoint the underlying issue. I would not want a car company to make the statement, "there's a chance that there's something wrong with your car causing uncontrolled acceleration but we don't really know what it is so keep driving as usual and as soon as we figure it out we'll let you know." I can't imagine the backlash of something like that. And yet, it sounds as though that's what news people wanted them to do.
in the grand scheme of things a few things come to light; this would not be the first car i have owned that had a sticking accelerator (ya, i have owned a LOT of junkers!!) but, i had learned to cope with it due to familiarity, etc. in the san diego crash, the car was unfamiliar to the driver so that was not possible. the other thing i really fail to see is why the gas would override the brakes UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES... touching the brakes immediately disables CC, so why does it stop there? granted, not a computer whiz, (in fact, not even a computer w...) so not sure why a simple software decision added to current data flow is not already implemented. i am sure, with a major adjustment to the core purpose of the car (getting me there!) it is no doubt, more complicated than it would seem.
Toyota seems determined to wipe out three decades of good will created with the American consumer. If Toyota doesn't wake up fast and takes control of the situation, Toyota may LOSE a big percentage of the American car market. Toyota should already understand that most of it's buyers chose Toyotas simply because they're a SAFE pick. Toyota buyers aren't looking for excitement in the car - since a car is just an appliance to them that they don't want to have to worry about. Well, Toyota certainly seems determined to alienate it's core consumers with continuous worry. I bet Honda won't be able to keep up with the demand for Civics and Accords in the coming months.
i also missed this topic and maybe you also? and al lot of more people http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-h...give-new-all-weather-mats-13.html#post1052431 look at the video's.. and [/COLOR][/U]
Perhaps Toyota looked at the approx. 45,000 people that get killed on our roads here in the US of A every year and our ho hum response to the carnage, then formed its own ho hum response to a rare problem with Toyota vehicles.
Doesn't matter. The media frenzy has started and Toyota is behind the curve - and it will only get worse unless Toyota takes positve steps to repair their image. Hint. A SuperBowl Ad buy would be a smart move - with a big apology and a positive statement that Toyota will do everything in it's power and then some to take care of their customers
