Your verdict on Toyota: Hero or Villian?

[Chuck]

What do you think?

Chuck Thomas - CleanMPG - Mar 1, 2010

By now, the only beings not aware of Toyota's recall woes are outside our Solar System (assuming their spacecraft don't have unintentional acceleration that took them in range of our media broadcasts). It's been hyped in the press with Congressonal hearings, but most Toyota drivers seem to loyal.

So let's have a poll at CleanMPG. Is this as bad as the exploding Pintos? Or is this a politically motivated witch hunt by various Toyota adversaries? Maybe somewhere in between of a corporation that honestly made a mistake but is losing it's edge?

Toyota is a villain viewpoint: They knew about the acceleration problems for years and covered it up to save $100 million on recalls. Where is Ralph Nader when we need him?

Toyota is a hero: Everybody has recalls...while serious it's blown out of proportion - it's not the worst ever. Toyota was laughed at a decade ago for their Prius when gas and credit was cheap. By looking past the next quarter or two, they have overtaken GM as the leading automaker - now they have enemies opportunistically using this to get back.

Toyota flawed but not sinister: Yes, Toyota got complacent with success, but no intentional wrongdoing was done.

[laserred02]

my two cents: they knew there was a problem and tried to cover it up to save money. The same as any other car manufacturer has done countless times. The problem is that Toyota used to be a cut above the rest, both in quality and integrity. I feel their biggest problem is that they are now right back down to earth with the rest of the pack, and I guarantee that isn't where they want to be.

As for a witchhunt, well that is just the price of doing business in our hyper-sensitized media environment. It isn't right, but it is what it is. Plus let's be honest, a cop gets killed by an out of control toyota that he can't stop killing several in a spectacular fiery crash is going to turn heads.

[SentraSE-R]

I'm leaning towards a middle ground. Toyota never was the paragon of virtue its loyal customers thought it was. I doubt it's the villain its detractors try to make it.

My two cents says the claims of runaway acceleration are half misreporting and alibis by incompetent drivers who can't tell their brake pedal from their gas pedal, and the other half can't be duplicated. That made it difficult for Toyota engineers to identify the problem. Once the media orgy started with the dead cop, it snowballed completely out of control.

[hobbit]

My take on the whole mess is here, but it doesn't really lead
to a black or white answer.
.
_H*

[Glacierblue]

Thank you, Hobbit, for your enlightening tour de force of the 2010 Prius braking system. You confirmed what I believe I've have learned as a new owner on my own, but never could put into words the way you have.

I recently took the Prius to the dealer for a 15,000 mile checkup and the update was performed on the brakes at no cost to me. I can't say I've noticed the change, but then again, I had no problems beforehand!

I would encourage all new owners of the Gen III's to take the time to read your piece. While it may be a bit technical for some of us, it would be helpful for any new owner to begin to understand more clearly how our new vehicle works, especially a car with such an innovative and complex operating system.

GB

[msirach]

Originally Posted by hobbit

My take on the whole mess is here, but it doesn't really lead
to a black or white answer.
.
_H*

Thanks Hobbit! Very detailed review as usual with a very good overall analogy.

Everyone with a Toyota or are interested in a Toytota should read Hobbit's Toyotas Trinity of Trouble

[Yaris Hilton]

My reaction to the dead cop (& family) story is a jaw dropping "How the hell did he get to be a highway patrolman?!" He should have been able to stop that car, no question. That's absurd.

[bestmapman]

Originally Posted by hobbit

My take on the whole mess is here, but it doesn't really lead
to a black or white answer.
.
_H*

Nice write up Hobbit

[hobbit]

The braking system changed significantly between the genII
and the genIII Prius, and I'm *still* trying to understand it.
But the regen transition issue is the same.
.
After google-earthing the Santee crash site, I noted that right
before the actual crash area there's a huge, sweeping off-ramp
that leads onto another highway -- which gently branches off
to the right and then bends around leftward in a long flyover
ramp. *That* would have been the ideal place to ditch the Lexus
against the guardrail/jersey-wall or whatever borders the ramp,
scraping it along until hopefully a standstill was achieved.
That was clearly not thought about either; the car instead went
straight toward the T-intersection and the embankment beyond it.
.
_H*

[phoebeisis]

It would be hard to think straight with the vehicle doing 120 mph.

I am surprised that the brakes couldn't overcome the engine.My calculations show brakes are in the 600 hp range-usually double the engine.

I have a Prius and until this came up,I didn't know you had to hold the stop button for 3 seconds; three seconds is over 500 feet at 120 mph.

I absolutely hate the no key in the ignition.I don't need or want a key with a radio transmitter(yes mine is a smart key-currently with a dead battery-I have to plug it in.

Charlie