Toyota Recall - What caused the issue with the accelerator?

[Laser]

Anyone know what caused the issue with the accelerator? Is it a design issue or a manufacturing failure?

Thank you.

 

[mguilbert]

Hard to tell without the data. But I don't think it was the Car Mat.

 

[Proud Liberal]

The media reported that Toyota was working on the theory that it was a combination of the effect of water on the materials used plus wear & tear in the mechanism. Who knows if that's right. They also named the supplier of the failing component. It sounds like a design flaw.

Based on my experiences working with Toyota's engineering and production people, their engineers do NOT perform tolerance stack analysis on their assemblies. I've been responsible for manufacturing various components and them assembling them only to find that component parts made to print would assemble to an out-of-tolerance assembly. When confronted with the obvious tolerancing issue, their engineers said that "manufacturing was responsible for making the parts work".

 

[Jim Wynne]

The media reported that Toyota was working on the theory that it was a combination of the effect of water on the materials used plus wear & tear in the mechanism. Who knows if that's right. They also named the supplier of the failing component. It sounds like a design flaw.

Based on my experiences working with Toyota's engineering and production people, their engineers do NOT perform tolerance stack analysis on their assemblies. I've been responsible for manufacturing various components and them assembling them only to find that component parts made to print would assemble to an out-of-tolerance assembly. When confronted with the obvious tolerancing issue, their engineers said that "manufacturing was responsible for making the parts work".

Sounds like some Toyota engineers graduated from the Big Three School of Advanced Scapegoating.

 

[Bill Goss]

Whatever it is, immediate containment is necessary and a root cause determined in short time. Recalling cars to shops that don't know what to do with them once they are there would be really bad.

 

[Stijloor]

Friends,

Please stick with the facts and quit wild guessing based on hearsay and innuendo.

I also must tell you that I am biased because our family is a very loyal Toyota customer for many, many years. Toyota (and their Lexus brand) has never disappointed us. Toyota will emerge even better than before and will continue to kick other auto companies a$$es.

Stijloor.

 

[Stijloor]

Hot from the press....

From Automotive News.

Toyota's pedal supplier says it has a fix, is ramping up output....

DETROIT -- The supplier that made the pedal modules fingered in a massive recall of Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles said today that it has a fix and is stepping up production at three factories to get new parts to Toyota's plants.

The parts maker also is working with Toyota on a fix for cars already on the road, the supplier's CEO said.

Testing by Toyota and supplier CTS Corp., of Elkhart, Ind., identified condensation-related problems as the cause of the automaker's sticky accelerators, which can cause the gas pedal to return too slowly to its original position or even, with age, to get stuck.

CEO Vinod Khilnani said the new pedal that CTS is building takes care of the condensation problem. “We believe that is the reason for the slow return,” he said in an earnings call today with analysts and the news media.

Khilnani said Toyota and CTS are working to develop a “sleeve” to fix possible problems on Toyota vehicles on the road.

CTS also is building a redesigned pedal that will go to Toyota factories for installation on new cars. CTS will ramp up production and add additional capacity at its three plants.

Calls to Toyota spokesmen weren't immediately returned.

In the wake of its Jan. 21 recall of 2.3 million vehicles, Toyota said it would suspend sales of the eight affected models. In addition, production of those models will be halted the week of Feb. 1.

“All three sites are producing the new pedal,” Khilnani said. “We always have some excess capacity, but because Toyota wants to replace [the parts] as quickly as possible, we're putting additional production lines to ramp up faster-than-normal production.”

He said his company's accelerator-module sensor had “nothing” to do with the problem. Said Khilnani: “It is a mechanical issue driven by the design and unique to Toyota.”

CTS is one of two suppliers that build pedals for models involved in Toyota's recall. Parts made by Denso Corp. for vehicles built in Japan aren't at issue.

 

[mguilbert]

I agree with Stijloor. Toyota still has the most reliable and energy efficient fleet. My 1994 Toyota is still running strong were as my 1995 GM is a dead piece of scrap metal. I wouldn't take the $1000 to trade in a Yota for a GM. It is still about $1500 less than the deal that was offered last year. As far as the problem, as an outsider I have no comment other than the one I have already stated. Probalby not the car mats.

 

[Stijloor]

I agree with Stijloor. Toyota still has the most reliable and energy efficient fleet. My 1994 Toyota is still running strong were as my 1995 GM is a dead piece of scrape metal. I wouldn't take the $1000 to trade in a Yota for a GM. It is still about $1500 less than the deal that was offered last year. As far as the problem, as an outsider I have no comment other than the one I have already stated. Probably not the car mats.

See my post above...

Stijloor.

 

[Doug Tropf]

A little of topic perhaps but I understand there have been some tragic accidents due to the malfunction. I wonder why the driver didn't just place the vehicle in neutral when the problem started - panic maybe?