Toyota about to recall 4 million vehicles in US

[Yawesh]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091125/...ota_floor_mats

don't know if the newer model Yaris is affected. But i did read an article, where a California HP officer, off duty, was killed while driving a Lexus.

[127.0.0.1]

although the problem is: the driver not knowing how to shift
to neutral, and therefore getting out of control.....


toyota is admitting they built the accel pedal lip too close to the floor,
which does allow a mat to stick it to the floor

then
others have reported the problem occurs with NO floor mat. but NHTSA
has examined toyota drive-by-wire modules and they can find no electronic
pr programming faults

---
take everything with a grain of salt
---

toyota will re-engineer the accel pedal to have enough clearance at the bottom lip
to never get stuck on any floormat

plus put in an idiot box in new models to cut gas when the brake and accel is pressed at the same time

[YAR1S]

Why can people figure out that shifting it into neutral will get you out of this problem in some cars!! I know others you have to engage the brake but with our cars, you simply have to shift it out of D and into N.....

what a shame....

I think our accelerator is too close to the right middle column..... always feels like I dont have enough control of it with the limited contact.

[127.0.0.1]

Originally Posted by YAR1S

Why can people figure out that shifting it into neutral will get you out of this problem in some cars!! I know others you have to engage the brake but with our cars, you simply have to shift it out of D and into N.....

what a shame....

I think our accelerator is too close to the right middle column..... always feels like I dont have enough control of it with the limited contact.

all cars can be shifted into N from any drive position

if this fails

all cars can be shut off

if this fails

all cars have brakes that can overcome the engine


the failure is, in a panic mode, people still don't want to risk damage to
the car from over-revs, or burning out the brakes...or they just lock-up
the thought processes in a sheer panic and can't think.

automakers need to engineer 'around' human habits

[tomato]

Same thread in the off-topic section already:

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24221

[fmicle]

One of the features that I absolutely love about my Yaris is that the driver's carpet is held in place with 2 plastic hooks, so it can't move forward. I'm having a hard time removing it when I want to clean it actually

Besides, I have a manual transmission, so a jammed gas pedal doesn't scare me at all...

[tomato]

Manual transmission FTW !!

[eht13]

Originally Posted by Yawesh

don't know if the newer model Yaris is affected

No Yarii are affected.

"The models involved are: 2007 to 2010 MY (model year) Camry, 2005 to 2010 MY Avalon, 2004 to 2009 MY Prius, 2005 to 2010 MY Tacoma, 2007 to 2010 MY Tundra, 2007 to 2010 MY ES350, 2006 to 2010 MY IS250, and 2006 to 2010 MY IS 350."

http://abcnews.go.com/images/Blotter...aStatement.pdf

[nemelek]

I had an 04 Dodge Ram that had an out of park alarm recall. It was a simple 10 minute reflash proceedure. I always thought that it was a good was for Dodge to get people into their shop and hit them up for more service work. If 1/2 of the people have other service work preformed, the dealer will make money.

[EleKid]

I think Yarii aren't getting recalled because we don't use a sensor for our pedals right?

[IllusionX]

I drove a lexus, similar to the one involved in the accident.

The start button SHOULD stop the engine even in motion.
Park, neutral and reverse can be shifted into from D (drive) even in motion, and that, without having the step on the brakes. this is not new, it's been like this since forever.
Besides, the brakes always work, at no matter what speed you are going at. It's not like the brakes stops working in this kind of situations (often seen in movies, where there's always a bottle of water getting stuck behind the brake pedal!!! lmao)

Last... I seriously believe this is a really stupid prank someone tried to make up and ended up killing themselves.

The only possible cause for this i think is a failure of the throttle position sensor.

Oh.. i almost forgot. ALL toyota vehicles have their floor mats clipped, at least, on the driver's side, so they cannot move forward to get stuck behind the pedals since at least the 2000's.

[IllusionX]

Originally Posted by EleKid

I think Yarii aren't getting recalled because we don't use a sensor for our pedals right?

the yaris is drive by wire... I can't wait to see if the throttle sensor will eventually fail and hit some WOT without the interaction of the driver.

[supmet]

I agree its being blown out of proportion, but:

1)I believe the mats in question are plastic winter mats that don't clip in
2)The mats got stuck under the brake, on top of the gas, making braking hard, but as you said, not impossible.

My guess is all accidents were really caused by greasy fast food wrappers in between mats which lowered the friction, allowing them to slide around.

Oh and ya, shifting in to neutral will keep you from getting to 120, last time I checked.

My brothers old 93 camry had the cruise control fail and stick the throttle open.. it happens, and isn't the end of the world.

[markitect]

Originally Posted by IllusionX

The only possible cause for this i think is a failure of the throttle position sensor.

Or the person is stepping on the gas instead of the brake.

[MUSKOKA800]

Originally Posted by supmet

I agree its being blown out of proportion, but:

1)I believe the mats in question are plastic winter mats that don't clip in
2)The mats got stuck under the brake, on top of the gas, making braking hard, but as you said, not impossible.

My guess is all accidents were really caused by greasy fast food wrappers in between mats which lowered the friction, allowing them to slide around.

Oh and ya, shifting in to neutral will keep you from getting to 120, last time I checked.

My brothers old 93 camry had the cruise control fail and stick the throttle open.. it happens, and isn't the end of the world.

My OEM (Toyota Canada) winter mats do use the same plastic hooks to secure them in place. Of course, the summer mats must be unhooked and removed first.

[texkid]

Being that I now own a 2010 Corolla, I do feel that I had to mention that I was not able to order all-weather floor mats due to this recall even though that the Corolla vehicle was not on the recall list.

After contacting corporate, I learned that they are suspecting all the "winter" rubber floor mats regardless of model or method of installation.

Now, I am not sure if US Corolla's have the option of push-button features, but in my Corolla manual (if people just took 15 minutes to READ) it does state that if you need to make an emergency shut-off that you push-and-hold the button for 3 seconds. So....people cannot say that Toyota did not provide some sort of safety measure. And yes, ALL vehicles (regardless of make, model, or AT vs MT) have the ability to shift into neutral.

The other side of the coin is that some people just plainly freeze in emergent situation. Not everyone have the "nerves of steel" or are prepared for a runaway car.

AND.....one more thing I did notice. My carpet floor mats seem "shorter" than compare to other floor mats (i.e. the Yaris). They stop right before the pedals. Take into consideration that my car hit the lot in mid-October, I guess Toyota has been making corrections for quite some time.

[fmicle]

Originally Posted by markitect

Or the person is stepping on the gas instead of the brake.

Yep, this actually happens more often than you would think.

[IllusionX]

It was on the newspapers today...

They say Toyota is going to put a feature for all 2010 models, so that if you step on the gas ans the brakes at the same time, it will shut off the engine.

Now, can you believe you won't be able to heel/toe anymore? I wonder if it applies to MT.