MicaISF

i think not.

the governing body and toyota are supposed to find the facts and issue recalls responsibly. they panicked and wasted billions of dollars at our expense.

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

Just to be clear, Lexus did not install two sets of mats in your car. Your dealer did

Lou

ISF-88

Sorry Lexus, that's what I meant. My idiotic dealer installed them wrong...

Autobacs

iTrader: (1)

Lexus/Toyota had to issue a recall because of the knee jerk reaction and the malicious intent of some unscrupulous people and corporations that would profit from a Lexus/Toyota debacle brought about by this issue whether based on fact or not.

They did damage to Lexus/Toyota and the taxpayer's money. Toyota/Lexus will recover its lost profits/reputation and will come out even stronger because of this. The intelligent car buyers will discern that.

The taxpayer's money spent over and above what was trully necessary to this incident is lost forever.

Good for all of us and Lexus/Toyota that it was not true. This incident never fazed my belief in Toyota and this finding validates that.

PurduePete

That is what you call a misdirected flame post!!

I have a 01 Rav4 and this **** happened to me 2 or 3 times with the stock mats (i.e., one layer) over 10 years, but it didn't bother me at all b/c I didn't think it was anything safety related.

But for those that do and have been affected by it, let them speak up. If it wasn't for these people holding companies, not just Toyota accountable then there would be no such process as QA/QC. If it wasn't for concerned citizens and a government that allows for this type of check/balance process in holding consumer product companies accountable, you would be getting products like what you get right now from China (lead paint toys, contaminated baby milk, contaminated dry-wall, etc.).

The issue here is the knee jerk reaction of Toyota, not consumers who had this happened to. Why you got your small gas pedal and ECU flash was b/c of Toyota's knee jerk reaction to protect their own interest (i.e., stop the bleeding). This Knee jerk reaction happened b/c Toyota became complacent due to their big ego. They allowed the snowball to become an avalanche. That's why there is this knee jerk reaction affecting our ISFs. It is Toyota, not the consumer!

jkeifer3

I'll say it again, it was the government's attempt to discredit a foreign car manufacturer and steer the consumer back to purchasing from a US company, any US company, during the financial crisis (complete with taxpayer financed bailouts) here in this country. One of the many of the Obama Administration's "finest hours".

Autobacs

iTrader: (1)

^
Well I agree on you for the most part except for Obama's role.

What the government did as far as quality checks and QA's I absolutely agree with. However Toyota realized that there were people that were going to twist the facts no matter what to drag them down so I fully understand their reaction knowing that a lot of times perception is more powerful than reality.

Toyota did not became complacent. If I thought they were I would have stopped buying their cars.

If you bought one and you thought their ego was bigger than the quality of their cars (like BMW), then that's on you and not on the car company.

surga7

There are numbers of people standing around in front of Toyota of Pasadena holding a huge flyer saying "Toyota: Profits before people" for almost 2 weeks now.

MicaISF

check and balance, QC/QA are great and important, but these are powerful tools that should not be abused. That's what happened with the recall. the government used its power and influence to force toyota admitting wrongs that it did not do or at least was not yet proven then.

Reciprocal

I disagree. The knee jerk reaction was a consequence of NHTSA Ray LaHood saying the government would put its boot on the neck of Toyota. Toyota said there was no problem with the throttle by wire, exactly as was proved.

The fact that the govenment picked NASA and National Academy of Sciences to investigate was "makework" for an organization that has not left earth orbit in decades. I'm honestly relieved that those two managed to separate the politics and investigate fairly, but it's not their job.

I agree with the other poster, it was a witch hunt. And the problem is not Toyota, it's the people who drive them and don't know which pedal makes them stop, and don't assume responsibility for the safe operation of a motor vehicle. And a complicit government all too eager to whip up public hysteria when it has a conflict of interest. It owns GMC and Chrysler.

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

^^^^Don't forget all this started because ONE stupid dealer put double floor mats in a loaner ES. This dealer was warned about the problem by another customer before the tragedy happened. They did nothing about it. The result of their ignorance:

1. Lost Lives

2. Billions of dollars waisted on silly investigations and fraudulent lawsuits

3. A Motor Company's reputation damaged

There really was no excuse for this.

Lou

F BOMB

So it happened the other day, solely due to my usage of 3rd party all-weather mats. My 2008 is unmodified.

The scenario was a quick lane change on a 3 lane freeway (Edens expressway for you familiar with Chicago). A lot happens in the 8-10 seconds when you're trying to reign in 400 unsolicited horsepower, especially as you close in on other moving targets -- fast. Juggling the feet to pull back the mat while using one to hold the brake was not working well. With fade setting in rapidly along with my closure rate to a cluster of vehicles, I took my beating and placed faith in the governor as I thrust the stick into neutral, negotiated vehicle clearances and started the timed ignition switch depress while I started pulling to the side.

The lesson to learn (besides the obvious not getting yourself in the situation to begin with) is to understand your vehicle, its systems and procedures. While having the flash and/or pedal change would probably have intervened, you won't always be faced with cookie-cutter scenarios that one can easily manage, so increasing your options with knowledge and practice should always help.

ES3

Scary, glad you're ok! So shifting to neutral was all it took? Wouldn't holding the on/off switch have worked too? As long as car was in neutral? Or would that have locked up the steering?

F BOMB

^Upon realization that I could not free the pedal, neutral achieves the immediate desired effect. I was not comfortable with performing a kill switch task while still in the midst of traffic.

infinus

I've had the mod done for ages and honestly I've forgotten its even there, I've never activated it once.

Glad to hear everything turned out ok.