Car and Driver Says Toyota’s Unintended Acceleration Risks Are Minuscule
Jason Lancaster | Feb 05, 2010 | Comments 20
The executive editor of Car & Driver Magazine has written a fantastic editorial on the actual risks Toyota owners are subjected to as a result of the sticking/entrapped accelerator pedal recalls. Basically, it says what a lot of Toyota owners were already thinking: the risks from the recalls really aren’t a big deal.
First, using their own test equipment, Car & Driver has confirmed that a Toyota stuck on full-throttle can be successfully stopped using the vehicle’s brake system (even at highway speeds).
Next, C&D points out something that a few people here have been saying: if your car’s accelerator is stuck, hit the brakes, shift into neutral, and then shut off the engine. If you act in a cool and calm manner, a stuck accelerator isn’t going to hurt you.
Then, C&D dives into the numbers. Using the suspect figure of 20 deaths that are reportedly associated with unintended acceleration, C&D finds the odds of dying in a Toyota as a result of unintended acceleration to be about 1 in 200,000.
We’re no Toyota apologists, but if you look past the media circus, the numbers don’t reveal a meaningful problem. Every man, woman, and child in the U.S. has approximately a one-in-8000 chance of perishing in a car accident every year. Over a decade, that’s about one in 800. Given the millions of cars included in the Toyota recalls and the fewer than 20 alleged deaths over the past decade, the alleged fatality rate is about one death per 200,000 recalled Toyotas.
Finally, C&D addresses the assertion that Toyota’s electronic drive-by-wire system is somehow faulty. As we have said here on TundraHQ in the past, there’s absolutely no proof that the drive-by-wire system is flawed. NHTSA has conducted 6 investigations on the system of the past 10 years, and not one of those investigations found a problem.
If you haven’t already done so, be sure to read Car and Driver’s editorial Toyota Recall: Scandal, Media Circus, and Stupid Drivers.
Comments?
Filed Under: Auto News
sorry Jason, any other new topics to discuss besides this recall? I’m getting sick of it on the news and on these type of forums since I feel the recall happening to me is a 1 in a million chance and I have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than my pedal sticking on either of my 2 vehicles under the recall.
I find this intresting that a mag even states this is a media hype thing. I hear you Mk but this here with the media just solidifies my position to stay with Toyota. To see that they selectively go after just Toyota when you have the Ford Hybrids having the same issue with their brakes as the Prius. But do you hear this on the news? Nope you don’t. It’s amazing how they can do this to a company with so much bias in their reporting.
I think it was jason that dogged me about not all manufactures being treated equal. Well if they are than why is the prius making bigger news than the ford hybrids. It sounds like the fix is exactly the same.
Loren alot has to do with Mr. Lahood who is with the UAW guys etc. Mr. Lahood purposely miss spoke to ruin Toyota. Hence the reason now GM is doing good. Remember the govt mentioning they will do anything to help GM make it. NHTSA is run by the govt and the govt owns GM. Conflict of intrest. Coincedence or not that GM comes out with it’s $1,000 rebate (which was a failure) on Toyota’s the same day Toyota announces the pedal recall. Loren and Jason read this article I found….
http://www.financialpost.com/n.....id=2519112
the liberal media is a joke. What if it was……. Daewoo instead of Toyota. You would have never heard the story. Period. Look at the little press coverage of the 5 million Fords and their fire risky cruise controls. Who remembers the 1980’s GM trucks (6.3 million) recalled for suspension bolts that could come loose at any given moment and make the vehicle unsteerable while cruising down the road. Better yet, my 84 Vette, 85 Trans Am, 86 Buick GN and 95 GMC Sierra all being recalled for unintended acceleration caused by either defective grommets with the cruise system or the cable being impeded by carpet at the firewall. Even more ironic, I didn’t even know they had been recalled until i researched them on the nhtsa’s website a few days ago. Is there a problem with Toyota’s, yes. Is Toyota fixing the issue, i certainly hope so. Am i scared to drive my 2010 Tundra, no but concerned. Would I buy another Toyota, yes (i actually bought the Tundra the same day they suspended sales, just before it was announced). Let’s be for real. Every manufacturer has had a case of unintended acceleration somewhere in their history. If you go to wikipedia and look up unintended acceleration, there is a graph and it shows Ford right behind Toyota in incidences of “unintended acceleration” in 2008. Hmmmmmm. Makes you wonder.
Those who draw attention to themselves (example: Toyota whole ad campain for the Tundra “Truck the is Changing Everything”) gets the attention, good or bad. Suck it up and deal with it, stop whining!
hahaha, the only whining i even hear is from my former f-150’s fuel pump and transmission. Sorry, i couldn’t resist that one. Well, Toyota’s commercials or slogans are just as bad as the rest. Built FORD Tough…. tough compared to what? 3 ply commercial grade toilet paper? Chevy’s “Like a Rock”. That leaves a lot to interpret. I’m not gonna say anything bad about the Dodge Powerwagon because i like the solid front axle design and mixed with the Cummins turbo diesel, it can’t be beat. Oh well, this will all come and pass. Toyota will survive just like GM and Ford. The arguements will go on forever with no clear winner. Taste Great – Less Filling!!!!!!!! Just remember, I’m not bashing the other manufacturers, just the media. Even Consumer Reports said that there were only “5” actual cases that the sticking pedals were suspected and the potential was there for every car maker. It’s good that the media covered it since the public needs and should be aware of the issue but this is like beating a dead horse. Furthermore, everybody love’s dirty laundry. You can’t sell a newspaper with a headline that reads “PEACE Breaksout”.
Anonymous great comment. Now if that’s the case all manufacturer’s will have that issue. All you’re doing is spreading hatred.
Toyota Tundra DID change the entire truck industry. FOR THE BETTER.
Now clean up the steaming pile of crap you just left and try to remember to use a toilet next time.
Any one want to get a good laugh. Look up the history of Fords hybrid system. VERY educational.
Did and they have the same brake issue that the Prius has. Who is in the news though?
Here’s one for reading showing you exactly the numbers.
http://www.investors.com/NewsA.....?id=520336
mk – I hear ya.
loren – I’m not following.
danny, J.D., Mickey – great comments all.
Mickey: Differences between the Ford/Toyota hybrid brake problems. Number one, Prius models potentially impacted 311,000. Fords potentially impacted 17,600. We’re talking about nearly 300K more Toyota’s recalled than Fords. Who do you think is going to make the front page first? Fords is a perceived loss of braking, with no actual brake loss. Toyota’s is a loss of braking on rough roads. Actually losing brakes versus, thinking you lost your brakes, who do you think will make the front page first? Please stop trying to justify the Toyota recalls and provide an excuse or out. Ford was notified of the problem, fixed the software and is mailing letters. Toyota has investigated, but has not yet issued a recall or fix, which hopefully is coming this week. I make no excuse for Fords, they are built by humans and are going to have problems. Why can
Justin, thanks for your rebuttal.
You mention that Ford recalled 14 million. The reason i mentioned the recall, is because the media is claiming the Toyota to be the largest recall ever and obviously it’s not.
And yes, there are more media outlets today as well as deeper government scrutiny today but there is also more sensationalism and lack of integrity in journalism. I never said Toyota did not have a problem. As mentioned in my 1st post, I had owned (and still own the BGN) 4 General Motor vehicles that were recalled for the same type of issues and was never notified at all or heard about it in the media. I was the original owner of all except the Grand National. None of the other 3 were ever taken in to be fixed since no one was notified. Also, my mail for the last 43 years still goes to the same address and i live one block from our (former) GM dealership. By the 1980’s I was well into learning everything i could about cars and read just about everything i could. I didnt know about the Ford issue until about 2 years ago. Go figure. To go even deeper, everyone thinks that GM recalled trucks from 1977-1986 for side-saddle gas tanks that are not protected by the frame. That is not true. There was never an official recall (vonuntary or involuntary). GM fought this tooth and nail and technically won. They ended up being challenged in 49 state class action lawsuits and a national classaction lawsuit.
http://www.autosafety.org/hist.....ank-defect
Most people are smart enough to be able to see the truth between the lines from the media but we all know that there are more people that believe anything they hear on TV or any other media. People jump to automatic conclusions without weighing the facts. Journalism is suppose to bring the facts to the table and let the public decide. They are putting too many personal subjective thoughts into their stories. Journalist like to point fingers at a story without showing both sides. There are 3 sides to every story, yours mine and the truth. I can easily point to many political stories that are anti-bush that are untrue and i can easily document it. For example, The Bush administration created the problemed economic/housing market. Well, lets go back, Clintion deregulated the finianical industry (1999 i think). The Bush admin went infront of oversight commitees and warned of the impending collapse or potential of collapse of Fanny and Freddie and it’s affects past the housing market but Dem. Barney Frank said that the republicans when screaming “the sky is falling” and that those government institions were solid and sound and nothing would happen………….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63siCHvuGFg
I wonder how many people actually know this and the “internet” was around in 2003. If action was taken in 2003, the mess we’re in now would not be nearly as bad as it is. And if you didn’t know, the housing market pushed the rest of the US economy directly and indirectly. also, why do yo uthink that Clinton and Greenspan kept pushing for lower interest rates…. cause it makes houses easier to afford, therefore creating property taxes and taxable profit from the banks. All this did was prop up the economy and kept cash flowing to the government. Sorry for my soapbox speech.
I respect your point of view and i ask that you respect mine. The media must be more responsible and fair. I never said that they should not have reported the toyota issues or that they should not be consumer advocates. Just fairness and truth. Furthermore, we can easily see that there is a major division amongst media outlets over the topic.
Danny: They consider this Toyota recall the largest recall in Toyota history, not automotive history.
http://www.npr.org/templates/s.....=123418438
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And I do agree with you on the journalism of today, too much hype over such little items. But my whole point is many import owners were laughing and taking everything the hyped media said and did for fact, when many of the domestic recalls occurred, such as the Explorer/Firestone debacle and the CC switch. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, these same import owners are crying foul, that this is overblown and the media is creating too much of said issues. To me and many people I know, we call this a double standard. I have nothing against Toyota or imports, heck my wife drives a Nissan Altima, which has been a great car, other than the constant strut replacements (which I think is more my wife
Ok, instead of the initial report of 311K Prius being recalled due to brake issues, the number has jumped to 437K hybrids, including the Prius and some Lexus models.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/.....0&.v=30
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Now an investigation is being opened on the Corolla and its power steering.
http://www.autonews.com/apps/p.....09863/1290
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In the same article as the Prius recall, they have added a new recall to certain Camry’s. “Also Tuesday, Toyota said it will voluntarily recall about 7,300 four-cylinder Camry sedans produced early in the 2010 model year because of a possible brake fluid leak.”
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And for those thinking this is a conspiracy, from the Corolla link above. “NHTSA currently is conducting 40 investigations of possible defects, three of which involve Toyota, Transportation said. Over the last three years, NHTSA said its probes have resulted in 524 recalls involving 23.5 million vehicles.” So the investigations and recalls aren’t limited to Toyota.
to Justin,
1st of all, my appologies about the political stuff. I was just trying to make a point about the media leaning to the left.
I fully understand what you are saying but i guess where i’m from, being Ford and Chevy country, you just really never hear much bad stuff about them. My Tundra is technically my 1st Toyota. The 2008 model i mentioned earlier, i owned for 3 months (used) and took it bad to the dealer for a new one. I have been a life long GM fan until recently. It wasn’t the Sierra or Silverado that turned me away, it was the “BS” attitudes of all of the local dealers that shoved me away. I owed a GMC Z-71 for 15 years and was absolutely the best and greatest truck i can think of. 263k miles and only in the shop 3 times for minor stuff. The Camry is my sister’s 1st Toyota and the Highlander is my brother’s 2nd Toyota. Out of a fleet of about 15 cars in the family, the only domestic cars left is an 08 HHR and a 86 Grand National. Import quality has shot way above the domestics but has slipped over the years. There may have been a double standard where you live but not here. But then again, most of the bashing i’m taking here are from people driving junkers coming to our place of business. A lot of my farmer buddies (Ford mostly) have complimented me on the new Tundra and have given Toyota good remarks. I guess i’m reffering to the “sheep” following the media. Heck, me being a GM man, I never bashed a ford over the recalls and they never bashed me. I guess we all live in our own lil’ microcosm. I am not a Toyota loyalist, yet. I think my heart still yearns for another GMC Z-71 but I really enjoyed driving my friend’s F-150 RAPTOR. I don’t think it has any real competition in it’s class, but oddly, I’s like to have the new Dodge Powerwagon. I guess, to each their own perspective on this issue.
Respect and Peaceout.
Heavy Duty Trucks:
That’s not a dent, it’s a full blown fenderbender. Regarding the Toyota’s with the unintended acceleration issue, they say thats it’s a component made in the US by CTS Corp. The Japan model supposedly use the same type design component but made by Denso. They say the Denso unit has no issues. The Denso unit can be easily identified by the 4 bolts on the lefthand side of the unit. The CTS unit has a silver colored plate on the left side. My Tundra has the CTS unit but my sister’s Camry has the Denso.
The Prius issue is a seperate issue and involves the Japanese made ones too.
Justin call it what you want. I say potato you say potato. It’s the same no matter how you look at it. Mr. Lahood was pissed off at Toyota and that is why he made his damaging statement just to recalled it later and then states he’s not finish with Toyota. When he made that statement if that doesn’t sound like a person bent on getting a manufacturer I don’t know what is. He has a vendetta to get Toyota now. As much as you tried to disclaim the Hybrid brake issue Ford has it was the same and both had a loss of braking. What was used was different words in stating the issue with the same meaning.