Ignoring recalls, why?
 

Lots of recalls listed recently, but we only seem to be hearing about those from one car manufacturer. Why do you suppose that is?
from Automobile Recalls - Official US Government Database and Auto Recalls - View Car Recalls, Defects & Problems at InternetAutoGuide.com

Recent Major Recalls
Chevrolet express (2) recalls
2009 dodge (6) recalls for electrical, air bags, transmission, wiring
Suzuki Recalling Grand Vitara, XL-7 SUVs to fix accelerator cable.
Ford Escape Recall to Fix Seat Belt Problem
Volvo Recall to Fix Fuel Leak Problem
Chrysler recalls 438,000 Jeep Libertys
Ford Recalls 2001-2003 Windstar Vans
Nissan Recalls 2.5 Million Units Worldwide
Ignition Flaw Leads to Honda Recall
Subaru Recalls Some 2004 Models
Toyota Tacoma Pickups Recalled for Possible Fuel Leak

Did you know that the Porsche 928 had 23 recalls? Unimportant things like steering problems, vehicle speed control, brake failures, gasoline hoses, gas tank, etc.
It wasn't around that long, maybe that's why.

Yet the only thing we hear about lately are the recalls from toyota.
I didn't see a dozen threads from anyone on the recalls by ford, or volvo, or chrysler.
I didn't see anyone start a thread about the recall from nissan who recently recalled 2,500,000 vehicles.
Why is that?

Ford has had a record 4757 recalls.
Chevy has had 3524 recalls.
GMC? 2745
Dodge, 2599
Toyota? 669. All time.

Yet no one's missed a chance to post something negative about toyota.
Makes ya wonder about motive.

You'll notice that the bulk of those threads were started by a certain individual.....who has had issues with his past Toyotas. No agenda there.

Possibly but there has been no mention of any other Japanese or foreign recall recently. As much as a conspiracy theory could be fun in this case, the likely reason is that the media is playing parrot and just broadcasting what is "hot" and "popular."

CNN had an article saying that Toyota hired an outside engineering firm to investigate this "unintended acceleration" issue and the outside firm could not replicate the problems. In fact, they couldn't find anything wrong with the cars.

I bet Audi is saying "BTDT bought the t-shirt".

I'm thinking of buying a Toyota this year, BRING ON THE BAD PRESS!!!! :D

Toyota bad! BAD, BAD, BAD! :p

7 simultaneous recalls and counting, with a body count that is now believed to be as high as 30 dead Americans.

Look what you do for me, Toyota!

I'd still buy another Toyota and trust me/my family to it before I'd buy anything built by UAW slackers.

amen, brother.

Could it have something to do with the fact that a Toyota competitor, GM, is now Government Motors?

double amen.

Did anyone die as a result of the other recalls? When Ford had the tire problems, you didn't hear about anything else either.

Another well thought out post, aways.

I think it has more to do with you guys not paying attention to other recalls (I for one have heard of many of the recalls on sammyg2's list), Toyota letting their laundry list of safety problems grow, and perhaps years of Toyota successfully getting the gov't to look the other way while these problems continued.

Yep. The media does put more energy into big, festering problems, especially if there are hints of a cover-up.

A little searching will show that the big three far surpass Toyota in the number of American deaths being attributed to faulty vehicles. ;)

it's not the crime, it's the cover-up.

The vast majority of recalls are factory-initiated affairs over minor engineering and manufacturing flaws.

When there is a significant safety flaw AND the factory does not address it immediately and openly, it becomes a media event. Add a bit of cover-up, it becomes big.

That's why Toyota is in the news and the vast majority of other recalls are not.

I realize we live in a time of sensationalism and general paranoia with the need for scapegoats to fulfill our wild fantasies heard on storytime radio, but sometimes there are real reasons why things are the way they are.

+1

I am certain that all the auto companies internally analyze and weigh the cost of issuing recalls vs doing nothing and paying out some lawsuit settlements. As morbid as this may sound, I have no doubt that all the manufacturers would be out of business by now if they didn't.

There is little to no doubt that Toyota has hired former NTSB officials and that Toyota and the NTSB have attempted to cover up the acceleration issue for years.

And some of you idjits are defending them regardless!

(Not you Tim, you're not an idjit, i value your skills too much to insult you. ;))

What is interesting to me, having 30 years design experience in avionics and having been in similar situations, is I don't think they have found the problem or if they have they don't know how to fix it fast with a reasonable cost. If this was an airplane there would be video out showing how it hapens and how it is repeatable.

That two bit piece of metal to release the friction damper on the accelerator and take an angle grinder to the bottom of the gas pedal..... yeah it's that simple, right.

It's a story because they have been so good for so long. I think some people have a morbid desire for you to fail when you've reached the top. The bigger they are the harder they fall, and the better the story is.

From Fight Club: SmileWavy


Narrator: A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.

Business woman on plane: Are there a lot of these kinds of accidents?

Narrator: You wouldn't believe.

Business woman on plane: Which car company do you work for?

Narrator: A major one.

It's a story because they've covered up HUNDREDS of instances that have resulted in DOZENS of deaths for several years.

Are you really so brand loyal as to not be able to see that?

And it's obviously not that Toyota has been so good. It's that their cover ups have.

Auto Recalls Scoreboard listed by Manufacturer - myCarStats.com

I wonder if anyone has the total number of recalls by manufacturer that takes into account the number of models produced in the last ten years. For example, if Chevy made 30 different models in the last ten years and had 300 recalls as opposed to a company that produced 3 different models and had 300 recalls.

Well I am defending them because I think they still build better cars than the US auto makers. I also think that recalls/safety/money are all tied together in ALL of the major auto makers. If I chose to waste my time looking into it, I am 100% sure I could dig up many instances of the big three internally attempting to avoid costly recalls.

You seem to think that Toyota is the only automaker guilty of this. I on the other hand think Toyota does less of this and I view the recent recalls a positive move on Toyotas part in regard to safety of their customers. If you think the big three are not sitting on knowledge of potential safety issues with some of their models, then I think it proves you simply have a hard-on for Toyota.

Toyota has been pretty damn smug. ...and FOS, btw, with those 'green' ad's. (Prius made of twigs..:rolleyes:

I don't get the big Toyota following. I just drove a friend to the airport in her Lexus. ...the model which is supposed to be like a MBz S-class. --Not even close.

As I see it, many cars are quickly becoming designed as if they are no different than a washing machine or cell phone. At least the Germans are still very cognizant of the fact that these machines (which hurl down the freeway) need very well thought-out failure modes. ...not just wait for problems to arise, and then send out a software update.:rolleyes:

Snipe, right now all I've seen is someone on the internet that doesn't like Toyota doing a lot of copy/paste. There's a lot of information up in the air, but little fact.

I never said in any post in any thread that Toyota is the only company that covers things up.

That does not change the fact that they've just been caught, and last i heard something like 28-30 Americans are dead because of this problem.

Toyota absolutely deserves every degree of heat that they're getting right now.

No, bro, really....the fatal accidents are not up in the air.

This is reminding me of the beginning of a Tom Clancy book. I can't remember, I've read probably 5 Clancy books 1000 pages + and they all meld together. There was one about a Japanese car company that had fuel tanks that would explode... somehow, through typical Clancy universe mayhem, this results in war.


Found it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_of_Honor

read that synopsis. good times.

Debt of Honor, i've read it too.

People die in accidents every day, probably even in Toyotas. It's VERY easy to blame the accident and subsequent large lawsuit (God bless America) on Toyota. Is it their fault? Maybe. But I'm not going to burn them at the stake for some tabloid quality journalism.

They have admitted that the accelerators were at fault. They have further admitted it was a faulty design.

There is no "maybe" at play here.

That doesn't keep every random Toyota driving moron from blaming Toyota for their accidents.

I acknowledge that.

Toyota
 

On one hand we have the guys who now will defend
Toyota regardless -as they have bought into the superiority ( true 20 years or so ago -I have my doubts today) of "foreign" car nameplates and will not even look at a domestic brand.

On the the other hand we have the guys who have been apologists ( they forgot their 2 year old Dodges with rusty fenders) for the "US" brands and are jumping on the pile.

Good entertainment regardless --puts a little gusto in the increasingly bland automotive business. Not the fact people are getting hurt mind you but the whole brand love and hate thing this has illuminated

Toyota is the top dog hence the heat --to even think that the press has some government driven incentive here is a stretch as the press has pilloried the domestic auto industry for years.

Just goes to show whether its exploding Pintos or brake-free Prius - everything has the potential for failure given the profit driven world of big industry and medium and small industry for that matter.

Strength and Honor
M-Flo

An excellent post. Welcome to the fray M-flo.