Featured Post

Engine failures in MR2 Spyders

6/11/2014 - Updated the original post by entering direct links to reference material, and added remarks about the legal issues involved with...

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Shhh... sudden unintended acceleration complaints are continuing

In light of renowned embedded systems expert Michael Barr finding bugs in Toyota's electronic throttle control software that could cause sudden unintended acceleration, we now get to the crux of the matter. Have the defects been corrected?

With the Recall King insisting that the Oklahoma jury got it wrong (despite that pesky evidence of 150 feet of skid marks from the plaintiff's tires), and a corporate-controlled mainstream media concealing Michael Barr's findings, Toyota is hoping that a gullible public will believe there isn't anything to correct. The situation is similar to what happened regarding engines suddenly disintegrating in MR2 Spyders.

Toyota stonewalls, big media - most notably, perhaps, Consumer Reports - shys away from addressing the issue, and owners are left with depleted bank accounts and unsatisfactory vehicles. Pretty much the same with all those oil-sludged engines, and the list goes on. In a corporate-controlled police state, it's best to be wary of repercussions. What on earth would Big Brother do if it weren't for a tail-tucked citizenry? Nothin' like a cooperative effort...

NHTSA, as Shawn Kane notes, "walked away from the (sudden unintended acceleration) problem in 2010. The agency pressured Toyota into floor mat and sticky accelerator pedals, collected millions in recall timeliness fines and never addressed the technical problem." Adding insult to injury, NHTSA proceded to set things up with NASA, then disingenuously claimed that NASA had laid the matter to rest. As facts come to light about a hamstrung NASA coming nowhere near settling the issue - and having said so - it's obvious who corporate stooge NHTSA is lookin' out for, and it ain't the consumer.

Real hoot watchin' NHTSA, mainstream media, and Toyota try to ignore Michael Barr's findings and the guilty verdict in Oklahoma as complaints keep pourin' in about Toyotas suddenly accelerating out of control. Few days ago, an interesting comment appeared (BrianPaul, 03-01-2014, 03:37 PM) on a website for fans of the RAV4 (which lately has had software issues beyond sudden unintended acceleration). Reminds ya of those song words "now I'm a believer," and is consistent with complaints on NHTSA's website. Read it and weep. Here's an excerpt:

When the “sudden acceleration” issue with Toyota vehicles was all over the news, I was not concerned because I assumed it was user error. I remember my boss saying to me, “you’re not afraid to drive your Camry?” I told my boss that it’s just a bunch of idiots who are stepping on the gas by mistake, or people trying to get money from Toyota. Now that I’ve had this happen, I realize what a fool I was! I was so proud of the Toyota vehicles I own that I wouldn’t even consider that such a problem exists.

Of course, the RAV4 website didn't dare publish my comment. RAV4World.com's attitude seems to be if the guy who's now wanting more information about sudden unintended acceleration (and who in his shoes wouldn't?) doesn't get any, that's tough. The RAV4 website (is it run by Toyota?) musn't offend the Recall King.

Meanwhile, the ol' Recall King is tryin' to buy - talkin' moola in excess of a billion dollars - an end to the federal criminal investigation involving reporting procedures for sudden unintended acceleration. And I'm bettin' the Recall King is gonna get away with it, complete with confidentiality agreements and no admissions of wrongdoing.

After all, the sudden unintended acceleration issue only involves people's lives.