How did a single part made by a single supplier screw the world's biggest automaker?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by jyl

I think kaisen's take on it makes more sense.

The driver notices the throttle isn't releasing, he pokes at the brake and slows the car down, then pokes at the throttle and maybe gets it stuck even deeper, uses the brakes again, muddles around wondering what is going on, the longer he futzes with it the hotter his brakes get, this goes on for some time - long enough for his passengers to get scared, call 911, have a conversation with the dispatcher - for some reason he doesn't figure out how to shift to neutral or turn off the power, by now his brakes are faded away.

I suspect he never "stood on the brakes" until it was too late.

Yes, even a police officer could make such a mistake. From your prior posts about the police, I wouldn't have thought you'd be surprised that police officers can do boneheaded things.

So does Sniper hate Toyotas more than he hates cops?

The above is totally concievable. The cop made more than one bad decision leading up to the accident. For example, why in the hell would you call 911? What can they possibly do to help, call OnStar? Luxury car brakes and brake pad compounds are not made for continuous high temperature use, it likely wouldn't take long for them to start fading. Based on a number of different tests the brakes are capable of easily overcoming the engine, so it's obvious he didn't try that approach. I'm not trying to justify the Toyota problem, only stating that the car could have been stopped.

It's easy for us all to throw stones, but obviously the guy paniced. Snipe, you keep throwing out the advanced driving courses, but we're not talking about Michael Schumacher here either. Cops receive advanced training, that's true, but it's not as advanced as a weekend at most any racing school. I'd bet money that the average weekend racer is a better driver than the average cop. Case in point, even in a small city like Wichita we occasionally have cops crash their cars while responding to calls.

[legion]

Don't forget that on some of these Toyotas, you cannot shift into neutral if the engine is revving much higher than idle.

[m21sniper]

Sure, let's insist that a dead cop is an idiot and cannot figure out how to stop a vehicle in an emergency instead of just admitting to ourselves that his Lexus flat out killed him.

Oh well, at least Legion isn't drinking el Lexusade.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by aigel

This guy may be onto something? I don't buy that the more severe cases are from pedal assemblies or floor mats:

Toyota Recall: Electronic Design Flaw Linked to Toyota Runaway Acceleration Problems, Expert Says - ABC News

George

What...you mean this problem isn't all just in a few biased individuals heads?

It's amazing how stupid people are willing to make themselves look all so that they can remain in denial.

Wife reading morning news paper, "Dear, Toyotas have killed 28 people to date with stuck throttles, they've covered it up for 7 years, and now they have 7 ongoing recalls!"

Husband, "Bah, i'm sure it's just a witch hunt by Sniper."

[jcommin]

The title of this post is: How did a single part made by a single supplier screw the world's biggest automaker?

The answer is: it didn't. Toyota did.

There are plenty of Tier 1, 2 and 3 suppliers that supply parts to one or many of the automotive manufacturers. They all have criteria that must be met to be awarded the business. Toyota has a very good process for approving vendors. Their criteria to meet there requirements are very detailed, better than most. As demanding as they are, they are fair and reasonable. Any supplier cannot change the process, location or substitute materials w/o the approval of Toyota. Parts are submitted for testing and approval. In the event of a material change, testing occurs not only in the lab but in the field. A supplier can lose business if they make a change w/o approval. No one will do that because there is business to lose. All suppliers are graded and when incidents occur, a corrective action plan and remediation must take place.

Making quality parts doesn't compensate for bad design, or designs that cost cut. Or demanding suppliers to cut cost 5% per year every year during the contact.

Toyota got sloppy; they are no different than Ford, GM, et all. Cost cutting, market share, profit is the name of the game. They deserve to pay or are they to big to fail?

[M.D. Holloway]

If a true, unbiased investigation was possible, I am confident that all OEM's would be found guilty of the very thing Toyota is being charged with by the public media. It just seems pretty vogue to trash Nippon and Asia. Maybe it takes the heat off of the Big 3?

I am sure that they knew more than they say and I am also confident that a Policeman et al are not idiots that cannot drive. I am a student of failure and I do know that the more complicated a system is, the more opportunities there are for failures to occur.

Cars are ridiculous complicated machines with hundreds of thousands of opportunities for failures. You combine that with the opportunity for weather, other drivers and ones own ability or lack there of...its amazing any of us make it to work or home!

[jcommin]

Lubemaster: If this is being tried in the media, explain the accidents / complaints going back for several years. Explain why State Farm Insurance complained about this. Explain why Toyota tried to pin this on an American supplier when their Japanese supplier wasn't included. Explain the lame excuse of floor mats.

The media, the government having a hand in this; that's a bunch of crap. I recall the Ford / Firestone recall. I blame Ford for most of that problem. They cost cut to a point where compromises were made. I work for a Tier 1 supplier most of us felt Ford was responsible. Suppliers don't build what they want to; they build to the OEs specifications subject to their approval.

I love the politicians now trying to protect their automotive manufacturing base because of this issue. Didn't work in the rust belt because we were to busy bashing unions. That's Kama for ya.

The Toyota recall is now global.