Toyota issues recall for Corollas

Yet another example of the evil of power windows. They're good for only one thing: making murders look like accidents, as JoeSpareBedroom can attest when that big-pooping Yorkshire terrier mysteriously had its windpipe crushed in a car window.

At least, unlike GMC, it's not a fatal defect...

Natalie

RECALLS are not unsual for any vehicle company. This is minor at best, but easily fixable.

Thanks for the heads-up; I have an '04, so will look for a notice in the mail later this month. Not a big deal, but worth getting it taken care of.

Cathy

Sorry, Joe, but...

LOL

Natalie

Yet

Seriously. Anyone wanting to rid the world of those mutations would be far better served by a Ruger 10-22.

"Don't Taze Me, Bro!" wrote in message news:7oaLj.4607$NM.1818@trnddc01...

Why is it when GM or Ford has to recall cars for minor problems, it is often cited as an illustration of their incompetence, yet when Toyota has to recall 660,000 vehicles for faulty windows, it is a "minor" problem. According to press reports, "The agency [NHTSA] and the automakers together had collected more than 500 complaints, including 36 claimed injuries and one reported crash." Since the bolts that cause the problem are alleged to loosen over time, it seems to me that prompt action is called for to prevent more injuries.

I'll bet if you were one of the people who had the window shatter, you wouldn't think it was a "minor" problem.

One thing I found illuminating was the difference in the frequency of complaints. 203 complaints were attributed to Pontiac Vibes. Only 254 were attributed to Corollas and Matrix's. There were only 120,00 Vibes in the target recall group versus 540,000 Matrix's and Corollas. NHTSA also noted that over 12,557 Pontiac Vibes had the window regulator and/or glass repaired/replaced under warranty. They did not provide a number for the Corolla and Matrix. warranty repairs.

For those that are interested, here is the summary text from the NHTSA web site:

"THE PONTIAC VIBE VEHICLES ARE MANUFACTURED BY NEW UNITED MOTOR MANUFACTURING, INC. (NUMMI) IN FREMONT, CALIFORNIA. NUMMI IS A JOINT VENTURE BETWEEN GENERAL MOTORS AND TOYOTA. TOYOTA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR RESPONDING TO THIS NHTSA INVESTIGATION. TOYOTA REPORTS THAT ITS EVALUATION IS INCOMPLETE AT THIS TIME, HOWEVER; TOYOTA HAS IDENTIFIED TWO ISSUES THAT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO SIDE WINDOW GLASS BREAKING. IN ITS JANUARY 11, 2008 LETTER TO ODI, TOYOTA STATED THAT "A MAJORITY OF THE REPORTS INCLUDED IN THIS RESPONSE ARE MOST LIKELY RELATED TO THE LOOSENING OF THE WINDOW REGULATOR BOLTS." THE SECOND ISSUE IS, "LESS PREDOMINANTLY, INTERFERENCE OF THE SIDE WINDOW GLASS WITH THE DOOR CHECK LINK...." ODI HAS RECEIVED 46 CONSUMER COMPLAINTS ALLEGING THAT THE DRIVER AND/OR PASSENGER POWER FRONT WINDOW SHATTERED, AND/OR THE WINDOW MAKES A POPPING/CLICKING NOISE DURING OPERATION. A LOOSENING OF THE WINDOW REGULATOR BOLTS MAY PRODUCE A POPPING NOISE WHILE OPERATING THE WINDOW. THE POWER WINDOW SYSTEM IN THE PONTIAC VIBE VEHICLES IS ALSO USED IN THE TOYOTA COROLLA AND THE TOYOTA COROLLA MATRIX. TOYOTA IDENTIFIED 203 COMPLAINTS FOR MODEL YEAR (MY) 2003-2004 PONTIAC VIBE; AND, 254 COMPLAINTS FOR MY 2003-2004 TOYOTA COROLLA AND TOYOTA COROLLA MATRIX ALLEGING THAT THE SIDE FRONT POWER WINDOW SHATTERED AND/OR MADE A POPPING/CLICKING NOISE DURING OPERATION. TOYOTA IS STILL MONITORING AND EVALUATING THIS ISSUE. ODI OPENS THIS ENGINEERING ANALYSIS TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE THIS ISSUE."

I would like to give Toyota credit for moving fast on this problem. In the past Toyota has been notorious for stonewalling defect investigations and resisting making necessary recalls unless forced by NHTSA. In this case, it appears they moved quickly. Of course one might wonder if this is because GM was not willing to participate in delaying tactics.

Ed

You mean like when Ford decided to recall a slew of Firestone Tires that came with its vehicles? After the 200 deaths?

How about when Ford recalled 3,600,000 (yes that is 3.6 million) vehicles just last year, over cruise control? 2 years prior to that they recalled 6 million vehicles for similar problems to cruis control.. and thats just cruis control in 3 years...

How about the Explorer class action law suits?

Trying to compare Ford's recalls to that of Toyotas amounts to nothing more than American Pride!

Rather minute when you compare it to 200 deaths.

My '95 Tercel had a recall for a screw that could come loose on the antenna, causing the antenna to lose grounding and static on AM.

What was the latest GM recall?

Oh, yeah...this one:

Fires Cause Recall of GM Sedans

By TOM KRISHER ? Mar 14, 2008

DETROIT (AP) ? General Motors Corp. says it is recalling more than

207,000 Buick Regal and Pontiac Grand Prix sedans because they can develop oil leaks that can cause fires.

Um, bit hard to make that look like an 'accident'...

"I was just about to take a shot at that ground squirrel, when this Yorkie jumped right up in front of the muzzle."

Only vehicles assembled in the U.S. are affected by the recall, which implies that the problem is unique to either the parts, fasteners, or assembly technique used in North America.

Within 500 feet of a dwelling?

Still won't fly...

120,000 Pntiac Vibes...oh wait, Toyota built those (or at least NUMI did, and it was a Toyota design).

Ed

The engine affected was the supercharged 3.8L V6. This GM problem was alleged to have caused 267 fires and six injuries. It was also claimed that

17 structure fires were related to this problem. The Corolla/Matrix/Vibe problem is alleged to have casued 500 incidents and 36 injuries. As far as I can tell, the Toyota defect did not cause any buildings to burn down, but I am sure some sharp lawyers is trying to figure out how a broken window could cause a house to burn down (particualrly if the owner is behind in making the mortgage payments).

You should compare how GM handled this rceall compared to how Toyota handle the truck ball joint recall. GM was very proactive. They notified NHTSA of the concern and issued a recall even before the NHTSA investigation was complete. NHTSA had to force Toyota to recall the defective ball joints, despite Toyota's acknowledgement that at least 6 people had been killed as a result of ball joint failures (and the final number was more like 27).

I wouldn't say Toyota is building vehicles more likely to be recalled than GM, but I don't think the opposite claim can be made either. Toyota has taken their turn as the recall leader, just like Ford and GM and Chrysler.

Ed

Toyota recalled the vehicles in order to fix them after it found out was wrong. They did not sweep it under the rug for 2 years.

" it has been estimated that over 250 deaths and more than 3,000 serious injuries resulted from these failures."

Ford had the power to make it known and refused to.... FACT!

You are an apologist for American companies because of American pride. FACT!

Boy that is really credible - NOT. There are multiple Wikipedia warnings attached to this reference:

"This article has multiple issues. Please help improve the article or discuss these issues on the talk page. "It does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve it by citing reliable sources. Tagged since January 2007. "Its neutrality is disputed. Tagged since August 2007. "It may require general cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.Tagged since August 2007."

I love the line about Ford and Firestone covering up the "500" defect. The Firestone 500 problems were from the 1970's and affected multiple manufacturers. The defective Firestone tires installed on Explorers and Rangers and Nissan Pick-ups were Wilderness AT and ATX tires, not "500s."

Then there is the part about Ford engineers refusing to change the Explorer's suspension design. More total BS. The vehicles that were affected by the defective Firestone tires were 1995 to 1999 models. These had a completely different front suspension than the 1990 models that are cited in relationship to the refusal to change the suspension design.

Then there is the BS about the "Firestone recommended pressure molded in to the tires." This is an industry standard number. For a given size and type of tire, this number is the same, no matter who builds the tire. There are exceptions for extra load tires, that have alternate maximums (but still an industry standard). In congressional testimony, Firestone executives admitted that the tires should have been safe if only inflated to 22 psi (when on a properly loaded Explorer). Firestone made a point of trying to smear Ford by saying that they recommended Ford specify an inflation pressure of 30 psi instead of 26 psi. However, the 26 psi recommendation was in effect for years and Firestone never complained - until they started supplying sub-standard tires. Goodyear tires of the same size and type installed on Explorers had the same pressure recommendation and had no tread separation problems.

It is not even clear what the line you quoted is claiming. Read the whole line (it is in a separate paragraph) - " Many rollovers cause serious injury and even death; it has been estimated that over 250 deaths and more than 3,000 serious injuries resulted from these failures." Which failures are they talking about? Specifically Explorer rollovers, or rollovers in general? Or Explorer rollover related to Firestone tires? And is this for one year or 10? Does it apply to all Explorers, or only Explorers with Firestone tires? I have seen it claimed that rollover crashes kill more than 10,000 people each year. I think this is not true, but if it is true, it makes 200 deaths in Explorer rollovers spread over several years seem trivial.

I should be clear about one thing - I think 4 door Explorers from the late to mid 90's (the ones involved in the tire recall) were reasonably safe vehicles. They tended to have above average to average insurance loss ratings. 2 Door Explorers from the same time period, particularly the 2WD, 2 Door Explorers, had relatively poor injury loss ratings. They were still better than 4Runners (including 4 door

4WD 4Runners) from the same time period, but I would never consider them as being especially safe. They had poor injury loss rating for two reason, the shorter wheelbase than the 4 door versions made them less stable, and they tended to be purchased by younger less experienced drivers.

You conveniently left out an important sentence from your reference exonerating Ford to some extent - "A subsequent NHTSA investigation of real world accident data showed that the SUVs in question were no more likely to roll over than any other SUV." And in fact 4 door Explorers from the mid to late 90's were far less likely to be involved in a rollover accident than Toyota 4Runners.

A more credible article is at

I cherry picked a few quotes for you -

"Federal regulators said tonight that they had received more than 750 complaints about the failure of Firestone tires, involving 62 deaths." - This quote was from August of 2000, at the height of the frenzy.

"Even with the deaths attributed to Firestone tires, Explorers have a

22 percent lower death rate in rollovers than competitors' midsize sport utilities and a 24 percent lower death rate in crashes over all, said Ernie Grush, Ford's manager of safety data analysis." - Hmm, so why was Ford targeted? Why are you picking on Ford, when Toyota 4Runners had a far higher rollover death rate? Are you showing "Toyota Pride?" Seems misplaced in this case.

Regards,

Ed White

FACT -Ford recalled millions of tires despite the fact that Firestone was responsible for. Firestone refused to initiate a recll, even though it was their responsibility to do so.

Apparently you are willing to ignore recent Toyota mistakes will dredging up a decade old Firestone mistake (and trying to pin it on Ford).

Ed

Is this a reliable source

TOKYO, Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it will recall

471,000 vehicles in 13 models, including nine passenger car models, to fix fuel pumps and other mechanisms free of charge.

DETROIT (Reuters)- Toyota is recalling 34,343 MY 2006 Lexus GS and IS vehicles. High stress areas may have been created in two specific fuel pipes located in the engine compartment. Combined with other factors such as the presence of corrosive agents in fuel, a crack may form over time leading to fuel leakage from the fuel line(s). Fuel leakage in the presence of an ignition source could result in a fire. Dealers will replace the two involved fuel lines with newly designed lines free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during December 2007.

WASHINGTON - Toyota Motor Corp. said today it is recalling 15,600 four-by-four versions of the 2007 Tundra pickup truck in the United States because of problems with a propeller shaft connected to the rear axle. The automaker said a joint in the rear propeller shaft may have been improperly heat-treated, leading to an inadequate amount of hardness. A section of the rear propeller shaft could separate at the joint and immobilize the truck and force it to coast to a stop, the company said.

New Delhi, Jan 20 - Japanese auto major Toyota has decided to recall about 20,000 units of its best-selling multi-utility vehicle Innova in India. The vehicles, manufactured between April and October 2007, have been recalled to repair a faulty part that could lead to oil leakage. The number of recalled vehicles is about 15% of nearly 1.3 lakh Innovas on-road in India. We found that there was a small problem in the rear axle of about 20 vehicles that came to us for servicing. So we are running a special service campaign for the units made between April and October last year. We have asked people to come and get their vehicles checked and get them repaired, if its required, Toyota Kirloskar Motors deputy managing director KK Swamy told FE. The problem, detected in about 20,000 Innovas, is in the differential carrier mounting nuts, which becomes loose, and, on long usage, could lead to oil leakage. The company said it was experiencing this problem only in India and not anywhere else in the world, which could happen due to road conditions in the country.