Feds Ok Toyota Pedal Fix

[The G Man]

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to start sending parts to dealers in the coming days to fix a sticky gas pedal problem that has tarnished its image and led to the recall of 4.2 million cars and trucks on three continents, according to people briefed on the matter.

Several dealers have said the fix involves slipping a shim into an area where springs push the gas pedal back to its resting position after a driver has eased off the gas, but Toyota has not commented on the repair.

Meanwhile, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe’s second-largest automaker, will recall more than 90,000 cars because they may share a gas-pedal flaw that prompted Toyota Motor Corp. to recall millions of vehicles.

The action affects about 10 percent of Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1 models sold throughout Europe, or fewer than 100,000 vehicles, Jean-Marc Sarret, a spokesman for the Paris-based carmaker, said in a telephone interview,

http://bostonherald.com/business/automotiv...p;position=also

What makes me a little nervious is the fact that Toyota is not replacing the CTS pedal with the Denso unit. Instead, they are installing a shim in the spring assembly of the CTS unit.

It will be interesting to see if Peugeot Citroen which will recall the same CTS pedal will replace the while unit instead of trying to fix it.

[wlk12]

What makes me even more nervous is the fact that the pedal issue may not even be the cause of these runaway accelerations (many folks, including me, don't think it is the cause).

It appears that the best thing Toyota could do is install the "smart brake" fix on every car they've sold with electronic throttle control. This shuts the engine to idle when the brakes are applied hard. This may be very, VERY expensive - but many owners are getting hysterical about this - and this may be the only way to appease them.

Just my opinion.

Bill K.

[RX in NC]

I agree that simply replacing mechanical parts will not resolve this issue. I believe some significant ECM reflashing/reprogramming will have to take place before this matter finally can be considered fixed....

[SW03ES]

And what about the ES350 that has the Denso unit and not the CTS unit?

[wlk12]

And what about the ES350 that has the Denso unit and not the CTS unit?

I think they should do the "smart brake/brake override" on every Toyota and Lexus vehicle that has an electronic throttle control.

It's just good design practice - GM, Chrysler, Mercedes and VW (and others?) have this feature.

Perhaps it would go a long way toward cleaning up Toyotas tarnished reputation. I don't know.

Bill K.

[The G Man]

What makes me even more nervous is the fact that the pedal issue may not even be the cause of these runaway accelerations (many folks, including me, don't think it is the cause).

It appears that the best thing Toyota could do is install the "smart brake" fix on every car they've sold with electronic throttle control. This shuts the engine to idle when the brakes are applied hard. This may be very, VERY expensive - but many owners are getting hysterical about this - and this may be the only way to appease them.

Just my opinion.

Bill K.

The turth is that I think even Toyota is not sure what is causing all these sudden accelaration issues, all they really know is that incidents of Toyota sudden accelartion has mutiply since Toyota started to use drive by wire. In many instances, the sudden accelaration cause is impossible to re-create making it near impossible to troubleshoot.

Toyota has plan to install in system that will idle the engine if it detect barking and the car is not slowing down. The system is much cheaper to install since all the components are already in place such as speed sensor and brake position sensor. All Toyota will need to do is write a few lines of codes for the ECU and reflash it. Toyota plan to do this software recall on all affected vehicle and most of the new vehicle coming off the production line.

[wlk12]

That's good to know, G Man. I just hope they do it on all used and new vehicles that use drive-by-wire. Seems feasible since it's relatively inexpensive.

Bill K.

[The G Man]

Here is the info on the fix, Toyota is not going to replace the gas pedals. Instead they will install a reinforcing plate behind the pedal assembly. I am not sure how this will work, does anyone have a better understanding what the reinforcing plate does?

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/01/autos/toyo...l_fix/index.htm