Car and Driver slams Toyota for 2011

Talk about a coincidence:  Toyota's 2011 Sienna recall was announced shortly after Car and Driver magazine let it be known that no Toyota would be included in its top 10 picks for 2011.  Great timing, Toyota.       

Based on my experience, most any automaker would be preferable to the Recall King,  and I'm especially pleased to see a few rear wheel drive vehicles makin' the grade for CD's top ten.  Notably enough, that's an area where Toyota has no offerings whatsoever.  Their last rear wheeler was the MR2 Spyder, plagued by a rash of engine failures in 2000 thru 2002 models.  If they offer another sports car, I sure wouldn't wanna risk buyin' one.   

The Recall King is suffering from exposure, and its glaring absence from CD's top picks for 2011 speaks volumnes.  The word - no pun intended - is out, Toyota.
http://www.torquenews.com/108/car-and-driver-top-10-cars-2011

Dealer opposed Toyota secrecy

Toyota objected - of course - to the public finding out, but now we know the Recall King paid $10 million to settle the high profile, runaway Lexus tragedy that put the media spotlight on sudden, unintended acceleration. Perhaps even more interesting is the fact that one of Toyota's own dealers argued in favor of making things public. Seems to be no love lost between Bob Baker Toyota and the folks in Torrance. Apparently, their relationship soured after the two of 'em became co-defendants in the Saylor suit, which Baker has yet to settle.

Whatever the dealer's motives, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas made a strong case for making the settlement public. Rackauckas - he's already filed racketeering charges against the Recall King - said the Saylor case relates to public safety and the public has a right to know how much Toyota paid to settle. Can't fault the logic, especially with Toyota - just over the past year - agreeing to pay three safety related government fines, which, incidentally, many people think are way too low.

Based on my experience, Toyota's yen for secrecy is no surprise. Which brings to mind that old adage, "If you don't have anything to hide, then don't hide it." Good advice. Especially for a company at odds with one of its own dealers.

Toyota takes it on the... wrist. Again.

Toyota gets two more cozy deals:  Drop-in-the-bucket fines, and an agreement allowing the Recall King to fork over the money without admitting any violations of U.S. law.  And the issues are far from minor.  We're talking about the likelihood of injuries and deaths resulting from delays in reporting defects. 

Without steeper fines, expect more such delays in the future.  And there probably won't be any steeper fines.  Proposed safety legislation - itself prompted by Toyota's issues with sudden, unintended acceleration - has been blocked, which brings us back to the crux of the matter.  Ol' Uncle Sam - imbued with the best system money can buy - isn't really all that interested in reigning in an automaker like Toyota, regardless of how flagrant the violations.

Its important to note that the focus so far has been primarily on safety related issues.  Given Toyota's disasterous showing in that regard, why hasn't there been a closer look at Toyota's response - or lack thereof - to so-called "non-safety" related issues?  Over three thousand customers have signed a petition alleging continuing problems with oil sludge, and two major car clubs have been screaming for years about engine failures in MR2 Spyders.  Three fines in one year, racketeering charges, lawsuits galore alleging fraud, a federal grand jury investigation, record setting recalls, and... well, you get the picture. 

Its time for more than a few slaps on the wrist.
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/dec/21/toyota-to-pay-324-million-in-fines-to-feds/
http://detnews.com/article/20101221/AUTO01/12210356/-1/rss29   

Dealership employees behavin' badly

Toyota is getting quite a bit of headline grabbin' publicity for bad behavior on the part of employees at dealerships.  It seemed to start with a theft, etc. caught on video and turned over to news media.  More recently, a dealership's website praised a filthy video critical of Prius drivers, an employee at a North Carolina dealership pled guilty to embezzlement, and now we have a general manager charged with an assortment of offences ranging from driving without a license to public intoxication.

Based on my experiences, (click the label "thuggery"), such stories are not surprising.  Nonetheless, these developments are noteworthy given the dealerships' association with a company that's currently facing racketeering charges, lawsuits galore alleging fraud, and a grand jury investigation for a delay in reporting defective steering rods.

Let's face it.  You can't blame anyone for not trusting Toyota.

Update 12/31/10 The general manager has pleaded guilty to an August OWI charge, but the December charges are still pending.
Update 1/5/10 An ex-worker is suing a Toyota dealer, claiming he was fired for uncovering insurance fraud re a Lexus that was given to a football coach.

Bad fix for recalls has Toyota spinnin'

Apparently, Toyota is having trouble repairing their recalls.  I guess that's to be expected when an automaker has over 11 million in one year, but in Toyota's case, its the company's response that should raise eyebrows. 

Toyota seems to have a problem with admitting a problem.  Even when said problem is obvious and verifiable.  Hence, when word got out that their technicians had botched accelerator repairs on recalled Camrys and Avalons, Toyota dug their heels in, and instead of simply acknowledging the situation, attempted to "spin" the story, offering the kind of sheer blabber that insults people's intelligence.  A prime example of the sort of thing that's been a big contributor to Toyota's continuing downfall, especially in the U.S. market.

Here's the deal, Toyota.  The kind of double-talkin' nonsense you've so blatently displayed is prima facie evidence that your company hasn't changed and has no intentions of doing so.  Listen up, currently-charged-with-racketeering Toyota:  Honesty is still the best policy.

Botched repairs revealed:  http://www.insideline.com/toyota/camry/glitch-pops-up-in-toyota-camry-recall.html

Toyota responds:  http://www.autospies.com/news/Toyota-Issues-Statement-Over-TSB-On-Recall-Repairs-59774/

Toyota caught red handed?

Recent court filings allege shocking accounts of what Toyota's service personnel experienced when they drove vehicles to investigate sudden, unintended  acceleration:  speed rocketing from 71 to 95 mph, and rpm's zooming from 1500 to 5500.  Attorneys say Toyota bought the vehicles back amidst efforts to keep things quiet.  

Toyota initially said NHTSA wasn't notified, but then reversed course, saying NHTSA was notified after approximately five months.  Toyota - recently fined, currently charged with racketeering, and the subject of a federal grand jury investigation - is developing quite a reputation for being a bit slow to notify NHTSA of safety related defects. 

As usual, Toyota denies that they were trying to hide anything, and we'll hear their "vigorous" defense soon enough.  Meanwhile, evidence is stacking up that sudden, unintended acceleration has to do with more than floor mats, sticky gas pedals, and driver error.  Furthermore, Toyota's reliance on "black box" data is beginning to look like a carefully contrived tactic of of smoke and mirrors.  Capabilities of onboard computers have been questionable from the get go, and these latest filings say the devices failed.

The tide began turning against Toyota with the case of Koua Fong Lee, an immigrant who was exonorated after serving two and a half years for criminal vehicular homicide.  His not-even-on-the-recall-list Camry sped out of control causing multiple fatalities, and these latest court filings lend all the more credence to Lee's unwavering insistence that his car was to blame.  As things now stand, customer accounts of sudden, unintended acceleration warrant a closer look, with a keen focus on electrical problems. 

Toyota, its your move.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/toyotas-drivers-wheel-sudden-acceleration-cases-court-filing/story?id=11974250&page=2

Speaking of hoods, Toyota...

'Bout two and a half months ago, my MR2 Spyder's hood release AGAIN failed to operate (See "Shoddy service: Dick Dyer and The Toyota Center" and "Hey, Toyota: Someone else fixed my car").  This time, I got the rest of the story.

To begin with Toyota designed the release cable to stretch from the driver's side all the way underneath the car to the passenger's side, and then around the back end to the latch.  Kinda like goin' from Atlanta to Miami via Las Vegas.  Faced with customer complaints, Toyota had issued a technical service bulletin for a new cable (same length) but were not as forthcoming about the later addition of an extra spring for the latch. 

The independent shop I dealt with did their homework, got a redesigned latch, improvised to accomodate the exceptionally long cable, and the repair bill was about $450.  Underscoring Toyota's lousy service, the Toyota parts dealer initially sent a latch for the trunk instead of the hood, even though the order included the correct parts number.

Toyota, you've got problems with your products, your dealerships, and your attitude, and its not about growing too big too fast.  Its about an unwillingness to do the right thing.  A determination to see how much you can get away with at your customers' expense.  As your parade of recalls continues, I wish your former-attorney-turned-whistleblower, Dimitrios Biller, all the luck in the world as he attempts to expose the way you do business.  You're a sick company, Toyota.  And as far as I can tell, you have no intentions of changing for the better.

Regarding Toyota's latest recall - announced today - of 1.53 million vehicles for fuel pump and brake problems, Yahoo censored my comments.