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Toyota now investigating Corolla steering problems

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Gradual Revealing - A Japanese Style !!!

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hahahahah...whats next? kick'm while their down!

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Why does it seem that no other car company has faced the kind of backlash that Toyota faces now when they have screwed up? Honda Accords had problems with brake failure recently. Ford had engines catching fire due to huge amounts of buildup. They had their recalls, things were discussed, and that was that. It seems that people are out for blood in this instance. Could it be that the government views this as a path to gravy since they now own some of Toyota's US competitors?

I'm not saying Toyota is absolved from responsibility here. A huge mistake was made and they've taken too long to figure out how to fix it. Communication has been poor on their end. Maybe they got so big so fast that some complacency set in.

All I'm curious about is why the extreme reaction in this case as opposed to recalls in the past? Uncontollable acceleration is as scary as it gets to a driver, but the likelihood of this happening to owners of these recalled models is very small. Like one in a million small. You have a better chance of dying in a plane crash or getting mauled by a dog. It seems that the media and the administration are all to happy to kick Toyota while they are down.

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Let,s give Toyota a break, they are still the leading brand for car manufacturing, and will continue too,,

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Curious, are the defective cars American made or made in Japan? My money is on America.

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"Uncontollable acceleration is as scary as it gets to a driver, but the likelihood of this happening to owners of these recalled models is very small. Like one in a million small. You have a better chance of dying in a plane crash or getting mauled by a dog".

The likelihood of it happening is very small, I think everyone would agree with you. However, IF it happens, you could die from it. And people drive every day and as people drive every day, it is something they don't really want to have to think about, therefore they complain. The average person does not fly every day, nor does the average person go anywhere near dangerous dogs every day.

And why is the world attacking Toyota constantly? Well, I think one reason is that for years and years the Japanese have criticised the quality of products from other countries consistently. Now it just seems that the shoe is on the other foot.

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Because the other companies aren'T number on eand are all keeping things quiet and letting Toyota take the blame. I think the good thing out of this is that ALL cars are being made safer. Toyota will survive this. Everyone knows American cars are crap. If anything Toyota needs to worry about the Korean companies.

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Toyota cars are the safest cars out there right now because of the Toyota recalls.

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In the beginning it was just the floor mat!! wonder whats next??

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Wow Japanese cars like built in the 60-70's are popping up... I'm thinking less time for R&D and real world testing.

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Reason to buy a Toyota the 10-year warranty/100k coming (possibly).

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I'm not. My family stopped buying Fords due to all the problems they were having - brakes, engine... now idea why they kept buying them for all the years they did. Everyone is now very happy with their Toyotas, Hondas and Kias.

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Betting at 09:43 AM JST - 18th February However, IF it happens, you could die from it. And people drive every day and as people drive every day, it is something they don't really want to have to think about, therefore they complain.

Then compare Toyota's accused 34 fatalities to 1,800 for GM. In over 10 million trucks, all 1973-87 GM full-size side saddle fuel tank design pickups is the worst auto crash fire defect with over 1,800 people were killed in fire crashes involving these trucks from 1973 through 2000. Despite a voluntary recall request from NHTSA in 1993 and an initial defect determination by Transportation Secretary Pena, GM stubbornly refused to initiate a recall.

In 1993, the NHTSA called on GM to voluntarily recall all of its over 6 million 1973-87 full-size C/K pickups with side saddle fuel tanks. GM wrote, "General Motors continues to believe that its 1973-87 C/K trucks are neither defective nor contribute to increased injuries or fatalities. Consequently no safety recall of them is necessary." GM was able to hide all this evidence and much more from the public until the early 1990's. GM knew about this problem in early 70's and the GM executives that retired are enjoying their life comfortably and not spending time in jail. Did the U.S. govenment do much of anything then for the safety of U.S. citizens?

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Toyota cars are the safest cars out there right now because of the Toyota recalls.

Tell that to the families of people who have already died because of driving a faulty Toyota. I think Toyota's standards dropped about 25 years ago. In Australia it's common to see Toyotas from the 1970's and 1980's still running and in good condition. Toyotas from the 1990's however, are much less common.

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Heh ,with one problem for every few days like this...is it manufacturing defect or engineering inferiority for new Toyota? Perhaps I should start to look at Nissan.

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Curious, are the defective cars American made or made in Japan? My money is on America.

I see where you are going with this but it's not a workmanship failure, it's a design failure.

Anyway, I can see the lawyers salivating at the mouth and scurrying for class action suits now. (scurrying as in what you see cockroaches do to get under the refrigerator when you turn the kitchen light on.)

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Toyota is not considered reliable annymore. Hopefully they bounce back in the future anymore.

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Tell that to the families of people who have already died because of driving a faulty Toyota. I think Toyota's standards dropped about 25 years ago. In Australia it's common to see Toyotas from the 1970's and 1980's still running and in good condition. Toyotas from the 1990's however, are much less common.

No car will ever be free of defect whether it is a GM, Ford, BMW, Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai along with all the other auto makers. The deaths of the "untended acceleration" will never be forgotten by Toyota or people. Because of their deaths Toyota have recommit themselves to making cars safer.

Maybe all cars should be obsolete and people should rely in public transportation. Since all cars are dangerous objects, they should not be on the road. Forget about technology, medical advancements, and producing products because they are harmful to people. Let's go back to the Stone Age.

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All these issues have become a nightmare that just keeps going. Poor Toyota

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I think Toyota cars are the safest on the road due to all the recent recalls and problems reported with them. I also feel that only the cars made in USA are having these problems due to the notoriously unreliable American work ethics. I will still continue to like Toyota because everyone knows American cars are crap.

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Midnightpromise: It's daybreak - you can come out of your sleep now. The US made Toyotas are using the same parts that are suffering from the same problems with the Japan built Toyotas. If you'd read your daily paper you'd see that Japan has arrested Toyota service managers for hiding the facts - people have died in Japan because of the same problems. The Corolla steering problem - guess what? It is linked to the immobiliser that self triggers while you're driving - sound familiar. Toyota has known this for years and covered it up - see "Toyota Hi-lux crash 2004 Kumamoto" Oh and to burst your bubble one more time - successive Toyota CEO's have repeatedly confessed that their American workers produce better quality products, have better work ethics and produce more per man hour than the Japanese. And saying this in Nagoya. Would a Japanese worker from Nagoya ever go to the Diet to defend the company - even if told to do so by the company? Hell no.

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Wow.... we should all buy a horse for commuting purposes over here

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Is there anything out there called perfect car? I had a Ford in the 1980 which had rear brakes jamed problem and the mechanic told me that it was common for that model and that I had to spend my own money every few years to get it serviced. No recall, no publicity I just had to deal with it. Then I had a Mazda which one day produced tons of smokes like it was on fire or something...just spend money and get it fixed, no recall ,no publicity . Then I have a SAAB, which minor components just keep breaking down and a steering wheel is so close to my thigh causing uncomfortable driving..again I just have to deal with it. Even my most reliable Toyota still has its fabric ceiling felt down and my son has to stiched it up! Is there anything called 100% perfect car?

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tclh: Yes, it's called a Lada (Gigoli). You don't need the dealer to fix it for you and the maker doesn't lie to you about what he didn't put in it. It's like mother's cooking - it's still better than a restaurant because mum doesn't tell you anything about what the food will taste like except it's for your life - eat you live, don't eat you die.

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My old Firebird back brakes locked up on it. Often while traveling at speed on the expressway causing exciting times. The Car went through an alternator and battery every 2 - 3 years (not covered by warranty) None of this made the news. My most reliable car is my Hondas. I have owned Toyotas in the past but none of them new. They worked like they were suppose to and never caused me trouble.

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Curious, are the defective cars American made or made in Japan? My money is on America.

Doesn't matter. The company, Toyota let a defective product slip out onto the market with their name on it. Toyota is ultimately responsible. Apple didn't actually manufacture the computer I am typing on now, but if something goes wrong, I'm not going to call the factory in China that make it, I'm going to call Apple. I like Japan too, but I'm not going to be an apologist for one of its' companies puttying out shoddy product as you seem to be doing.

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Hey! The bigger the company gets, the more mistakes that will happen. Shoganai ne! Toyota Rocks as does Gm and Ford and lots of other companies!

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"Then compare Toyota's accused 34 fatalities to 1,800 for GM. In over 10 million trucks, all 1973-87 GM full-size side saddle fuel tank design pickups is the worst auto crash fire defect with over 1,800 people were killed in fire crashes involving these trucks from 1973 through 2000. Despite a voluntary recall request from NHTSA in 1993 and an initial defect determination by Transportation Secretary Pena, GM stubbornly refused to initiate a recall".

Good for you 330, nice of you to fire something back and hope it made you feel better.

What I wrote was in answer to a question someone posted, nothing more nothing less. If you really think what you posted is valid, maybe you you should also look into the recalls that Mitsubishi hid for something like 30 years (maybe you could check that out too).

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What's happening inside Toyota? From #1 quality cars to #1 crap recalls! My brother has just given up on a Corolla after this news.

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I'm guessing Toyota will remain the #1 carmaker in the world or at least stay close even if it slips back to #2 for a long time to come.

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If Toyota/Toyoda doesn't satisfy the congressional investigations on their increasing auto problems, they're production could be shut down and imports could be stopped.

That might really hurt Toyota's success. < :-)

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Betting at 10:52 PM JST - 18th February. If you really think what you posted is valid, maybe you you should also look into the recalls that Mitsubishi hid for something like 30 years (maybe you could check that out too).

Point is GM executives knew about this problem for almost 20 years that killed almost as much as Pearl Harbor and they didn't care about American people and didn't want to recall. Only the profit. Regardless of statue of limitation, U.S. goverment should bring this case againist former GM executives to re-open investigation.

Compare to GM, Mitsubishi did not have any fatalities that I know of. In the Mitsubishi has covered up thousands of complaints about glitches with its cars and trucks. At that time, Mitsubishi announced the recall of 620,000 vehicles. SECRET Police in Tokyo, where Mitsubishi is headquartered, launched an investigation into allegations that the company was criminally negligent in covering up defects. At the time, Mitsubishi declined to comment on the ongoing probe. But investigators have told the Japanese press they have evidence indicating that serious car defects were secretly repaired at two Mitsubishi technical centers. In some cases, the sources said, engineers repaired or replaced car computers.The Transport Ministry says so far authorities have documented seven cases of reverse acceleration--all involving Diamantes manufactured in the three year period. Mitsubishi received over 1,000 reports of faulty brakes, engines that stall, and a few instances of sudden acceleration.

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That might really hurt Toyota's success. < :-) when that day comes ,Toyota will have no choice but change Lexus to Lexa (luxury export to Australia,Asia,Arab,Africa..) and trade for raw material, oil, wheat,rice etc...

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Bad times for Toyota and the Toyoda family. The more America punishes Japan through Toyota the worse relations will become. If things go very bad (do not want to happen) relations will start to go into a downward spiral. What a thing to do to a GREAT ally and friend to America. If our relations suffer America is going to be the one to start it. I often "fly off the handle" and get "full of myself" but our government bends over backwards to please the Americans. Now between this and one base I wonder about the loyalties and plans of the Americans.

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Yuri, the US is a sovereign country with the right to decide how they want to treat Toyota...

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Oh please, defect investigations happen everyday with other car makers. It's a good thing that this is being brought to people's attention, but people should also be aware that every other car maker also undergoes investigations like this just as frequently.

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Japan should cut eco-point benifits for Toyota.

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Tahoochi, the same from Japan which could to the same to American and American owned companies. The only losers will be the consumers. A lot of Americans will never buy a "American" car, no mater what! This will hurt them and the 100 thousand employees and those who are employed through Toyota USA.

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