[Quietcars] Toyota boasted saving $100-million on

Wed Feb 24 13:24:56 UTC 2010

Hi,

With the hearings still going on, I suspect we will learn more today, Wednesday. Certainly, Toyota will be making some changes in the organization, which should improve their ability to detect and address early problems (more about this later.) But Tuesday's hearings did bring some new information, especially from Dr. David Gilbert's accelerator testing.

Dr. Gilbert was able to produce the run-away behavior by jumpering in a single shunt resistor. Toyota's outside engineering firm, Exponent, apparently replicated the symptom late Monday. We don't have the exact details of what Dr. Gilbert and Exponent did to induce the run-away symptom. But some of us have been discussing the engineering aspects in a Prius technical forum. If we don't have more technical details by this weekend, I may 'ohm out' the accelerator-to-computer interface of our 2003 Prius. My car will be raised so the drive wheels are safely off the pavement.

NASA lost two, multi-billion dollar space shuttles and crews due to: (1) cold weather, marginal rocket engine seals, and (2) ice impact to wing causing a hole. Roughtly one fatal accident for every sixty shuttle missions ... and these are our rocket scientists. This is not excusing Toyota's technical problems but just trying to bring a sense of perspective ... engineering is hard, good engineering is harder, and perfect engineering something we keep striving for but expect reality testing to reveal 'lessons learned.'

In engineering we have two terms: verification and validation. Verification means the part performs as the engineer designed it. Validation means the part performs as the customer intended. There is a gap between the two, which is what happened to my complaint about the "Check Engine Light" not coming on when the engine ceased running. 

The previous two model Prius would raise the "Check Engine Light" anytime the engine failed to run regardless of cause. The current model does not in either my testing and two other cases. But the Toyota team reported that this "Check Engine" behavior was  as designed. This is not the way I, their customer, wanted it to work and the "Check Engine Light" had worked in 10 years of previous Prius production. 

Toyota has an engineering board that looks at problems and rules on any changes. In the Tuesday hearing, we learned Toyota's engineering board will gain members from Toyota USA and Toyota Europe. Today, the engineering board was limited to Japanese members, which makes sense for a Japanese company.

Toyota has also realized they had lost control of quality and the CEO of Toyota announced a week and a half ago that he will lead that committee. One of the critical aspects of ISO-9000, the 1990s version, is quality has to be an executive led effort. We don't know who was in charge before but obviously it failed to address these early complaints. 

How did I trick the engine into not running? I deliberatly ran it out of gas. Not a month goes by that I don't see someone walking with a spare gas can to or from their car on the side of the road. But a Prius has a traction battery that can move the car at least a mile to a safe place to park ... if the "Check Engine Light" comes on. In contrast, the current Prius runs out of gas and then runs down the traction battery leaving the driver no choice but to park right then and there. 

I plan to submit my complaint to NHTSA now that both Toyota and the NHTSA have decided that customer validation might be important. Their ears are working. But one last thought that ties today's Toyota accidents to "Quiet Cars." 

These Toyota vehicle problems are based upon documented accidents and problem reports. People were hurt, some killed, and vehicles destroyed and there are records that document these problems. We also have records of pedestrian deaths and injuries from today's noise making cars. Sad to say but factual, adding noise makers to hybrids leaves the existing pedestrian death toll unchanged. Solve the bigger problem, all pedestrian injuries and deaths, regardless of vehicle noise, and hybrids will achieve the same improvement. Having over 4,000 pedestrian deaths per year is the elephant in the room.

Bob Wilson 

> Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:27:28 -0500
> From: mrtownsend at optonline.net
> To: tse-chat at yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [Quietcars] Toyota boasted saving $100-million on
> 
> The on-going saga of Toyota Motor corporation presents this news item:
> 
>  
>   
> 
> Toyota boasted saving $100-million on recall, documents show A Toyota
> dealership in Phoenix, Ariz.
> A Toyota dealership in Phoenix, Ariz.
> Car maker successfully negotiated a limited recall with Washington Comments
> (53) KEN THOMAS WASHINGTON - The Associated Press Published on Sunday, Feb.
> 21, 2010 6:20PM EST Last updated on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010 6:24PM EST T oyota
> officials claimed they saved the company $100-million (U.S.) by successfully
> negotiating with the government on a limited recall of floor mats in some
> Toyota and Lexus vehicles, according to new documents shared with
> congressional investigators.
> Toyota, in an internal presentation in July 2009 at its Washington office,
> said it saved $100-million or more by negotiating an "equipment recall" of
> floor mats involving 55,000 Toyota Camry and Lexus ES350 vehicles in
> September 2007.
> The savings are listed under the title, "Wins for Toyota - Safety Group."
> The document cites millions of dollars in other savings by delaying safety
> regulations, avoiding defect investigations and slowing down other industry
> requirements.
> The documents were turned over to the House Oversight and Government Reform
> Committee and obtained by The Associated Press on Sunday. The presentation
> was first reported by The Detroit News.
> A Toyota spokeswoman did not immediately comment.
> The documents are expected to be raised in Congress, which is holding two
> hearings on Toyota's massive recalls this week. The Japanese automaker has
> called back
> 8.5
> million vehicles in recent months to deal with safety problems involving gas
> pedals, floor mats and brakes.
> The world's largest automaker has been criticized for responding too slowly
> to complaints of sudden acceleration in its vehicles, threatening to
> undermine its reputation for quality and safety.
> Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the top
> Republican on the Oversight Committee, said the documents raise questions on
> "whether Toyota was lobbying for less rigid actions from regulators to
> protect their bottom line."
> The new documents show the financial benefit of delay. In the presentation,
> Toyota said a phase-in to new safety regulations for side air bags saved the
> company $124-million and 50,000 man hours. Delaying a rule for tougher door
> locks saved $11-million.
> On defect regulations, the document boasts that Toyota "avoided
> investigation"
> on
> rusting Tacoma pickup trucks. The National Highway Trafic Safety
> Administration investigated the case in 2008 but closed it without finding a
> safety defect. Toyota agreed to buy back certain rusty pickups, inspect
> other and extend warranties.
> The document lists seven "Wins for Toyota & Industry," including "favorable
> recall outcomes," "secured safety rulemaking favorable to Toyota" and
> "vehicles not in climate legislation." Another page lists "key safety
> issues," including "Sudden acceleration on ES/Camry, Tacoma, LS etc."
> In one passage, the document says Toyota "negotiated 'equipment' recall on
> Camry/ES re SA; saved $100M+, w/ no defect found."
> 
> 
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