Toyota UA-LAC

[Grant Lenahan]

ok, so tun off the key.


On Jan 27, 2010, at 12:33 PM, john at westcoastgarage.net wrote:

> pdooley wrote:
>> I don't doubt the pedals are sticking, but I am wondering why the drivers
>> don't just hit the brakes?
>> I know for a fact that the engine in my wife's 09 toyota will not overpower
>> the brakes.
>> 
>> 
> 
> One of the accidents involved a CHP officer and his family.  In fact, 
> that's what finally brought the whole mess to the front pages.  From 
> what I've read, it appears he flat out cooked the brakes in the Lexus 
> loaner in which he was "along for the ride" to his death.  German cars, 
> for sure, and  (I think) many DBW US cars, have a system whereby the 
> accelerator is rendered inoperative when the brakes are firmly applied.  
> Makes it difficult to bed in brake pads and rotors using traditional 
> techniques.  Toyota, and possibly other Asian manufacturers, chose not 
> to implement this feature in their software.   The pennies per car saved 
> by cheaping out on the software?  Maybe there were potential royalties 
> involved?  Arrogance regarding their media encouraged aura of 
> infallibility?   The NY Times, some car oriented publications, the 
> broadcast media, and loads of "consumerist" online and print sites 
> considered Toyota  the company that could do no wrong, the warm and 
> fuzzy one, the one whose cars eventually decompose and morph into a 
> friendly flowery meadow, the pinnacle of automotive environmentalism. 
> This despite the fact that Toyota's big engines and big vehicles 
> constitute a HUGE profit center, making up for the massive losses 
> incurred with the sale of each and every hybrid, while getting the 
> poorest fuel economy of anything in their class.  Remember, if you tell 
> people something loud enough and long enough, most will believe what 
> you're saying.  Think about it;  Many of the people right here believe 
> XXXX FLAPS "has the right part at the right price", despite the fact 
> that's patently false.  After all, they can't ALL fill that slot in the 
> price hierarchy.  As for the other thoughts presented in this thread, 
> think about it Toyota IS NOT coming right out and dealing with it.  
> They've futzed around with this for about TWO years, and possibly a lot 
> longer.  Most techs I know have dismissed the "carpet in the pedals" as 
> the crock it really is.  As for the sticking throttle, I firmly believe, 
> and never surface in the media, that they have a massive (and VERY 
> scary) software problem, compounded by Toyota's "taking a chance" by 
> choosing to forgo the "failsafe" used by European manufacturers.  This 
> is clearly covered by the now common phrase; "What were they thinking?"  
> Their spokesperson is now in the unenviable position of the US president 
> talking on the phone to the Russian premier in Dr. Strangelove 
> ..................  "Dimitry .............?".
> 
> John
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