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From: john on 26 Nov 2009 12:10
Posted: Nov. 26, 2009
Toyota has a lot riding on fixes for recalled vehicles
Changes won't be cheap, but they may protect firm's image

BY GREG GARDNER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Toyota Motor Corp.'s willingness to go beyond replacing floor mats
will raise the cost of its largest-ever recall, but it may contain any
damage in the marketplace, industry experts said Wednesday.

Beginning in January, dealers will cut nearly an inch off the lower
edge of the gas pedal and adjust the width, a company spokesman said.
Replacement pedals are to be available starting in April.

That may not cost much in the short term. But on some of the vehicles
being recalled -- 2005 through 2010 model-year Toyota Avalons and 2007
through 2010 Camrys and Lexus ES350s -- the automaker will reconfigure
the floor surface beneath the pedal to create more space between the
pedal and the floor. Those three models, along with the Lexus IS250
and IS350, also are to be outfitted with a new brake override system.

Those fixes will add up, but Toyota did not reveal a cost.

"If you have to dig into the vehicle like in the powertrain or under
the dash, the cost is high, even if the part cost is low," said David
Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that on
most recalls, only 72% of affected owners bring their vehicles in for
prescribed repairs. That means Toyota dealers can expect to see 2.7
million of the 3.8 million vehicles recalled. That's more than
Toyota's total U.S. sales in the prerecession year of 2007.

"It's going to be a lengthy process," said Aaron Bragman, an analyst
with IHS Global Insight in Troy. "But they have to do something."
A serious problem

At least a dozen fatalities have occurred when Toyota or Lexus
vehicles have surged unexpectedly and drivers supposedly could not
stop them by stomping hard on the brake.

Last month, the family of a 77-year-old Flint woman, Guadalupe
Alberto, sued Toyota in Genesee County Circuit Court. Alberto died in
April 2008 after her 2005 Camry is said to have accelerated from 25 to
80 m.p.h. and hit two trees. She died from the impact.

Lawyers charged that Alberto lost control because of a malfunctioning
electronic throttle control.
Toyota's solutions

Toyota initially advised owners to remove driver's-side floor mats,
which it said caused the acceleration when they became trapped between
drivers' feet and the gas pedal.

Cutting the gas pedal is meant to reduce the risk that the floor mat
will become pinched, but Toyota plans more sophisticated repairs to
recalled Camrys, Avalons and Lexus ES350s, IS350s and IS250s. It will
install a brake override system meant to ensure that the engine will
lose power if the brake and the accelerator are applied
simultaneously.

That upgrade will become standard on all Toyota and Lexus models by
the end of next year, the company said.
Uncertain outcome

It's unclear whether these steps will contain or reduce Toyota's legal
exposure from lawsuits already filed.

"It helps in that it looks like they're trying to do something," said
Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor specializing in
product liability law. "In the end, it comes down to: When did the
company know about the issue and did it take action voluntarily?"

As for the impact on sales, it's too early to know. "Baby boomers will
be forgiving, but if it has any impact, it may be among Generation Y
buyers who haven't yet formed any brand loyalty," Bragman, of Global
Insight, said.

Contact GREG GARDNER: 313-222-8762 or ggardner(a)freepress.com


http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091126/BUSINESS01/911260450/1332/Toyota-has-a-lot-riding-on-fixes-for-recalled-vehicles&template=fullarticle


From: Hachiroku ハチロク on 26 Nov 2009 13:55
On Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:10:48 -0800, john wrote:

> Posted: Nov. 26, 2009
> Toyota has a lot riding on fixes for recalled vehicles Changes won't be
> cheap, but they may protect firm's image
>
> BY GREG GARDNER
> FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
>
> Toyota Motor Corp.'s willingness to go beyond replacing floor mats will
> raise the cost of its largest-ever recall, but it may contain any damage
> in the marketplace, industry experts said Wednesday.
>
> Beginning in January, dealers will cut nearly an inch off the lower edge
> of the gas pedal and adjust the width, a company spokesman said.
> Replacement pedals are to be available starting in April.

See? Toyota has already made plans to rectify the situation. You can
expect them to move forward instead of regressing, too. Look for more
great cars from Toyota.



From: Mike Hunter on 26 Nov 2009 18:29
They are not cutting the pedal, they are replacing them. That only
requires removing the pin at the pivot point. The real slowdown will be
the five month delay time until they start to get millions of them from
Japan.


"john" <johngdole(a)hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:f93f71d4-e0a0-4bf9-abf4-48f7f493230b(a)z35g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
> Posted: Nov. 26, 2009
> Toyota has a lot riding on fixes for recalled vehicles
> Changes won't be cheap, but they may protect firm's image
>
> BY GREG GARDNER
> FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
>
> Toyota Motor Corp.'s willingness to go beyond replacing floor mats
> will raise the cost of its largest-ever recall, but it may contain any
> damage in the marketplace, industry experts said Wednesday.
>
> Beginning in January, dealers will cut nearly an inch off the lower
> edge of the gas pedal and adjust the width, a company spokesman said.
> Replacement pedals are to be available starting in April.


From: Cleo Baines Hafsteder on 27 Nov 2009 11:54

Do you just search for negative ads on Toyota? Jealous that you can't
afford to purchase a Toyota or Lexus vehicle? Better stick with riding
public transportation. Some day you might be able to purchase a used car.

Dream big.


From: Hachiroku ハチロク on 27 Nov 2009 12:40
On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:54:23 -0800, Cleo Baines Hafsteder wrote:

>
> Do you just search for negative ads on Toyota? Jealous that you can't
> afford to purchase a Toyota or Lexus vehicle? Better stick with riding
> public transportation. Some day you might be able to purchase a used car.
>
> Dream big.

I have an '86 Camry I can sell him...

Nah...<85,000 miles. Too good for him.



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