{"id":18859,"date":"2010-01-29T16:02:51","date_gmt":"2010-01-29T21:02:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=18859"},"modified":"2010-01-30T16:53:05","modified_gmt":"2010-01-30T21:53:05","slug":"toyota-ceo-apologies-even-as-signs-suggests-more-recalls-may-follow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2010\/01\/toyota-ceo-apologies-even-as-signs-suggests-more-recalls-may-follow\/","title":{"rendered":"Toyota CEO Apologizes, Even as Signs Suggests More Recalls May Follow"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Could the third-generation, 2010 Prius be next among Toyota products to face a recall?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With Toyota announcing nearly 3.5 million recalls since just the beginning of this year \u2013 on top of a record 4 million in 2009 \u2013 the embattled Japanese maker\u2019s top executive issued his first official comment, in the form of an apology, today.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply sorry,\u201d declared Akio Toyoda, president and CEO and heir to the founding family of the Toyota Motor Co.\u00a0 Toyoda spoke with the Japanese network NHK after leaving the annual summit of world leaders held in Davos, Switzerland.<\/p>\n

“Truly we think of our customers as a priority and we guarantee their safety,” the executive said, according to a translation, but Toyoda cautioned that he could not explain the source of a series of problems that have led Toyota to announce the recall of 7.6 million vehicles since just last October due to safety problems that could result in runaway cars, an issue also known as sudden, or unexpected, acceleration.<\/p>\n

Even as the executive apologized, there were growing signs that further problems could be in store for the Japanese giant.<\/p>\n

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Your Breaking News Source!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Ken Zino, editor of TheDetroitBureau.com and World Auto Reports first reported, on December 24th, there are mounting concerns that 2010 Toyota Prius models may experience unexpected problems with brakes<\/strong><\/a> that can suddenly release when the vehicle hits a bump or pothole.\u00a0 In recent days, as word of the problem has begun to spread, TheDetroitBureau has received calls and letters from a number of additional owners, including Wisconsin\u2019s Jill Krahn, who says her third-generation Prius has experienced unintended brake release on a number of occasions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI become almost airborne (feels like it) going over a manhole cover, or when there is a slight separation in the pavement,\u201d Krahn writes, echoing the experience of others TheDetroitBureau.com has spoken with. \u201cThe last time this happened here in Wisconsin on dry pavement early December where I came within inches of the car in front of me when trying to brake.\u201d<\/p>\n

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been tracking reports of unintended brake failure and a source reports the numbers are likely to increase sharply as the national spotlight falls on Toyota.<\/p>\n

A senior source at the company, asking not to be identified, suggested the problem could be the result of \u201caggressive\u201d antilock braking systems used on the dual-function brakes on the Prius.\u00a0 Initially, the hybrid\u2019s brakes are designed to regenerate energy, which is then stored in the vehicle\u2019s batteries.\u00a0 In more aggressive maneuvers, Prius will switch to a conventional hydraulic brake mode.\u00a0 The system requires extensive use of sensors and computer controls to operate smoothly and effectively.\u00a0 A minor software glitch could cause serious repurcussions.<\/p>\n

Software problems could be at least part of the problem with Toyota models already involved in an expanding pair of recalls, one announced last October, another earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Toyota officials, including Executive Vice President Bob Carter, initially and rather angrily insisted that the \u201conly\u201d cause for the company\u2019s problems lay with loose carpet mats that could come loose and \u201centrap\u201d a vehicle\u2019s gas pedal.\u00a0 But the recall announced last week, which led Toyota to halt sales of eight models and shut production at five plants, was blamed on \u201csticky accelerators.\u201d<\/p>\n

It remains unclear precisely what that means, as it could point to mechanical linkages, electronic controllers or both.\u00a0 But a Toyota dealer confirmed to one of the team members of TheDetroitBureau.com that the carmaker has made quiet no-charge repairs, sometimes called \u201csecret warranties,\u201d to a number of vehicles, in recent years, which involved electronic sensors and controllers.<\/p>\n

That was echoed by Canada\u2019s CBC News, which interviewed Sean Kane, president of Massachusetts-based Safety Research and Strategies, Inc. “In the past,\u201d he told the\u00a0 radio network\u2019s \u201cAs It Happens\u201d program, \u201cToyota has actually done technical bulletins to reflash the algorithms in their control units to prevent unintended acceleration incidents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keane specifically noted a bulletin covering the 2002 and 2003 Camry sedan, calling for a \u201creflash\u201d if customers complained of unintended acceleration when traveling between 38 and 42 mph.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what we\u2019re going to see is additional recalls,\u201d said the safety expert.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the repurcussions of the Toyota safety crisis continue to mount.\u00a0 More automakers, a list now including Ford, General Motors and Hyundai, are taking aim at the Japanese maker with targeted incentives.\u00a0 And it appears a Congressional hearing could be called to look into the safety issues plaguing the automaker.<\/p>\n

The automaker plans to fight back with a full-page ad it will place in newspapers in 25 cities, on Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported, explaining how it plans to handle the latest of its recalls.<\/p>\n

But the damage to the company\u2019s image could be difficult to repair, warned Dave Sargent, head of automotive research at J.D. Power and Associates, \u201cespecially,\u201d he said, \u201cif the problems spread to other models.<\/p>\n

In a particularly painful move, the influential Consumer Reports magazine has suspended its normal \u201cbuy\u201d recommendations on the eight models involved in the latest recall.\u00a0 CR has had a policy of routinely recommending Toyota products, based on its long history of quality and reliability \u2013 though the publication did briefly lift its endorsement of several models, including the Tundra pickup, two years ago, because of a spate of quality problems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Toyota announcing nearly 3.5 million recalls since just the beginning of this year \u2013 on top of a record 4 million in 2009 \u2013 the embattled Japanese maker\u2019s top executive issued his first official comment, in the form of an apology, today. \u201cI am deeply sorry,\u201d declared Akio Toyoda, president and CEO and heir […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18859"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18859"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=18859"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=18859"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=18859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}