Toyota Announces Voluntary Recall on 2010 MY Prius

Thank you!

This matches the one event I was eventually able to replicate on a Huntsville rain-slick street after a speed bump. But I remain curious about:

We picked up our Prius in May 2009 and then I noticed:

Should the " Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331" be able to check our VIN to see if we're impacted?

I spent about 4-6 weeks trying to replicate the braking pause (it is not easy with ours) but do I have to tell my wife? She is a little 'lead footed' and maybe she'll back off.

LATE NOTE: Thank you Team Prius. Since the UK and Japanese announcements are for all 2010 Prius, I think it is safe to say all ZVW30 Prius. I'm a happy camper.

Bob Wilson

 

Thank you!

As someone who works for a large company and has seen enough hungry ambulance chasing lawyers running around, I totally understand your position. Saying/doing the wrong thing can expose one to financial and/or legal liabilities.

I also recognize there are some aspects that are confidential/proprietary and in some cases, if released, can give a competitor an advantage. I'm sure there are also many other things going on behind that scenes that need preparation besides just regulatory stuff (testing, input from legal, rollout plans, contingencies, etc.) that some here aren't aware of/haven't thought of.

 

What about earlier editions of the Prius? The Gen II models don't seem to be immune from brake system issues: Early Priuses may have braking issues - Autos- msnbc.com

 

Uh, I believe the legal exposure is already a done deal. Expect this to be fought over in the court system for the next few years.

Since the braking switchover looks like a safety issue affecting all hybrid tech, Toyota should share what info it has, even more so given that the details will be made public one way or another either through a legislative or legal process. The ball has already started rolling.

 

I am glad you are such a big fan. I love my Toyota too - but not as much as you. I'll say it is not a major problem and I don't want to roast Toyota for this. However, I don't think you have considered all the issues in your justifications. I humbly suggest your post does not help Toyota at all.

Not correcting a problem or perceived problem fast enough can also expose a company to liability.

I certainly hope a company does not put their secret advantage above the safety of its customers. Assuming this is a safety issue.

 

wooo! any reason someone would not want this update implemented?

 

I can't speak personally speak to the 3rd gen's behavior vs. my 2nd gen and the perceived problems. I'm simply trying to give some insight into what might be happening behind the scenes.

My examples weren't meant to be an exhaustive set of things that could be going on behind the scenes during an investigation and that need to be done and in place before a recall. I've never worked in the auto industry nor on the regulatory side.

As for confidential/proprietary, I'm speaking in general terms. I'm sure Doug and other Prius Team members can't go into detail partly because of this.

Do you think an automaker would like to disclose all aspects of their design, testing and validation methodology and processes along w/all their lessons learned along the way to the public? (So a competitor can gain an advantage?) How about all the data files from their CAD/CAM software needed to fabricate all their parts and cars? How about raw data from tests or raw data about things like supplier defect rates? How about all the process improvements implemented internally? How about complete project schedules including that of unreleased and unannounced products? How about contact info for everyone in the company? The list could go on and on.

I wish some of you worked in a large company on unreleased products in an extremely competitive marketplace. You'd understand where I'm coming form.

No, I'm not implying that Toyota is putting some hypothetical "secret advantage" above the safety of its customers.

 

Perhaps, but you must admit that people could slip up and make things FAR worse than they already are.

By financial, I'm also speaking of a hypothetical. Let's say a company decided to rush out a "fix" for something but it turns out to end up being the wrong fix and makes things worse. Well, now they have to take the hit (cost of labor + parts, at minimum) for validating the wrong fix, applying the wrong fix, finding, validating and applying the right fix and any consequences that might result (embarrassment, loss of credibility, damage to machine/vehicle, etc.)

Although not all the documentation/correspondence is posted for the unrelated sticky accelerator recall and none up about this recall yet, to give some insight as to the correspondence between an automaker and NHTSA along w/accompanying documentation, see http://nhthqnwws112.odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/documentList.do?docId=09V338&docType=RCL&fromPublic=true for example. You can click on "Document Search" after looking up any car recall at www.safercar.gov. One should be able to see that it took many man hours to plan for and put together the documentation, write the repair procedure, validate it, come up w/a rollout plan, etc.

 

If there is an update such as this, wouldn't you have to get it updated for insurance purposes? Otherwise, without the upgrade, are you driving an unsafe and un-insurable vehicle? I'm not sure about this one but I think I read it in one of the posts somewhere...

SKIP

 

To the Prius team

Thank You!

Stan Ames

 

Any chance to hear a little bit about how the fix is implemented?
In other words, does it involve resuming regen braking sooner after the cut-off or is it the hydraulic brakes that are used at the cut-off or something else?

I don't have any problems with my genIII so I'd love to know more before bringing in my car (in fact I'd be happy to wait until the first service in 6,000 miles).

 

Thank you Toyota. I appreciate that you heard, listened to and responded to those of us who brought the attention to you via your customer experience website. I, for one, will have the remedy applied as soon as my dealer has it available.

Out of curiosity, I do read in the offical release the following (bolding is mine):

"Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc, today announced it will conduct a voluntary safety recall on approximately 133,000 2010 Model Year Prius vehicles..."

Is it a safety issue, right? (i.e. not just a normal characteristic of the car) If so, why is it voluntary- or does "voluntary" mean it's a recall that Toyota volunteered to do and they aren't be required to do it by some governing agency?

 

Is there any news for the Prius recall in Canada yet?

 

According to the Toyota press release, "First- and second-generation Prius vehicles use a different ABS system and are not involved in this campaign." It would be nice if Doug could elaborate upon that statement.

My guess is that we will not see a recall on G2 anytime soon, because 1) Toyota senior mgmt in Japan would have to become convinced this was necessary and 2) it would take time for a firmware change to be created and validated (assuming that the G2 skid control ECU could be reflashed, which may or may not be true.)

Yes, voluntary means that in this case, TMS USA decided to proceed with the recall, prior to being hit over the head by NHTSA.

 

But, how about the word "safety" in the recall notice? I'm assuming that it means that the issue has been identified by Toyota as a safety issue. Or, does 2 + 1 = 2?

 

I'd say that your assumption is valid.