it's all in the timing

[JO MAOMA]

ok so i go to the dealership yesterday to drop of the wife's Volvo and pick up the new car.
they tell me i can watch tv in the courtesy lounge while they gas up the car and bring it
up front. it's news time and the lead story on ABC is about how Toyota is suspending
sales of the very car i'm there to pick up.....




....I rule!

 

[azrider]

which is??

 

[JO MAOMA]

got the wife a highlander but they've stopped selling 8 different models...

 

[inkpot]

Howdy! Well, I feel lucky so far, as the Scion I bought in August is not on the list, at least yet. ONe thing I have noticed is that on just about any new car, the gas pedal has nearly no resistance. Ya can't feel it when you push on it. If you couldn't see the tach or hear the engine, you could not tell that you are off idle. Kinda sucks, to me at least. I test drove a lot of other brands/models, and they all were similar this way. I guess they are saving about 10 cents per car by not putting a throttle return spring on them any more. Jonn

 

[NTAPHSE]

Howdy! Well, I feel lucky so far, as the Scion I bought in August is not on the list, at least yet. ONe thing I have noticed is that on just about any new car, the gas pedal has nearly no resistance. Ya can't feel it when you push on it. If you couldn't see the tach or hear the engine, you could not tell that you are off idle. Kinda sucks, to me at least. I test drove a lot of other brands/models, and they all were similar this way. I guess they are saving about 10 cents per car by not putting a throttle return spring on them any more. Jonn

I would guess that's because they are all drive by wire now, no true throttle cable or return spring. The gas pedal is just a switch that runs to a servo on the throttle body.

 

[JO MAOMA]

actually there is a return spring on the throttle assemblies and there in lies the problem...

SANTA MONICA, California — Toyota's most recent throttle-related recall has to do
with the throttle pedal assembly. This assembly consists of the actual pedal itself,
a hinge, an electronic pickup that measures how far the pedal has been pressed, a
strong "return spring" that pushes the pedal back to zero when you relax your foot
and, finally, a damping mechanism intended to give the pedal a "natural" feel by
taking the edge off the spring's tendency to snap the throttle pedal up alarmingly.
This mechanism is similar in intent to those that prevent doors or kitchen cabinets
from slamming shut and making a nuisance of themselves, but on a far more subtle
level.

It is this damping mechanism that is at the root of the problem. Over time, the
friction of the mechanism may get too high and cause the pedal to hang up or return
too slowly. Time, temperature and humidity conditions are thought to affect whether
the problem develops or not, but the exact worst-case combination of these factors
has not yet been pinpointed.

 

[msahr]

Chinese made throttle pedals combined with American made vehicles. Apparently the made in Japan ones (VIN starts with a "J" are OK). AFAIWT. Can we just PLEASE stop doing business with China?

 

[Tools R Us]

... Can we just PLEASE stop doing business with China?

We could, but then we wouldn't have anything to eat, drive, wear, play with, watch, ride, etc, etc.

 

[msahr]

We could, but then we wouldn't have any poisonous food for our dogs to eat, we wouldn't have defective gas pedals in our cars we drive, we would miss out on all that cool crappy stuff to wear, our video game consoles we play with would come from Japan, we would watch TVs made in Japan or America, and or bikes we ride would come from Target like their supposed too, etc, etc.

Fixed it for ya

Seriously though it gets a little old.

 

[murf]

Chinese made throttle pedals combined with American made vehicles. Apparently the made in Japan ones (VIN starts with a "J" are OK). AFAIWT. Can we just PLEASE stop doing business with China?

Not China:

CTS pedals are made in the U.S. in Elkhart, Indiana. They are used in vehicles all over the world (inlcuding cars made in China). Other auto manufacturers using CTS pedals are Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Chrysler, and Ford.

 

[murf]

actually there is a return spring on the throttle assemblies and there in lies the problem...

Well done and explained. A little fact finding goes a long way. There have been 4 instances out of 2.3 million cars. The thottle stuck at about 80% return - resulting in a idle not unlike high-cold-idle @ 1500-2000 rpm. Pull up with your toe, or put in neutral, turn off engine.

The fear mongering media has some people calling and saying thinks like "Ive heard HUNDREDS are dead from this - I am parking my car in the street and walking away from it."

I saw one newspaper report the "throttle will stick wide open" I was waiting for the accompaning picture to be of the General Lee flying 100 feet through the air - SWeet!

I like that Toyota has been one of the few auto makers that has never has a RECALL - definded by the fact that a "Recall" really is a government mandated/forced repair. Toyota has always been proactive and has stepped forward on their own - called "Campaigns". Now to get a fix approved by NHTSA so we can move forward....Ill be busy for a while - see you on the other side!

 

[DSRTRDR]

maybe now is a good time to pick up a used one

not that we need any more vehicles

 

[JO MAOMA]

i'm just glad i got the car before they stopped selling them. if i would have had to wait a couple
of weeks i would have had to keep driving the Volvo and nobody deserves that kind of heartache...

 

[inkpot]

Howdy! Well, now in the news, they have announced that they have a fix, and they hope to get it retrofitted within a month. Gee, does that I can't get regular service scheduled until April? I'm willing to be all they do is put a bigger spring in them. I would love to have that done to mine, as I cannot feel the pedal worth a damn. I have talked to a lot of new Toyota owners, and some owners of other new cars, and they all say the same thing. Fly by Wire pedals suck!! I have also noticed there is a pretty bad time delay between the time I push the pedal and the time the engine reacts.

They also let the cat out of the bag that these are not really made in the USA, but in Canada. So, I guess it's not our fault after all. John

 

[lvanst]

Made here. CTS has corrected (higher quality bushings). Dealers will be installing the pedal assemblies soon...

Not China:
CTS pedals are made in the U.S. in Elkhart, Indiana. They are used in vehicles all over the world (inlcuding cars made in China). Other auto manufacturers using CTS pedals are Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Chrysler, and Ford.