Nice New Toyotas

Toyota Innova is the leading model in its segment. Manufactured by one of the leading car production corporations in the world, Toyota Innova possesses many excellent features with world-class safety, advanced styling, and solid durability. If you want a first class car for any driving purpose then Toyota Innova is definitely the perfect choice.

Innova is equipped with VVT-I engine or D4Ddiesel. Both kinds of engines offer matchless performance capacity. Specifically the diesel engine has the power of common-rail technology which has superior performance and extremely energy efficiency.

Toyota Innova is the leading car in safety technology. A typical Toyota Innovahas SRS airbags, large disk brakes, high rigidity frame, Global Outstanding Assessment body, and collapsible steering column. With this modern, comfortable and nicely refined MPV (Multi-Purpose-Vehicle), Toyota Innova promises to continue its leading role in the forth coming years.

Interior space and comfort are by far the leading in the world of world-class cars. The Innova offers a feeling of far more spacious than any other models. The middle row is designed to be quite high off the floor, leaving space for comfortable sitting. Maybe you may find it not as comfy as the Safari’s middle row seats; the Innova still has lots of legroom and space for the central passengers.

The rear seats are designed to be flexible and comfortable. The rear seats are designed for two passengers with a single-piece bench. Toyota Innova is certified as an eight-seater.

The most attractive features Toyota Innova offers its users are its builds, turnout, and mechanical hardware as well as the flexible nature of the seating system, spacious room in the cabin, and the high comfort and luxury level one cannot find in any other similar vehicle of its kind.

The Innova is easy to drive despite its large size. From the driver’s seat, you have a broad and commanding view of your surroundings via the spacious glass. The 2.0 leter engine works well with 4-speed gearbox to help move a body of 1.5 tons without much fuss. The Innova can reach a speed of 160 kilometers per hour if given a long enough road. Although Innova is not designed to participate in any rally driving, the Innova still offers great speed acceleration. The large disk brakes ensure that you have total control over your Innova’s movement. Once you stomp on the brake, the car stop moving in a matter of seconds.

The fuel cost you have to pay is also very minimal compared to other vehicles. In fact, Innova is considered to be among the most fuel efficient cars in the world.

Gurg Sumit Kumar provides reviews on latest car models, automobiles and all four wheelers. Find more about his latest review on toyota innova, its specifications, features and all the available models.

As I have been learning all of the wonderful tools and innovation that Toyota brought to manufacturing I am astounded to say the least. And up until now their quality was unsurpassed. What happened? I was reading an article from the Harvard Business Review by Sean Silverthorne on this very subject. Apparently, a significant contributor to this accelerator problem was Toyota leadership abandoned their quality driven system for increased market share. This wonderful thing called capitalism comes with an underlying price – manufacturer responsibility to the consumer’s safety. Toyota let themselves be lured by increasing market share instead of their customer first ideals. I wonder if the leadership seriously considering the long term consequences of this direction.

“The flush of catching up to Ford and General Motors, coupled with a boom in demand, led Toyota’s leaders to put sales growth above quality. Senior leaders became focused on becoming first in sales with a 15% share of global sales. This meant that new products had to be introduced more quickly, new plants had to be opened more rapidly, and supply networks had to be expanded more aggressively. We’re now seeing the consequences of those decisions.” – Learning from Toyota’s Stumble by Steven Spear

Another automaker that lost its credibility was Audi. “Volkswagen AG’s Audi luxury brand spent 15 years rebuilding U.S. sales after sudden-acceleration incidents in the 1980s almost wiped out demand, a possible sign of the difficult times Toyota Motor Corp. faces. Audi’s U.S. deliveries plunged 83 percent by 1991 from their peak in 1985 following recalls of the German automaker’s 5000 sedan. A class-action lawsuit in 1987 by Audi owners seeking compensation is still being fought.” Audi 1980s Scare May Mean Lost Generation for Toyota by Andreas Cremer and Tom Lavell.

Toyota was the industry example of how to run a manufacturing business at optimum performance. When they upheld Lean principles of the customer first in on all levels of their processes it was reflected in the quality of their product. Not just in production, but design and marketing. This Lean philosophy was translated into profit, brand loyalty and an impeccable reputation. They were truly a lean enterprise. I fear that they have now become just another automaker. Toyota is reexamining what made them great. However, it will still take years to recover from the brand damage now done.

Toyota is a clear example of what not to do when you have a successful business model. All companies can be what Toyota was and hopefully will become again. Before this recall Toyota had 15% of the global market. Amazing. On a local level, think of what is would be like to increase your market share just by doing things Lean. If you were able to set up best practices, reduce or eliminate mistakes, full utilization of staff, etc. how would that help you become an industry leader? The question to ask yourself is am I the Toyota of yesterday or the Toyota of today? This applies for service business too. Which one are you?

Cynthia Marsh-Croll

TOYOTA PRIUS BATTERY LIFE

No one has been able to give the exact span of the Toyota Prius battery life. It is a hybrid battery that lasts a fairly long time. Toyota people state that the Toyota Prius battery life is not measured on years but rather on the mileage. They claim it can run for about 100,000 to 150,000 miles. When the Toyota Prius battery life has expired the owners of the Prius will have to look for ways to get their car back on the road. The Toyota dealers do have replacement batteries available. The cost for a replacement battery is about $4000.

Who wants to pay such high cost for a used car?

There are other ways which can be used instead of buying a new battery from the Toyota dealership. You can search for ways in which you can make use of your old Prius battery and recycle it to make your car active once again.

Doesn’t this sound better?

I used this guide available on the internet when I faced the problem of my Toyota Prius battery life expiring without any warning. It gave way and I had to search for techniques to replace it. This guide to rebuild a battery yourself really helped me. It was cheap and economical. If in case you are a busy man and do not have the time to rebuild the battery yourself, don’t worry. You still won’t have to pay $4000 for a new replacement battery. You can hire a local mechanic for this work. I have found local mechanics will only charge you regular shop labor rates to fix your Prius battery. They did ask me to provide the guide for them so they could fix it to my specifications.

This option was still better than buying a new or used battery for your old Toyota Prius car. I came across this problem a little bit ago and at first I was going to have a mechanic rebuild the battery for me. However I had some time and I was able to tackle the project myself with no complications. Once you have the battery rebuilt you will not have to worry for the next seven or eight years. The rebuilt Toyota Prius battery life is expected to be like the original one. I am happy with my rebuilt battery and I am glad I invested the little bit of money I did to get the guide.

About the Author:

Stephen is the owner of a Toyota Prius and has used this guide to fix his own Prius. Discover how to save thousands of dollars when your Toyota Prius battery life has expired. Use this guide to fix the battery yourself or give it to your local mechanic and have them fix it for you. Either way you will save a lot of money to have your Prius back on the road. http://priusbatteryguide.weebly.com

The Toyota Motor Corporation is the largest car manufacturer in the world, but they didn’t get there by building cars of an inferior quality. Toyotas have long been considered the benchmark by which all other makes are judged, but in recent months that advantage has largely disappeared.

Toyota’s problems are being blamed on a number of factors including a relentless quest to displace General Motors as the world’s largest car company, management infighting where Toyoda family members battled to regain control of the company and a management disconnect between what takes place in Japan and elsewhere in the world.

But I’m not writing about these problems specifically. Rather, what must Toyota do to regain the customer’s trust in their products?

As an automotive writer who attends auto shows, meets with industry leaders and keeps his pulse on what customers are thinking about through my Auto Trends website, I can offer the following suggestions on how Toyota can win back customers and put its present crises behind it:

Come clean. It isn’t enough for Akio Toyoda to offer one thousand apologies for Toyota’s screw ups. While having the chairman of the company take responsibility is laudable, ‘fessing up can go much further. Specifically, Toyota has to admit where it went wrong even at the risk of huge lawsuits. Toyota will end up paying hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and legal settlements, but they’ll also save themselves billions in lost sales.

Shake up. Toyota is much too concentrated in Japan. The entire board consists of paternal, Japanese executives who understand the home market but are out of touch with what goes on in the rest of the world. Google the name Jim Press and see what he has to say about Toyota management. You’ll learn that the company is great at selling vehicles, but not at identifying problems quickly. Someone needs to shake up the way the company is managed and run.

Get real. Toyota has a perceived culture of not being transparent and some have gone on record as saying that the company covers up it problems. An AP investigative report accused Toyota of this much, something Toyota has to counter. They can do that by always letting customers know what is going on and avoid posturing. If you’re believable, customers will trust you. If not, good-bye.

If Toyota continues to be defensive, even combative, people will see through it and look elsewhere for their new cars. Volkswagen and a resurgent General Motors are closing back in while Ford, Honda and Hyundai are demonstrating that their vehicles are certainly worth a look.

Matthew C. Keegan

TOYOTA PRIUS BATTERY COST

The Toyota Prius is a mid sized car that is completely hybrid electric. It has been developed by the Toyota Motor Company. The Prius is believed to be one of the most fuel efficient cars sold in the US as per the United states Environment Protection Agency.

The main problem many customers our having with the Prius is related to the battery life. In a lot of cases the Prius batteries are only lasting 150,000 miles or only between 8 – 10 years. The Toyota Prius is a great car, but if you are ever in need of the batteries to be replaced, you have a big problem. Let us give you your options and provide you with some help.

When you are not in the warranty period then you will have to pay a high price for your hybrid batteries. Some used Prius battery packs are offered on websites which will cost around a $1000. However, this can be risky. You should be looking for other dealers that can give you high quality hybrid batteries at a good price. This can be hard to find because a lot of dealers are still charging outrageous prices for new hybrid batteries.

The Toyota Prius battery cost has come down recently. Earlier they were priced at around $3000. When you look around you will be able to find them for approximately $2300. These quoted prices of the Toyota Prius battery cost are outrageous and are not affordable for the typical Prius owner.

Another quick and cheaper option to reduce your Toyota Prius battery cost is to buy a rebuilt battery from other dealers other than Toyota. This will save both your time and money. You can even find lots of people who are ready to sell Toyota Prius rebuilt batteries online. This is still a little risky but a lot cheaper than paying your money to Toyota to fix what should of never broke in the first place.

I myself decided to use the lowest cost option. I have found a guide online which you can use for rebuilding your battery yourself. I didn’t want to rebuild the battery myself at first so I talked to my local mechanic shop and they said if I give them the guide they will look it ocher and rebuild the battery for me at shop rates.

I could not justify giving Toyota my hard earned money so I did some research and discovered this excellent guide. The guide was not expensive and it saved me a ton of money and hassle. I was back on the road for under $500 and had plenty of money in my pocket and not Toyotas.

About the Author:

Stephen is the owner of a Toyota Prius and has used this guide to fix his own Prius. Discover the way I did to save thousands on your Toyota Prius battery cost. Use this guide to fix the battery yourself or give it to your local mechanic and have them fix it for you. Either way you will save a lot of money to have your Prius back on the road.

Starting in 2006, individuals buying hybrid cars will get a tax credit instead of a tax deduction. The IRS has just started to kick out the exact amounts you can claim for your new hybrid.

Various Toyota Hybrids Get Tax Credit Certification From IRS

Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the tax benefits of owning a hybrid vehicle underwent significant changes. Whereas you could previously claim a tax deduction, the new law converted the deduction into a tax credit. Tax credits are FAR more valuable than deductions, because they reduce the amount of tax you owe on a pound for pound basis. Tax Deductions, on the other hand, merely reduce your adjusted gross income prior to determining the amount of tax you owe pursuant to the tax tables. In laymen’s terms, this conversion is a very good thing.

Not every hybrid car qualifies for a tax credit. The Internal Revenue Service must first evaluate it and then issue guidance on which cars qualify and the size of the credit you can claim for each. The maximum the IRS can designate per car is £3,400. Here are the numbers it recently kicked out for various Toyota hybrid models.

2005 Toyota Prius:    £3150

2006 Toyota Prius:   £3150

2006 Toyota Highlander 4WD Hybrid: £2600

2006 Toyota Highlander 2WD Hybrid: £2600

2006 Lexus RX400h 2WD:  £2200

2006 Lexus RX400h 4WD:  £2200

If you purchased your hybrid car prior to 2006, you are restricted to claiming a tax deduction in the amount previously designated by the IRS, usually £2,000. If you waited until 2006, you can claim the above amounts with a few hitches. First, the amount only applies to the first 60,000 cars sold for each model. If you purchase a hybrid in the 60,0001 to 120,000 sales range, you can claim only half of the tax credit. Sales 120,001 through 180,000 can claim on a quarter of the amount designated above. Exactly how you are supposed to know the sales figures is a bit murky, but Toyota will undoubtedly take steps to make it clear.

Hybrid vehicles make sense from an environmental aspect. Throw in significant savings on gas costs and a large tax credit, and they should fly off the lots.

Toyota Motor Corporation’s product liability for unintended acceleration and braking problems, which has reportedly led to 10 million recalls and counting, would eventually be found to be manufacturing and/or design safety defects.

From the reported accounts of several accidents involving sudden acceleration and brake failure, the safety defects may, hopefully for Toyota, be limited to accelerator-pedal trapping floor mats, sticking accelerator pedals, and inconsistent anti-lock brake systems (ABS), and not include defective electronic throttle control systems (ETCS) or stirring systems, on Corollas, Camrys, and other Toyota models.

Toyota’s global recalls have included Prius and Lexus hybrids, which indicate that the safety defects related to unintended acceleration and braking problems are systemic in nature.

Indeed, Toyota dealers nationwide have reportedly begun fixing accelerator pedals on recalled vehicles by installing a precision-cut reinforcement bar into the accelerator pedal assembly to eliminate the excess friction that has caused pedals to stick on occasions.

Dealers will also place reconfigured accelerator pedals and newly-designed floor mats on affected models to remedy floor mat pedal entrapment, and remedy the inconsistent brake feel of the anti-lock system (ABS) in 2010 Prious.

Moreover, Toyota will install a brake override system that cuts the engine on simultaneous application of accelerator and brake pedals. Even as Toyota is implementing the brake override system, it asserts that it “is confident that no defect exists in the electronic control unit (ECU).”

Manufacturing Versus Design Defects:

A. Manufacturing Defects:

The manufacturing process of a product consists of the formation, assembly, adjustment, combination, or processing of raw materials or ingredients according to the product design, per CCH, I Products Liability Reporter, Section 4785.
Thus, manufacturing defects may arise from improper formation, faulty assembly or adjustment, incorrect composition, or defective raw materials or component parts.

Toyota has identified the manufacturing defect that causes sticking accelerators as the: “friction device that includes a ’shoe’ that rubs against an adjoining surface during normal pedal operation. Due to the “materials used, wear and environmental conditions,” these surfaces may begin to stick…. In some cases, friction could increase to a point… that the pedal sticks, leaving the throttle potentially open.”

In one of the early Firestone cases filed by this Author in August 1999, with the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, the left rear tire of the injured family’s Ford Explorer, a 1994 Firestone Radial ATX, had its tread along with one steel ply coming off completely all the way around the tire.

It caused the 1995 Ford Explorer running at 65 miles per hour on US 101 Freeway in Solvang County, Santa Barbara, California to run out of control and overturn, injuring a couple and their two minor daughters in a nonfatal accident in August 1998.

Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., settled before trial based on the expert report of Transamerican Consultant Engineers, Inc., obtained by this Author, which concluded that: “(T)he cause of the tread separation was due to a poor bond between the steel plies due to failure of the brass plating on the wires to completely fuse with the sulfur in the rubber during the vulcanizing process.”

That case exemplified the manufacturing defect of incorrect composition or defective bonding materials.

B. Design Defects:

The designing of a product consists of the selection of materials and their intended construction as to size, shape, inclusion, and arrangement of component parts, per CCH, I Products Liability Reporter, Section 4745.

Thus, defects in design may take the forms of inadequacies in the plans or specifications, in the choice of materials for the product composition, or in the absence of safety devices or features.

Toyota’s installation of a precision-cut reinforcement bar into the accelerator pedal assembly is a design safety device to remedy sudden acceleration. And its reconfiguration of the shape of the accelerator pedal and newly-designed floor mats are likewise design remedies to avoid floor mat pedal entrapment. Moreover, the installation of a brake override system is another design safety feature.

The placement of fuel tanks close to the rear bumpers in Ford’s Pintos in the 1970’s, which in a 1978 case in Orange County, California, caused the gas tank to explode in a rear-end collision, exemplified the design defect of inadequate plans or specifications.

Defective vehicle design was also at issue in the January 2002 roll-overs of a 1997 Ford Explorer SUV, which left a mother of two paralyzed from the waist down when the Explorer’s roof caved in.

The San Diego jury found that Ford knew that the Explorer had design defects that increased its propensity to tip over, as well as its inadequate roof strength. The U.S. Supreme Court let stand the $82.6 million award to the paralyzed California women, which included $55 million in punitive damages.

Conclusion:

A vehicle recall is an admission of a defect or defects, whether manufacturing or design or both. Hopefully, the recall of Toyota vehicles would cure the defects. And Toyota would be liable only for the reduction in value and loss of use of the vehicle while being fixed. Otherwise, it may be liable also for punitive damages if it knew the defects all along.

For accident cases resulting in bodily injuries or deaths for sudden acceleration and failure of the brakes, the plaintiffs need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence either manufacturing or design or both defects through reconstruction and automotive experts.

Toyota Motor Corporation through their own experts will need to prove lack of defects or lack of causation for the injuries or death, that is, the loss of control of the Toyota vehicle was due to driver error. The jury and the appeal courts in case of appeals from the jury award or defense verdict will decide the outcome.

Our adversarial system of deciding legal disputes in courts would hopefully do justice to whom it is due.

(The Author, Roman P. Mosqueda, is the holder of a 1979 Doctor of Science of Law (S.J.D.) degree from The University of Michigan Law School, with a published doctoral dissertation on comparative product liability. He practices product liability, among other areas of law, in Southern California, based in Los Angeles.

For comments please email to rpm_law@yahoo.com or call his office at (213) 252-9481. Please feel free to visit http://www.mosquedalaw.com to know more about the Author’s practice.

This article is not meant to give legal advice, but is for information only. The reader with specific product liability issues is well-advised to seek the services of a competent product liability attorney.)

Atty Roman P. Mosqueda

Japan, home to the most technologically advanced culture, has several of the largest automotive manufacturers in the world. High standards of quality control, reliability, affordability and efficient engineering have led Japanese manufacturers to be a dominate force in the global automotive market. In this article, a comparison will be made between Japan’s modern engine-design methodology to use smaller-capacity, high revving, turbo charged engines, and that of America’s tradition of using large-capacity, low-revving, naturally aspirated engines. Japan’s most technologically advanced performance engine, the 2JZ-GTE, will be compared against America’s newest high performance engine, the LS2. The 2JZ-GTE engine manufactured by Toyota is a 3 litre (2997 cc), dual overhead cams, inline 6 cylinder powered by two sequential turbos and found in the Supra. Manufactured by General Motors, the LS2 is a 6 litre (5967 cc), 8 cylinder (v-configuration) pushrod engine found in the Corvette.

When comparing performance engines, the main thing that matters is the amount of power and torque the engine produces, right? Err…well yes, and no. There are many factors to consider when comparing engines. However, first, let’s take a side-by-side comparison of the power and torque figures for each engine. General Motors’ LS2 puts out an impressive 400 horsepower at 6000rpm, and 530nm of torque at 4400rpm. Toyota’s 2JZ-GTE makes a modest 320 horsepower at 5600rpm, and 440nm of torque at 3600rpm. From inspection of these figures, it looks like we have a clear winner. The LS2 makes more power and more torque, so why do I believe the 2JZ-GTE is a superior performance engine? An important factor rests on the size of the engine, the LS2 is exactly double the size of the 2JZ-GTE, yet the power and torque figures are not even 25% greater. Why the high level of inefficiency?

The problem with the LS2 is that the engine possesses several fundamental design flaws and relies on outdated technology. The LS2 is of a pushrod design, technically speaking, this means it is a type of piston engine that places the camshaft below the pistons and uses pushrods to actuate lifters or tappets above the cylinder head to actuate the valves. Pushrod engines are an old technology, which have largely been replaced by overhead cam designs in Europe and Japan.

Pushrod design is plagued with several problems. Firstly, pushrod engines suffer from a limited capacity to rev compared to overhead cam designs. This is due to their larger rotational mass, susceptibility to valve “float”, and a tendency for the pushrods themselves to flex or snap at high rpm. The LS2’s redline is at 6500rpm, compared to the 2JZ-GTE’s higher 7200rpm redline. Secondly, pushrod engines have limited valve flexibility. Most pushrod engines only have two valves per cylinder (such as the LS2). Overhead cam engines, however, often use three, four or even five valves per cylinder to achieve greater efficiency and power. The 2JZ-GTE has four valves per cylinder, making a total of 24 valves for the engine. The LS2, with its two valves per cylinder, has a total of 16 valves for the engine.

In the form of twin sequential turbo chargers perhaps the biggest innovative feature of the 2JZ-GTE compared to the LS2 is its use of forced induction. Due to the 2JZ-GTE having a low compression ratio, it allows turbo chargers to be run. A turbo charger is a device that compresses the air flowing into the engine. The advantage of compressing the air is that it lets the engine squeeze more air into a cylinder, and more air means that more fuel can be added. Therefore, you get more power from each explosion in each cylinder. Turbo charging is perhaps the most efficient way to get power out of an engine – both small and large.

By using turbo chargers on smaller capacity engines Japan has been able to create extremely light, high-revving engines that are easily modified and have excellent fuel economy. Simple modifications on turbo cars allow for huge performance gains, especially in comparison to naturally aspirated engines. As an example, the 2JZ-GTE with an aftermarket exhaust, front mount intercooler and running a higher boost setting puts out significantly more power than the LS2. If one spends more money, the gains can be enormous. To extract power from a naturally aspirated engine is significantly more work. Firstly, if you are chasing big power, you really need to open the engine and do internal modifications for extra power, unlike a turbo engine that can be modified effortlessly, without opening up the engine. Power is often extracted from naturally aspirated engines by modifying the camshafts and doing work to the head of the engine. These modifications are both expensive and significantly alter the ’street friendliness’ of your car. That is, produce a rough idle, have a tendency to stall and poor fuel economy.

With all the praise I have been giving the 2JZ-GTE it may seem that the LS2 engine is a poor performance engine. This is certainly not the case, one only needs to look at the stock power figures to realise that straight out of the car dealership this engine is seriously fast, with neck-snapping torque. Its design may be old-fashioned and its fuel economy poor but there is no doubt about it. If you are after the V8 rumble many Australians long after, then you will definitely be happy with the LS2. The LS2 is very ’street friendly’ with 90% of its torque available just off idle. This equates to effortless towing, overtaking and a pure adrenalin rush every time you tap the throttle. Furthermore, the LS2 does have some advantages over the more advanced 2JZ-GTE engine. The LS2 is a far less complex engine, and as such, when something goes wrong it is much easier to identify the cause and solve the problem. More so, because the LS2 is naturally aspirated (unlike the 2JZ-GTE) there is far less stress placed on the internal components of the engine and thus, you would expect a longer engine life than the 2JZ-GTE.

Currently with fuel prices reaching an all time high, it is important to make sure your engine has the optimum balance between performance and fuel economy. Yet again the 2JZ-GTE outperforms the LS2. This is due to the capacity of the engine, with the Toyota being 3 litres and the GM engine being 6 litres in capacity. With exactly twice the displacement, unsurprisingly the LS2 uses more petrol. However, this is not by any means saying the 2JZ-GTE has good fuel economy. Unfortunately, power does come at a cost and both engines discussed are not economical.

The 2JZ-GTE has numerous features of intelligent design, which contribute to its strength and robustness as a motor. Two of its most advanced features are the use of sequential turbos and VVT. VVT stands for Variable Valve Timing and it is an advanced technology in overhead cam engines where, a mechanical device is used to swap over between a ’small’ cam for low and medium revs and a ‘big’ cam for high revs. This allows good drivability at low revs and excellent high-powered acceleration at high revs. However, the 2JZ-GTE’s prime feat of engineering is its use of sequential turbos. Having twin turbo chargers allows a small primary turbocharger to spool up early and give excellent boost response at low revs and then a secondary turbocharger to be phased in further up in the rev range for incredible top-end power. By having this setup, it allowed Toyota to create an engine with phenomenal response anywhere in the rev range and also leave the way open for serious modification potential.

To conclude, size definitely does not matter as far as performance car engines are concerned. Japanese performance engines are using new technologies such as turbo charging and VVT to obtain phenomenal power and torque figures similar to that of engines double their size. The 2JZ-GTE from a technical and engineering design perspective is far superior in every aspect than the outdated technology featured in the LS2.

On the heels of their Sudden Acceleration Recalls, Toyota is now under pressure for braking issues on the Prius, Toyota’s popular hybrid. According to Ray LaHood, Transportation Secretary, Transportation officials will begin an inquiry after reports were received that the Japanese government has initiated an investigation in brake malfunction complaints, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.

A Toyota spokesman in Japan indicated that the braking complaints received were involving situations where the drivers were on a bumpy road or frozen surface. According to one complainant on record at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “My 2010 Toyota Prius has a serious braking problem, the car lunges forward after (I) apply my brakes over a bumpy surface. This is very unexpected and luckily no one was in front of me otherwise I would have hit them. This already happened several times, took my car to the dealer and no solution, I don’t know what to do with a brand new (car) like this.” There are many complaints with similar descriptions around braking/acceleration problems when encountering even minor bumps and potholes with the 2010 Prius.

Brakes in the Prius and other hybrids operate differently from those in standard cars. Hybrids use an engagement system between their braking system and electric motors to generate electricity for recharging the batteries along with standard brakes. The braking problems could lie within this engagement system.

This latest issue with the Prius is on top of Toyota’s recall of 3.8 million cars in November 2009 to fix accelerator pedals and software to address what has been reported as sudden acceleration problems. Toyota dealers were making modifications to the gas pedals by removing inches from the bottom so the gas pedals would not get trapped under the floor mats. Toyota then followed up that recall with another recall for sudden acceleration on January 21, 2010. On that day Toyota Motor Sales announced a recall of 2.3 million vehicles which included:

* 2005-2010 Avalon
* 2007-2010 Camry
* 2009-2010 Corolla
* 2010 Highlander
* 2009-2010 Matrix
* 2009-2010 RAV4
* 2008-2010 Sequoia
* 2007-2010 Tundra

According to a USA article titled “100 Toyota drivers filed complaints before recall”, “she would become one of more than 100 drivers, according to a USA TODAY search of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration complaints database, who over the past few years have had their Toyota vehicles take off when they weren’t expected to.”

Apparently Toyota was not as aggressive at dealing with the issue as they have let on. According to LaHood, “The recalls involving pedal entrapment and possible sticky gas pedals on Toyota vehicles are some of the largest in automobile history. Every step of the way, NHTSA… officials pushed Toyota to take corrective action so that consumers would be safe.”…”Today, Toyota is apparently taking the right steps to address these safety issues. Unfortunately it took much effort to get to this point.”

During a Congressional hearing on Weds, February 3rd, the Transportation Secretary said that owners of recalled Toyotas should stop driving them until they are repaired. He was quoted as saying, “… stop driving it, take it to a Toyota dealer because they believe they have a fix for it.”

Toyota has stated that they have a solution to deploy for the accelerator issue, but there hasn’t been any official Toyota release regarding the 2010 Prius braking problem. Toyota’s U.S. sales have plunged 16% in January as an apparent reaction to the sudden acceleration recall, even as sales of other automakers rose. What the affect of this Prius issue will be, no one knows. It is apparent that Toyota’s image has suffered severe damage and we’ll have to wait and see how long it will take for it to recover.

To read an in-depth article on this situation from a 3rd party go to Consumer Reports article on the Toyota recall.

Albert Hunter

Amidst numerous concerns over its vehicles, Toyota has issued yet another recall. Previous recalls have focused on problems with the accelerators on a number of their vehicles, leading to sudden uncontrolled acceleration. These acceleration incidents have led to the deaths of multiple people. This time, the company is addressing a computer issue with the brakes on its popular Prius hybrid. Could the accelerator issues also be a computer problem?

In modern vehicles it is not rare for the brakes, steering, and even acceleration to be partially computer-controlled. Although some customers fear a loss of control to a computer, most of the time these systems actually increase the vehicle’s safety by responding to problems before the driver is aware of them. However, unless automobile manufacturers take extreme care, mistakes in these computer systems can have disastrous results.

As a hybrid, the Prius makes use of both electrical and gasoline-based drive systems to increase its fuel efficiency. One of several methods it uses to recharge its batteries is known as regenerative braking. When the driver hits the brakes, the vehicle stops the car by using its momentum to drive a generator. If the driver needs to stop suddenly, however, the computer must give control to a standard braking system. Difficulties switching between these two systems are what led to the most recent recall.

Steve Wozniak, one of the co-founders of Apple Computers and a long-time Prius enthusiast, owns dozens of Priuses and has claimed to have discovered a software issue that might be behind the acceleration issues. He reports that some vehicles can experience sudden acceleration without any input from the driver. And this is in addition to the brake issue that has already triggered the new round of recalls

The acceleration and braking recalls are a serious embarrassment for Toyota. Other automobile manufacturers use computer-controlled systems very safely. In fact, many European car companies have had systems in place for years that automatically prevent uncontrolled acceleration. Apparently this is too much to pay for Toyota, a company that has been gradually reducing the quality of its components for years to cut costs.

If you or someone you love have been seriously affected by a sudden Toyota acceleration or braking incident, you are entitled to seek damages for your losses. The compassionate and experienced personal injury lawyers of Habush Habush & Rottier are here to help you seek justice.

No one should have to suffer because of a company’s negligence. To discuss your case with a lawyer, call the acceleration injury lawyers Habush Habush & Rottier today.

Joseph Devine