Recalls are imprecise and never fully successful, but how can they be improved? Jeff Gelles of the Philadelphia Inquirer took a look at the recall problem with snow throwers manufactured by a company called MTD, and sold under Yard Machines, Troy-Bilt, and Craftsman brands. The snow throwers used plastic wheel rims which sometimes exploded, so in 2006 the company cooperated with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and announced a recall. [More]
Transportation & Infrastructure
Toyota Wants To Kiss And Make Up, Wants You To Keep Buying Toyotas
By 2.15.10
Now that Toyota has almost nearly completed its time in the naughty spot for dumping a few million potentially deadly vehicles on the market, the world’s largest auto manufacturer is looking to make nice. But instead of flowers, candy or poetry, Toyota is making plans to woo you back into their showrooms with increased cash incentives and improved maintenance plans. [More]
Toyota Recalls 8,000 Tacoma Pickup Trucks While They're At it
By 2.13.10
Toyota has recalled eight thousand Tacoma pickup trucks because of possible cracks in the driveshaft. Interestingly, this same part was used in some Ford and Nissan vehicles, but apparently Toyota management said, “what the hell, we’ll recalling everything else–might as well bring this one in too while we’re at it.” [More]
Toyota President Taking Heat For Rescheduling U.S. Trip
By 2.12.10
Imagine you’re a teenager being forced to attend a family get-together the day after you totaled your parents’ car while doing donuts in the school parking lot. Awkward, right? Now, imagine you did that to around 8 million cars and you’ll have some understanding of just how tense the room will be when Toyota president Akio Toyoda makes the rounds stateside in a few weeks. It’s almost enough to pity the guy. No, wait… it’s not. [More]
Honda Dealer Tricks Toyota Owners With Fake Recall Notice
By 2.11.10
Reader TheLoneGoldfish sent us this very sneaky mailing from an area Honda dealer. “Attention Toyota owners: Important Recall Information Enclosed,” the envelope declares. That important information: a letter noting that hey, this would be a really great time to trade in their Toyota for a Honda! [More]
"Tiny Love" Stabby Wind Chimes Recalled
By 2.11.10
“Tiny Love” wind chimes are getting recalled because when you open them they are filled with stabby metal rods. Also, because the people opening them up would be the babies in the cribs over which the chimes are suspended. [CPSC via Safety Blog] [More]
Learn To Love Your Messed Up Toyota With This Parody
By 2.11.10
Funny or Die wants to help Toyota out of this awkward situation it’s found itself in, so the site has posted a helpful video of a cheerfully steely spokeswoman who likes to point with both hands. It’s like she’s shooting good news in your face! Pow pow! And really, it’s true that you can have an awesome garage party without ever needing to take your Toyota on the road, so maybe you should stop being so pessimistic. Video below. [More]
Trader Joe's Recalls Chocolate Chip Chewy Coated Granola Bars
By 2.11.10
Apparently not content to let Toyota and Honda hog all the recall headlines this week, the good folks at grocery store chain Trader Joe’s have announced a “my bad” of their own, recalling a few batches of their Trader Joe’s Chocolate Chip Chewy Coated Granola Bars — no, not for having a ridiculously long name — but because you might get sick from eating them. [More]
Consumers Are Shockingly Uninterested In Buying A Toyota Right Now
By 2.10.10
Kelley Blue Book says that they’ve commissioned a new survey showing that consumers who were considering a Toyota before the recall party started are now much less interested — and the effect seems to be growing. As each week passes and Toyota recalls more cars, people are thinking about buying… Fords? [More]
Honda Expands Airbag Recall With 438,000 More Vehicles
By 2.10.10
Before Honda dealers begin making fun of their Toyota-selling foes, they might want to check out the latest press release from their own company, which has just announced that they’re expanding a 2008 recall that had initially only represented about 4,000 cars in North America. And by “expanding,” they mean “adding more than 400,000” to the total. [More]
Generation 2 Cribs Recalled After 3 Deaths
By 2.9.10
The Generation 2 crib, which was sold by ChildDESIGNS until the company folded in 2005, is being recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) after reports of three infant deaths and 28 other safety incidents. Usually in a recall like this, the manufacturer offers to send out repair kits or replacement parts, but as the manufacturer no longer exists the CPSC is urging consumers to stop using the crib for good, effective immediately. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out the $60-160 dollars that it cost. [More]
Toyota Recalls More Than 400,000 Cars For Faulty Brakes
By 2.9.10
Hey! The rumors were true! Toyota is recalling more cars! This time they are hauling you back to the dealer for a braking problem that is affecting several of their hybrid models — including the 2010 Prius, the Sai, which is not sold in the U.S., the plug-in version of the Prius, and the Lexus HS250h. They are also recalling 7,300 Camrys for a completely different problem. [More]
Report: Toyota Will Recall 270,000 Prius Hybrids Over Brake Problems
By 2.5.10
The Associated Press is reporting that a top Japanese business newspaper (that we don’t understand because our Japanese reading comprehension really sucks) says that Toyota will recall 270,000 Prius hybrids over complaints about “inconsistent” braking. Consistently being able to brake, of course, is something you tend to want in a car. The braking problem is unrelated to the floor mat and the “sticky pedal” issue. [More]
Here's The Repair Process For Toyota Accelerator Pedals
By 2.3.10
The Providence Journal of Rhode Island filmed a service director at a Toyota dealership fixing an accelerator pedal. If you own one of the recalled models, Consumer Reports’ Cars blog recommends that you learn the warning signs of pedal trouble and get to a dealership as soon as possible if you notice any of them. [More]
Great, Now People Are Complaining About Toyota's Brakes
By 2.3.10
Toyota is having a hell of a time lately. According to CNNMoney, “more than 100 complaints alleging poor brake performance have been lodged with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration against the 2010 Prius.” In addition, there have been 14 complaints in Japan. Ouch, if it’s not one pedal it’s another, eh? [More]
Epic Toyota Cluster#$@% Continues: Repair Kits Shipping To Dealers
By 2.1.10
2.3 million Toyotas will need to be repaired and the kits to do so are being shipped to dealers this week, says Bloomberg. The repair should take about 30 minutes and Toyota says they are “confident” the problem isn’t electronic. [More]
Zipcar Pulls Recalled Toyotas From Service
By 1.29.10
Zipcar is concerned about the runaway stuck pedal Toyotas of doom, and so they have pulled all the recalled models from their fleet until Toyota gets their #@$% together.
Behold Zipcar’s press release: [More]
Consumer Reports Un-Recommends Recalled Toyotas
By 1.29.10
Consumer Reports has temporarily dropped its “recommended” tag for Toyota models that have been recalled due to potential accelerator-pedal problems. According to CR Auto Test head David Champion, these are “fundamentally good cars,” but CR felt that it had to drop its recommendation “until the accelerator problem is fixed.” Added Champion: “The instances of sticking accelerator pedals appear to be few compared to the millions of affected vehicles that have been sold.” [More]
