Now steering problems with Corolla - Toyota mulls recall!

punkuz · 17th February 2010, 18:28

Toyota's problems are compounding , now power steering related recalls
But in an alarming disclosure of a possible widening of Toyota's recall crisis, the Toyota executive in charge of quality controls, Shinichi Sasaki, said Toyota was taking seriously the complaints about problems in power-steering in the Corolla, the world's best-selling car.

He said the company is investigating what might be wrong.
(source :ET)

Warlock · 17th February 2010, 19:31

First brakes, then steering. I've read no news of a recall in India. Has anyone heard of these problems in India?

I'm most concerned as my Altis is all of 2 months old.

McLaren Rulez · 17th February 2010, 19:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warlock

First brakes, then steering. .

And don't forget the thing that started this: Stuck throttles. Basically, the three fundamental controls of the car are all faulty in some way. Hopefully the Indian models have not been affected but given the magnitude of this QC lapse, I would expect a recall here too.

StarVegabond · 17th February 2010, 19:48

Offlate, Toyota is struggling with all these quality issues
these issues and recalls would really put a dent in the reputation of Toyota as the best car makers in the world.

hope they recover from this bad phase quickly and restore consumer confidence.

PCS · 17th February 2010, 19:56

In todays wold of competition scenario, every one does recalling of their vehicles.

So i think there is no need tomake a big fuss about recalls.

Still i find Toyota vehicles to be much much reliable & durable.

Any day if my budget is within my reach i would definitely buy a toyota product and stop worrying about recalls

R2D2 · 17th February 2010, 20:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warlock

First brakes, then steering. I've read no news of a recall in India. Has anyone heard of these problems in India?

I'm most concerned as my Altis is all of 2 months old.

Dont worry. I was mad as heck at Toyota but have kinda cooled off now. Wrote a couple of emails to TKM highlighting my concerns in a not so polite way.

There's no major auto maker without recalls. And guess what? Toyota has one the fewest recalls amongst all auto makers. But they deserved what they're getting coz the company had become complacent and werent paying attention to their customers. In India TKM's after sales is very good.

I still love my T-Horse (really liked this term that someone on TBHP coined for Toyotas).

Cheers!

anmol2k4 · 17th February 2010, 20:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by PCS

In todays wold of competition scenario, every one does recalling of their vehicles.

So i think there is no need tomake a big fuss about recalls.

Still i find Toyota vehicles to be much much reliable & durable.

Any day if my budget is within my reach i would definitely buy a toyota product and stop worrying about recalls

Take a look at the following video :-

YouTube - Family Killed in Santee Car Crash 911 Call

Toyota's problems started with that ^ incident and bear in mind the person driving the vehicle was an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer.

IMVHO when a company's product ends up endangering lives, the said company is forced to do a recall of around ONE CRORE vehicles worldwide, not one time but multiples times, costing dealerships around $2.5 Billion and company another 2 Billion, without completely solving the issue, the company's vehicles stop being reliable & durable.

You can also see an interview of Steve Wozniak on the acceleration issue, and he says that issue is with software not the floor mats, yet the Toyota continues to be in denial.

It is very sad that after all this people continue to praise Toyota's (Videshi) quality, while Tata (Desi) is trashed for much less serious issues.

R2D2 · 17th February 2010, 20:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by anmol2k4

It is very sad that after all this people continue to praise Toyota's (Videshi) quality, while Tata (Desi) is trashed for much less serious issues.

You've got to be kidding if you think of comparing Tata and Toyota. They are light years apart when it comes to quality. I think you need to see reactions of people abroad to Tata products when compared with Toyota.

Oh, need to mention that I have had cars from both mfrs in the immediate family.

Have you stopped flying in an Airbus due to quality issues with electronic controls and speed sensors?

Cheers!

aaggoswami · 17th February 2010, 20:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by anmol2k4

1) IMHO when a company's product ends up endangering lives, the said company is forced to do a recall of around ONE CRORE vehicles worldwide, not one time but multiples times, costing dealerships around $2.5 Billion and company another 2 Billion, without completely solving the issue, the company's vehicles stop being reliable & durable.

You can also see an interview of Steve Wozniak on the acceleration issue, and he says that issue is with software not the floor mats, yet the Toyota continues to be in denial.

2) It is very sad that after all this people continue to praise Toyota's (Videshi) quality, while Tata (Desi) is trashed for much less serious issues.

1) Take a look at this article.

Source : Toyota rules out electronics as unintended acceleration cause - report

Article :

Quote:

Well, finally something that can be labeled good news for Toyota.

According to the Japanese automaker, the sticking accelerator problem for which it has had to recall several models globally is not due to any electrical faults.

In a report by the Wall Street Journal, Toyota commissioned California engineering firm Exponent to study the problem. The Journal obtained a copy of the study conducted by Exponent which found that no electronics issues were related to the problem.

The Wall Street Journal quotes from the report:

"Exponent has so far been unable to induce, through electrical disturbances to the system, either unintended acceleration or behavior that might be a precursor to such an event, despite concerted efforts toward this goal."

Toyota commissioned the independent study in order to counter claims that it wasn't doing enough to fix the problem of unintended acceleration and that the defect was linked to its electronics. Toyota has issued a recall to fix floor mats and gas pedals which may cause the throttle to get stuck.

"We have no indication that the electronic throttle is an issue. We are not the only ones with electronic throttles," said Don Esmond, senior vice president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. at a dealer's even in Florida.

Toyota has had to recall about 8.5 million cars worldwide due to the defective gas pedals.

Clearly this proves that Toyota's electricals are not an issue. May be the report is wrong, but considering the numbers that Toyota does, the percentage of defective vehicles or the number of accidents is quite low.

In our country we have more problems per 100 vehicles which is a quality concern in the first place. With Innova, qualis Toyota has proved that its vehicles do run for a long period without issues.

2) Why bring Tata into this ? And how many recalls Tata has done till now ? And if I am not wrong, we have one thread running as " Protest Against Tata motors " where in Tata did not care to replace the vehicle.

Toyota is honest and is after all giving recalls. They did even in India for Innova for some issue related to rear axle or something.

Toyota vehicles are still reliable and durable if the article mentioned above is true.

Elsewhere in International car scene I had posted an article on how Toyota had answered the questions raised by some media in US.

Fabiaous · 17th February 2010, 20:36

It is very sad that after all this people continue to praise Toyota's (Videshi) quality, while Tata (Desi) is trashed for much less serious issues.[/quote]

Unfair to compare Toyota with any Indian company. Any day Toyota is much better a company and these recalls are a minor hitch, they may loose revenue in short term but they will emerge stronger. Its better to bank on Toyotas rather than others. These recalls are better if one compares with companies offering free maintainance and extended warranty to pump up volumes. Recalls give a peace of mind with company having concerns of potential defect. My personal experiece with recall have been with Honda motorcycles India to replace Brake drum free of cost for Honda Eterno when it was lauched. Compare this to Indian 2 wheeler giant who did not collaborate with Japanese , took just design without process thus making defective parts while manufacturing ,they were never replaced though there where manufacturing issues, each time one needed to empty their purse.

niks_devil666 · 17th February 2010, 20:42

Lets hope it doesn't turn out like the Lancia Beta Rust issue :(

Nitin · 17th February 2010, 20:51

People have begun to question Toyota's reliability now, and with sales of Form & other GM vehicles improving, there's every chance that the perception will change with respect to how Japanese cars are seen.Most talked about topic- Is it 'downward bound' for Toyota?

vasoo · 17th February 2010, 20:56

Hmm. It is time for Mr Shinichi Sasaki to find a new job. I am sure "American car manufacturing lobby" have taken it up as a full time job to investigate all crashes involving Japanese cars in the last 20 years.

anmol2k4 · 17th February 2010, 21:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by R2D2

You've got to be kidding if you think of comparing Tata and Toyota. They are light years apart when it comes to quality.

That is your opinion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by R2D2

I think you need to see reactions of people abroad to Tata products when compared with Toyota.

Tata haven't launched too many vehicles abroad, and the one they launched were not priced correctly. Also with new launches Tata's products quality has improved a LOT over. Therefore it is unwise to judge Tata's current products and their quality going by the observations made a while back on badly priced and old generation vehicles.

Quote:

Originally Posted by R2D2

Oh, need to mention that I have had cars from both mfrs in the immediate family.

Well my family have one Indica, one Indigo and an Innova. And IMO Tata and Toyota are **not** lightyears apart.

Quote:

Originally Posted by R2D2

Have you stopped flying in an Airbus due to quality issues with electronic controls and speed sensors?

I don't think anyone have a choice, and just like the Toyota's issue - air travel wont get any safer without accepting the issue and fixing the bugs.
Could a Computer Glitch Have Brought Down Air France 447? - TIME

Air France 447: The computer crash - Times Online

Quote: