Toyota Plans To Recall 300,000 Prius

[The G Man]

First the gas pedal and now the brakes:

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/20...300000_priuses/

[SW03ES]

Actually the Prius is not included in the gas pedal recall.

The brake recall is for a computer update to improve the feel of the brakes as they transition between regenerative and service braking. Its not a brake failure.

[The G Man]

Actually the Prius is not included in the gas pedal recall.

The brake recall is for a computer update to improve the feel of the brakes as they transition between regenerative and service braking. Its not a brake failure.

That is correct, the gas pedal was the a different recall and the Prius was not on that list. I guess my comment was a bit misleading since I meant to reference Toyota as a company and just the Prius.

There are a few Prius owners who claim the momentary lack of braking when transition cause them to get into accidents. It is not as serious as the sudden accelaration since no one have die from this lack of braking, but none the less, its a pretty serious problem. Also, Lexus plan to recall the new HS250h which use the same braking system in the near future.

[SW03ES]

I guess my comment was a bit misleading since I meant to reference Toyota as a company and just the Prius.

The news media has been doing the same thing ;)

I post on the Prius forums too. There are 4 accident reports worldwide. There's really no interruption in braking (I've felt it on our Prius) its just the way the transition feels in certain situations it feels like a momentary decrease in braking...but it really isn't. It will ultimately be all the Hybrids...

[The G Man]

I guess my comment was a bit misleading since I meant to reference Toyota as a company and just the Prius.

The news media has been doing the same thing ;)

I post on the Prius forums too. There are 4 accident reports worldwide. There's really no interruption in braking (I've felt it on our Prius) its just the way the transition feels in certain situations it feels like a momentary decrease in braking...but it really isn't. It will ultimately be all the Hybrids...

Yes, it is best discribe as a momentary lag in braking, I read that the Ford Fusion have the same problem.

We have 4 new Prius where I work and I drive one once a week or so on the average. I felt the brake lag once, but wasnt sure what it was until I read these articles about the problem. It almost felt like there I let go of the brake pedal partially when I didnt. After that, I started to brake longer when ever I drive the Prius, but that problem never re occur.

[SW03ES]

Its a scary feeling...

[tim john]

I think Ford called their fix a corrective action, not a recall.

Tim

[The G Man]

I think Ford called their fix a corrective action, not a recall.

Tim

What is the difference between a voluntary recall and a corrective action ? :)

[tim john]

I think Ford called their fix a corrective action, not a recall.

Tim

What is the difference between a voluntary recall and a corrective action ? :)

I think nothing, it sounds better then a recall.

Tim

[The G Man]

It may look like sudden accelaration might be a problem in the Prius as well. According to Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple and owner of several Priuses, his new Prius took him for a ride of a life time.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/11/prius.cru...dex.html?hpt=T1

[SW03ES]

Reading the account of the couple with the 2008 Prius I suspect they know very little about the vehicle itself. The Toyota system however I have always thought accelerates way too strongly when you hit resume. I always accelerate myself. Sounds like thats the issue people may be experiencing.

[The G Man]

Reading the account of the couple with the 2008 Prius I suspect they know very little about the vehicle itself. The Toyota system however I have always thought accelerates way too strongly when you hit resume. I always accelerate myself. Sounds like thats the issue people may be experiencing.

We had owned 5 Toyotas in the pass, and I cannot recall any incidence of strong acceleration when you hit resume.

[SW03ES]

I've felt all of my Toyota products have had a strong acceleration under resume, I've had 4...

[The G Man]

I've felt all of my Toyota products have had a strong acceleration under resume, I've had 4...

Really? Was it a continuious and out of control acceleration under resume or was a sudden accelaration and then it levels off and start to lose speed. Didnt you find this abnormal, have you ever question your dealer about it?

[SW03ES]

No, not "out of control" but it is definately a higher rate of acceleration than I am comfortable letting the car do on its own. Steady all the way up to the set speed then it lets off. If someone was unfamiliar to the car I could see them overreacting and hitting the brake to bring the car back "under control". For instance if you're set at 65 and slow down to 50 and hit resume, it will downshift and take off like a rocket. I simply accelerate myself slowly and then hit resume.

I never brought it to the attention of the dealer because every Toyota I have owned is/was that way. I simply choose to not use the resume function unless I'm already around the set speed or within 5MPH or so. I just look at it as a characteristic of their system.

98 LS400, 04 LS430, 03 ES300, and 04 Prius all the same way. The Prius obviously doesn't downshift but it still accelerates back very quickly.

[The G Man]

SW03ES, I think we are talking about two different problem. I know what you are talking about with the Toyota criuse control. I feel the same accelaration when I hit resume, in fact, a lot of other make of cars I have own does the same. What the others have said in the article is that the cruise send them out of control and some have ride the brakes until its glowing red. There is another article in CNN a few days ago about how State Farm insurance warning Toyota and the Fed about the increasing care of sudden accelaration and Toyota choose to ignore their finding. In fact, thats the stroy with a lot of owners, Toyota have gotten so big, they no long can talk to Toyota about problems in their car.

[tim john]

read this and used my cruise at 65 let it slow down to 50 and hit resume and came back to 65 at a very comfortable pace.. I have 04 ES built April 03. Running 89 gas, car runs great, had the trans. fluid changed and flushed at 55000 miles. Car has 70000miles on it. Just thought I would share this.

Tim

[SW03ES]

SW03ES, I think we are talking about two different problem. I know what you are talking about with the Toyota criuse control. I feel the same accelaration when I hit resume, in fact, a lot of other make of cars I have own does the same. What the others have said in the article is that the cruise send them out of control and some have ride the brakes until its glowing red. There is another article in CNN a few days ago about how State Farm insurance warning Toyota and the Fed about the increasing care of sudden accelaration and Toyota choose to ignore their finding. In fact, thats the stroy with a lot of owners, Toyota have gotten so big, they no long can talk to Toyota about problems in their car.

Have they taken a picture of the "glowing brakes"?

I'm just saying all this stuff in the news makes people overanalyze things they experience.

[The G Man]

I'm just saying all this stuff in the news makes people overanalyze things they experience.

Over analyze or just more aware? It is true that there are many more cases reported since the recalls came out, but that’s to be expected. Personally, I think this whole mess is not over yet. They just found old memo from Toyota executives boosting about money save by negotiating a lesser recall. It also confirm that Toyota knew about the sudden acceleration problem since 2007 and have try to minimize it instead of look out for the safety of their customers.

[RX in NC]

As I said several weeks ago, by the time the dust settles on this issue Toyota will be by far the most heavily-fined and sanctioned automotive manufacturer in history. They've been both ignoring and lying about these problems for years. I'm still surprised that we haven't read about any suicides in their Japanese headquarters....

[SW03ES]

Over analyze or just more aware?

Over analyze. All cars have quirks about how they operate, are ALL quirks safety emergencies? No. Like when I described my experience with the cruise control resume speed to you and you seemed surprised that I had never reported it to the dealer. It would never occur to me to do so because its just a characteristic of Toyota's system...and I compensate for it. In light of all this craziness though people might jump to conclusions about that when it really isn't a safety issue and has never caused any reported accidents. My car revs a little when the alternator cycles at idle...its going to take off I have to report it to the NHTSA!

Cars aren't perfect and it is becoming apparent to me that Toyota is on trial because they are in fact not perfect. The memos and stuff look really bad...but thats how business is. Go into ANY car company and you see the exact same memos. Toyota has lobbyists and this is a crime? GM's lobbyists stole billions of our money and their companies still went bankrupt. This is how business is done in the United States folks. Toyota would not have become as successful as they have if they weren't a party to it.

[RX in NC]

Toyota's on trial because they got caught using shoddy ethics with their customers, plain and simple. Do other companies do that? Absolutely. But problems have compounded for Toyota for a number of reasons, includng ignoring and lying about the known issues while continuing to hard-sell their image of quality and reliability. The American public has picked up on that and now there's blood in the water and the sharks (i.e.the regulators) are circling....

If I were Mr. Toyoda, when I come to the U.S. this week to be grilled by the feds I would be looking for a way to safely land a fully-occupied Camry in the Hudson River....

[SW03ES]

I'm not defending Toyota, I just think this whole thing has been blown way out of proportion.

[RX in NC]

Your frame of mind would be quite different if one of your family members had been among those killed in the crashes caused by the multiple defects in these various Toyota vehicles....

[The G Man]

I know that all car companies operate like this to a certain degree, but they don’t boost about reliability, quality and safety and then get caught with memos stating the contrary. Cars are not perfect, but when I step on the brakes, I expect it to stop and when I let go of the gas, I expect it to slow down. I don’t think that’s asking for perfection.