Toyota Shoots Own Foot, Blames America

There are few things less reassuring in the world than the manner in which the US Government approved Toyota's plan to "replace defective gas pedals" for the ongoing problem that has decimated their sales and their reputation for quality. See, it's not really an Approval, per se; rather, the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has "declined to protest" the proposed solution. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but nothing near the outraged rejection this so-called "solution" deserved. Of course, one must remember the heavy price federal employees might pay - much less politicians - if they piss off their paymasters at Japan, Inc.

Having grappled with thousands of complaints for over a decade, Toyota finally decided who it wanted to throw under the bus, singling out American parts supplier CTS Corp. as the source of the problem, and even going so far as to point out that they (Toyota) have had no similar problems with the gas pedals provided by another supplier out of Japan.

Except, of course, that their words and actions do not begin to address the problem, much less the solution. First, their diagnosis conflicts with all of the known facts, since the problem reported has not been a "sticky" gas pedal, but "Sudden Acceleration". As quoted in various articles: "Sudden-acceleration events in Toyota and Lexus vehicles have been blamed for at least 19 fatalities and 815 vehicle crashes since 1999". A sticking pedal doesn't begin to explain the phenomenon of "sudden acceleration".

Second, Toyota has had this problem going back to 1999, while CTS has been a provider of gas pedals only since 2005. Third, the problem has been reported over a broad range of Toyota vehicles (including Lexus) with gas pedals provided by other manufacturers, rather than the narrow CTS-centric range of recent models that Toyota would have you believe. Fourth, there have been other culprits for the problem identified in the past, most notably floor mats which allegedly rolled up against the gas pedal, causing the accelerator to be jammed. Unfortunately, once this issue was addressed, the problem didn't go away.

Finally and nonsensically, Toyota has decided to rely on CTS for the replacement pedals, which benefit from an extra "shim" to prevent the alleged buildup of condensation supposedly causing the problem. If CTS-manufactured gas pedals were the source of the problem, why rely on that company for a solution?

The "Sudden Acceleration" phenomenon has two parts: 1) the vehicle accelerates out of control; 2) the driver cannot regain control. No "sticky" gas pedal explains both of these problems, much less one of them. The only clear culprit in the phenomenon of Sudden Acceleration is more likely the Cruise Control system and related components. Like most auto manufacturers, Toyota employs an electronic alternative to the foot pedal that allows for acceleration either by means of a hand control or to "set" a particular cruising speed once the Cruise Control has been engaged. There is also an explicit electronic control between the brakes and the Cruise Control system.

Cruise Control malfunction would explain the phenomenon of Sudden Acceleration in the absence of any actions on the part of the driver to initiate the problem. It would also explain how it is that a driver might fail to be able to regain control of the vehicle by simply hitting the brakes or employing other preventive measures.

Toyota has stonewalled for a decade. First, they denied that there was ever a problem. Then they blamed floor mats, until they started killing their customers and were accused of a cover-up. Now they're on to something else, which also will not fix the problem. It's likely that the Cruise Control problem can be fixed with a software upgrade. Look for Toyota to announce one in the near future. It remains only to be seen if they can bring this upgrade off without destroying their Straw Man, the Gas Pedal from CTS.

OffHisMeds wonders if his Japanese-Car-Sycophant friends will connect the dots. Initial indications are not encouraging. In defense of Toyota, one of them recently gushed "my Toyota pickup has 170,000 miles on it!", as if no American pickup had never attained that mileage. Assuming that sheer intellectual laziness is typical of the American consumer, I suspect Toyota's attempts to blame America will inevitably succeed, and possibly even increase their market share.

Of course, they don't want to kill too many of their customers. Eventually, that will be bad for business.