Editor
The Engineer
To say it’s been a disastrous couple of week’s for Toyota is an understatement. First, fears over sticking accelerator pedals prompted the global recall of around 7.27 million Toyota, Lexus and Pontiac cars (the Pontiac vibe is rebadged Toyota). Next, concerns over brakes led the company to recall 400,000 of its third generation Priuses. And now mounting concerns over steering on the Corolla – the world’s best selling car – may yet lead to more recalls.
But while it’s a huge blow for the Japanese car industry, it’s not such bad news for Toyota’s North American competitors. Indeed, the barely disguised glee emanating from some quarters of the US car industry has led some more paranoid commentators to start muttering about industrial sabotage.
We certainly wouldn’t go that far, but US car makers have wasted little time kicking Toyota while it’s down, with both GM and Ford announcing special discounts and financing offers this week in an effort to regain some of their market share.
But beyond the machinations of the global car industry, Toyota’s fall from grace is unequivocally bad news for low-emissions automotive technology.
The Prius, with its celebrity owners, frugal fuel consumption and attractive performance had become the standard bearer for green powertrain technology. It was the vehicle that took low emissions motoring into the mainstream, and Toyota was rightly and widely applauded for embracing new technology when many other members of the global car industry were too risk-averse, and too short sighted to bother.
Sadly, although the recent problems have absolutely nothing to do with the car’s hybrid powertrain, the reputation of the technology could be done untold damage by association.
Over the last few years we’ve witnessed a growing enthusiasm for low carbon transport solutions, and the Prius has been at the forefront. We strongly hope that the damage caused by what is one of the biggest PR disasters to hit the car industry in recent years doesn’t undo all the progress that’s been made.
I reckon Toyota are getting a lot of unfair criticism. I’m sure there have been many recalls by other manufacturers on safety-critical problems. They just haven’t been in the news as much. My Prius is just great. 60+mpg in London, no congestion charge and no problems in the time i’ve had it!
With sticking accellerator or failed brakes I’m glad the car IN FRONT is a Toyota.
Toyota owners should feel pleased not worried. Toyota care sufficiently to make such a massive recall at vast cost to ensure your safety. Other car manufacturers have had legacy problems causing severe accidents that they have continually denied (see BBC Watchdog). And no, I don’t own a Toyota; Alfa Romeo, Lord help me.
I must admit that I always have something of a smug smile on my face when overtaking a Prius in my V8 MG BGT on the daily commute as I know that keeping my old car going, rather than buying a new one, is better for the environment. Now it would appear that I have even more reason as, for me, “fly by wire accelerator” means a cable from the accelerator pedal to the carburettor butterfly valve! Toyota may be worthy of praise for pursuing alternative technologies but for the moment, if the cradle to grave impact is assessed, the Prius is actually more spin than saviour. Surely it would be better to promote smaller, lighter cars with less on-board toys? Less materials during construction, less fuel used to move it along and less things to go wrong. Better all round I’d say.
Product recalls, admittedly not of quite this magnitude, are nothing new to the car industry. Toyota’s misfortune seems to lie with the timing, rather than the severity of the problem,an otherwise slow news week has enabled a media frenzy.
Figures of millions of vehicles needing recalls, and telephone interviews with lawyers explaining how best to check if you qualify for a loss-of-earnings suit for a day tip to the garage.
The detriment to Toyota’s reputation has been caused not by the problem and countermeasure, but by the media-induced fear and speculation.
Nowhere in the media have Toyota been applauded for putting the safety of their customers first, ahead of managing the loss of face caused by launching a worldwide recall campaign.
The American car industry has no moral high ground to stand upon and mock the Japanese, especially on safety and customer information.
GS
(Neither a Toyota employee or driver!)
Car company recalls are happening all the time and Toyota cars are more reliable than most. The Toyota recalls have hit the headlines because they are now the worlds largest car company replacing GM. The US press hasn’t wasted any time turning the recalls into a disaster for Toyota
I don’t think this will be a PR disaster for the hybrid. On the contrary, other manufacturers should/will jump at the chance to push their own alternatives to the Prius. Nissan, for example. Personally, I’m not sure what real ‘progress’ the Prius has ushered in. It already has an image problem. On both sides of the Atlantic it’s often regarded as a misguided statement that only amounts to middle class elitism and smugness. Hybrids need to be seen and regarded as mainstream and accessible, rather than the fashion accessory for those that can afford one. If the Prius’s image is tarnished by this, it may be good for the industry. People will shop around for alternatives, which means more manufacturers will strive to supply them.
Sticking accelerator pedals and faulty brakes, this is not a design problem this smacks of a cost cutting exercise. What is the minimum tolerance against performance we can get away with in the interests of economy for profit margins? This is proven by the simple cures seen on the TV. A shim on the brakes and a small piece of metal for the throttle pedal. Toyota is such a large company why do they need to sacrifice safety for profit? All cars need efficient go and stop systems. What were they thinking!!
How many Toyota owners have taken their pride and joy back to the dealer only to be told “never seen that fault before”? This is not “Media induced fear and speculation” it is a series of known faults that have been in existence since manufacture, only admitted to now litigation has forced their (Toyota’s) hand.
Is there a manufacturer in the world that would do a recall for a wrinkled carpet? Is there a manufacturer in the world that doesn’t get wrinkled carpets? Toyota apparently!
And steering faults are now being hyped by the Federal this-and-that Agency. If Top Gear is to be believed, there are few domestic American manufactures that could pass an MOT on their way out of the showroom. Having had one American car in my motoring career, I would testify that their fittings and comfort spec were excellent, but their mechanical engineering was lamentable. Give that car a typical European or Japanese engine and rolling stock and the car would have been master of the universe.
Which brings me to the brakes… but I’ll stop there.
I conclude there is a serious lack of balance in all this and, yes – I would buy a Toyota.
Toyota have a pr opportunity to promote safety by advisory recalls. But the main issue for me is the increasing reliance on electronics in vehicles. This increases the risk to used car buyers and ultimately shortens the useful service life of a product that should last for many years. My Toyota Yaris 1.3 bought new 4 years ago – for I am a Toyota owner – has a cable operated accelerator giving no problem. Its successor, with the same engine has the electronic version and possible problems. Oh for mechanical simplicity!
Toyota isn’t the only company to have hybrid cars on the road, what about the Honda Insight and soon the Honda CR-Z. Maybe people will not just focus on Toyota technology.
Speeking as an engineer, the one fact that seems to come from this is how the general public take for granted just how reliable the modern motor car is.
Take your car in, get it sorted, then get on with your life in blissfull ignorance as before.
To paraphrase a well known book ‘he who is without recall, cast the first spanner’.
Probably every major supplier has had serious recalls or has had a serious problems that has been ignored/denied until someone dies or public pressure forces a change of heart. Remember the TV motoring programs featuring runaway Volvo’s or its fine in France in 2008 for negligence in not notifying owners of a known brake problem (a person died) and this a company that prides itself on safety – I think not!
The same is seen currently seen with Fiat and their Ducato vans, only pressure from user groups on the internet etc are getting problems fixed.
Just two examples, not particularly picking on these two makers, had a Volvo previously and a nice piece of engineering it was too.
Cars are very complex machines, with design and manufacturing mistakes will happen, it’s how the company deals with it that matters.
So let’s at least give Toyota a pat on the back for doing the right thing, to be honest I would now prefer to buy a Toyota than a Fiat or Volvo!
Toyota have an excellent name for Quality. I have supplied them with many components overa number of years and ttheir qualty standards they introduced have been far superior to other car manufactures. It is somewhat disappointing that the press have take up with avengence their hosity. For many years the lexus has led the field in quality and it should not be forgotten. I am sure that the Toyota organisation will redem themselves and once again lead the field of car manufactires. The hybred car was and still is an important inovation introduced by them on the mass market. I am sure with the advent of the fuel cell car we will hear mor of Toyota in the next inovation over the next 10 years. They will learn from this problem anfd I am sure will introduce further quality constraints that will improve the cars for their customers.
I thought the brakes problem was to be fixed by software upgrade, not shims.
With so much reliance on software in cars, it’s only a matter of time before they are routinely recalled to update with the latest essential software patch v12.1937.45.66 or whatever. So why not fit an internet connection port on cars so that this can be done overnight at your home? On the other hand, perhaps not, it might catch a virus and spawn a whole new industry…
It’s a media spin! I’ve driven them all – Toyota cars are great!
This artical is misleading and the editor should have know better. If you want to hear real horror stories about cars then just watch Watchdog on BBC. Cars that have been featured last year are BMW, Renault and Volvo. They all disputed problems ever esisting. One thing for sure Toyota will never appear on this show. Why – simply becauce they provide complete CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.
At least Toyota had the guts to admit that they had a problem with a few of their cars. They also cared enough about their customers to recall ALL the cars that might be affected.
(Which is a lot more than a certain American company who persisted in ignoring that they had a car that turned into a fireball when hit from behind.)
I’ll happily buy another Toyota, but never a certain American make.
I have two reasonalby new diesel cars; a Seat and a Fiat. Both have have a line in the ECU code which cuts the throttle signal to “fast idle” when the brakes are applied. (I discovered this to my annoyance when trying to left foot brake to dry the pads after negotiating floods in Nov last year.) If this line was in the Toyota code, there would be no panic issue, as the car would override the throttle position even if it were stuck. Maybe I judged the system in my cars too rashly.
I don’t have a Toyota and will be glad when the hybrid fantasy is dead but Toyota are being demonised far too much IMO.
Every engineering device can have hidden problems, and many cars have had recalls before, nor is it unusual for any manufacturer to delay public anouncements until they are certain there IS a widespread fault AND that something can be done about it.
If Toyota were slow to react after this – THAT is worth demonising them for.
Attacking them because of a design fault is plain silly no matter how dangerous because that is always going to happen from time to time.
Mostly it’s done to sell newspapers of course and that sort of thing is far more worrying to me than a simple engineering mistake.
GM recalls 1.3m cars over power steering fault.
Hope this mag slags GM off as much as Toyota?