Toyota’s Murky Data

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  • Posted By: JustSayin54 @ 02/24/2010 8:29:50 PM

    You know, the fact that Toyota is being secure with the information that can be downloaded from my vehicle makes me love them even more. Thank you, Toyota, for keeping my privacy private and not being brainwashed into the idea that we need to expose every detail of our lives for "privacy".

    If there is a problem to be solved, do some real sleuthing people. Quit relying on technology to do the work for you.

  • Posted By: frankbeck @ 02/21/2010 4:52:48 PM

    The government most certainly didn't let Ford/Firestone resolve the problem. There were investigations and hearings and calls for congressional action. The end result was the TREAD Act which included government mandates for tire pressure monitor systems on all vehicles costing several hundred dollars a vehicle when you could already pick up a tire pressure monitor at your local Wal-Mart for $2 - it's called a tire gauge. But apparently congress considers the people too stupid to use one.

  • Posted By: richf @ 02/21/2010 3:10:28 PM

    Have you seen the movie WAG THE DOG? The economy continues to be in free falll. Sure, polititians have decaqlred the recession over, but in reality unemployment continues to increase, albeit at a slower rate, buit it is still increasing. So it is natural for polititians to draw attention away from themselves and to some articial bad guy. The tail is wagging the dog.

  • Posted By: richf @ 02/21/2010 3:07:12 PM

    While the economny remains in a free fall and the polititians have no clue as to resolving the probleM (other than making a bigger and even more innefficienbt government), it is their best interests to draw attention away from their inadequcies and focu on some external "bad guy." So Toyota is being focused on. When it was Ford and Firestone that caused the Explorer mess, the government allowed them to resolve the issue. But now that the government has declared the recession over, even though job losses are still increasiing (increasin at a slower rate but \increasin), the taiil is wagging the dog.

  • Posted By: frankbeck @ 02/21/2010 2:31:16 PM

    Sure the pedal was made by CTS to Toyota's design, materials and process. Toyota could have the same part made by any company and it would have the same problem. It's not the pedal anyway...it's the electronic throttle control software - they'll never admit the truth - and this story just proves Toyota cares more about profit than people.

  • Posted By: mrp412 @ 02/21/2010 2:18:04 PM

    iits a shame that as soon as this stuff hit the news, everybody started bashing TOYOTA. What almost nobody hears , is that the biggest problem is with a gas pedal made by a company out of Canada called CTS. It can become mechanically stuck or slow to return. But still iin very rare cases.

  • Posted By: mrp412 @ 02/21/2010 2:15:40 PM

    Its a shame that since all of this hit the news, that everybody wants to bash TOYOTA. But what nobody really hears is that the biggest problem is with a gas pedal made by a company out of canada called CTS. It can become mechanically stuck or slow to return . But still in very rare cases.

  • Posted By: Gpacker38@optonline.net @ 02/21/2010 1:10:43 PM

    I feel and have always felt Toyota has a habbit of hiding and lieing about issuse nobody knows about. They are great at giving people what they want at first like quality and realiablity that helped them move past the American car makers. However once they convinced the consumer to buy nothing but a Toyota is when then went on there little journey of behind the scenes cost cutting at the consumers expense and there true colors of Japanese arogence came out with it in there take it or leave it phliosphy.
    I also feel, no I believe Consumer Magazine should also be held accountable for alot of these actions by Toyota, there the ones that conatantly praised this company to the ground through there crack research group, who by the way went underground. They should not have the right to tell people waht the perfect buy is, they should only be able to report on what an item has more of than it's competition after they research it.

  • Posted By: me100472 @ 02/21/2010 12:47:52 PM

    Really people? Come on...the full detailed police report on the officer and his family in California indicated that the dealership had installed all weather (rubber) floormats from an SUV into the Lexus sedan the family had rented. The wrong floormat caused this accident and is what sparked the flood of media coverage. If this officer was not familiar with the newer push button start feature, I can understand why he couldn't shut the vehicle off. However, what I couldn't understand, why (with all the "training" he supposedly had) could he not simply put the car in neutral? I know several Ford employees, what they can't understand (and you should question) is when their SUV rollover problem was happening, they had seen several crash vehicles come into their dealership as a direct result of the recall, but you never heard the Secretary of Transportation stating on live television to stop driving Ford vehicles. I've talked with a couple of Toyota dealership service employees as well, and they've never seen a vehicle that they could make the accelerator pedal stick. Also, take into thought last year's "cash for clunkers" program, Toyota had the most success out of this program designed to pump up buyer confidence, and revitalize the AMERICAN economy. So now that the government owns GM (who didn't hardly make a dime on the clunker program) and they have a bad reputation of quality to overcome, why not make the top dog look bad to sway buyers back to the American market? Notice how GM offered an extra $1000.00 on a Toyota trade in? OPEN YOUR EYES!!!!!! This media fiasco against Toyota is nothing more than Detroit pumping money into the right politician's pocket.

  • Posted By: me100472 @ 02/21/2010 12:45:24 PM

    Really people? Come on...the full detailed police report on the officer and his family in California indicated that the dealership had installed all weather (rubber) floormats from an SUV into the Lexus sedan the family had rented. The wrong floormat caused this accident and is what sparked the flood of media coverage. If this officer was not familiar with the newer push button start feature, I can understand why he couldn't shut the vehicle off. However, what I couldn't understand, why (with all the "training" he supposedly had) could he not simply put the car in neutral? I know several Ford employees, what they can't understand (and you should question) is when their SUV rollover problem was happening, they had seen several crash vehicles come into their dealership as a direct result of the recall, but you never heard the Secretary of Transportation stating on live television to stop driving Ford vehicles. I've talked with a couple of Toyota dealership service employees as well, and they've never seen a vehicle that they could make the accelerator pedal stick. Also, take into thought last year's "cash for clunkers" program, Toyota had the most success out of this program designed to pump up buyer confidence, and revitalize the AMERICAN economy. So now that the government owns GM (who didn't hardly make a dime on the clunker program) and they have a bad reputation of quality to overcome, why not make the top dog look bad to sway buyers back to the American market? Notice how GM offered an extra $1000.00 on a Toyota trade in? OPEN YOUR EYES!!!!!! This media fiasco against Toyota is nothing more than Detroit pumping money into the right politician's pocket.

  • Posted By: mediaoverload @ 02/21/2010 12:17:29 PM

    Wow how surprising that the rep from Michigan is leading the charge on getting Toyota to hand over their black box data. Don't think for a minute that he's not looking out for the best interests of the big three in his homestate. This is a government witch hunt plain and simple. Discredit Toyota and you increase market share for the mostly government owned U.S. automakers (Ford excluded).

  • Posted By: bbob234 @ 02/21/2010 6:54:40 AM

    If the data is not consistent or reliable like the Toyota rep Mike Michels says, then what's the point? Why have it at all? Toyota, are you saying you can't design a reliable data recorder?

    • Posted By: 2v2v @ 02/21/2010 12:09:19 PM

      AND the data needs to be able to be read by the regulating bodies -

    • Posted By: crxsir0024 @ 02/21/2010 10:47:25 AM

      Where is the law that says they are required to provide trade this information.

  • Posted By: helpinghand32 @ 02/21/2010 10:50:29 AM

    It is also a great way for Big Brother to know your every move.... Now with GPS they can track your every move. This is an invasion of your privacy. I take my hat off to Toyota for not wanting to do this.

    • Posted By: 2v2v @ 02/21/2010 12:08:06 PM

      Do you drive a Toyota? Better park it if you do. Ray Lahood was right. Park it until we have the right answers. And don't bother to put your floor mats in the trunk.

  • Posted By: Jen R. @ 02/21/2010 4:45:59 AM

    I own a '07 Toyota Corolla S. Unlike most people I've read my owners manual and it clearly states that there is a black box in every car, why,and how that data is used. I realize a lot of people are hurting because they are jobless but please don't sue companies to supplement your income.

    • Posted By: 2v2v @ 02/21/2010 12:06:04 PM

      Did your book give you directions as to what to do when it is going 90 and you cannot stop? Take the floormats out? Opps, too late. The police officer in California that died had his family in the car, was a trained police office (and defensive driving is part of that training), and the floor mats were in the trunk. How much more of a disaster can this family have? This is a design flaw. GM and Ford have had design flaws and have been straight forward with them and called to task. People have the idea that Toyota has superior quality, but what they truly have is an evasion toward American laws.

  • Posted By: jonzi @ 02/17/2010 8:57:12 AM

    Time to put the heat on these people. Don't let them sell cars in this country. Maybe they will get the hint. If we only has representatives that really cared this would not be a topic.

    • Posted By: 2v2v @ 02/21/2010 12:00:10 PM

      did you hear that Toyoda decided that he just was not going to come to the US to appear in front of congress? Must have been some kind of pressure - sounds like he decided to change his mind. Or maybe he decided that they sell too many cars here to ignore those Americans.

  • Posted By: ron.eves @ 02/14/2010 12:34:48 PM

    Our son past away in his 3-month old Toyota Tundra in 2007. While the velocity made no sense and being on a less travelled road no direct witnessese to the accident existed the vehicle was equipped with an EDR.

    While Toyota sent an engineer from California to Washington State to examine the vehicle, they did not download the EDR.

    So, as parents we have kept the EDR and when Toyota comes out of the ether that their wilfully blind eye will not be tolerated we will get the answers we have been told are contained within.

    • Posted By: 2v2v @ 02/21/2010 11:58:20 AM

      I am so sorry to hear about this. It has been my contention for a long period of time that Toyota has manipulated many things to their advantage for a long time, and your son was a victim of their manipulation. Do not surrender your black box to anyone - make sure it is in a safe place like a safety deposit box. The victims of this manipulation by Toyota have come from all walks of life. One of the victims in California was a police officer - and they are trained in defensive driving. He died and members of his family died, too. This is really bad for any toyota owner. Ray Lahood was right when he said that you should park it until this is truly resolved. Floor mats are not the solution.

  • Posted By: computerscientist524 @ 02/21/2010 10:52:06 AM

    all i have to say is this is about racial superiority....whats wrong with the world today is exactly this...you are so caught up in this racial mess that you cant see that nobody is perfect. oh and on a side note: i am american and i seriously dont hold every jap accountable for pearl harbor, most of those men are long gone...and thats like saying we or present day americans are all responsible for hiroshima and nagasaki...no we arent and im sure you wouldnt think you were reponsible right? but you sure will be the first to point a finger at every jap and say,"oh i bet it was you...you were responsible for pearl harbor." jeez cant we all just be proper adults

  • Posted By: theengineer @ 02/21/2010 7:01:42 AM

    Toyota is proving what some of us have long known. Asian superiority is a myth. Everyone thinks the Asian mind is somehow superior to the Caucasian mind at math, logic, engineering etc. It is not. It is the herd mentality of the Asian family culture that gives this ability. They circle close and support each other, but shun all outside. Work around them and you will find that their English skills are very good, even rewarded within the Asian community, but they never speak proper amongst other English speakers. The Japan That Can Say NO, needs to be taught to say "Yes Sir!!" to American regulators and legislators, and the people of this country who have bought the Asian superiority myth for too long. Yes, remember Pearl Harbor and believe that they are indeed continuing to sneak upon our shores a deah and destruction brought on by our own kindness.

  • Posted By: Gary Budd @ 02/21/2010 3:21:16 AM

    What do you expect from a country that brought you Pearl Harbor, the Bataan death march, and the raping of China. They will not even admit any of these happening. There class books hardly mention them, and when they do, it is almost in passing.

  • Posted By: Akitomo Echizenya @ 02/17/2010 10:57:07 PM

    Many Japanese might have started loosing a confidence to know Toyota's massive RECALLS of their defective cars, which I feel like this is a nightmare The End Of Toyota Safety Story. Totoya must disclose all data contained in EDR whenever it helps improving safety and whenever it helps those who lost thier family by accidents with Toyota vehicles.

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