Where Toyota Went Wrong...

[scandal 951]

Be ready to dodge that lightning bolt.

That's ok. I heard AJ is planning to move to Elkhart IN. He'll be safe enough there.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Well..... one of them is a hero, anyway.

I think Tiger was fvcking Manning too. He goes both ways.

[luckytxn 2,264]

I am pretty glad that I don't deliver parts anymore to Elkhart, In.

[William33 110]

I feel badly for the people and town of Elkhart IN.

They just can't catch a break. That's the town that was decimated by the implosion of the RV industry (Elkhart: the town formerly known as the RV capital of the world). It's the town Obama visited during his Presidential campaign, and shortly after he was inaugurated, to host town hall meetings about the economy and jobs in America's manufacturing heartland.

And, now this. Getting caught up in the middle of this Toyota recall. For Toyota, a major headache, but survivable. For Elkhart - they must be thinking someone out there is just out to get them.

A cogent point indeed. These people don't deserve this headache, but such is life....I am sure the Union will protect these folks though.....e.g. They won't be collecting UI insurance......

[NickD 202]

Terrible for a technically minded person to read all the BS associated with this recall, article above is talking about a wiring defect, others a weak throttle valve spring where shims are going to be supplied rather than changing the spring, this one:

"The automaker determined that excess friction in the gas pedal assembly could in rare cases cause the pedal to stick. Engineers traced the problem to a friction device in the assembly that is supposed to provide proper pedal “feel” by adding resistance, Toyota said.

The device has a shoe that rubs against a metal surface during normal pedal use. But wear and environmental conditions over time can cause the pedals to not operate smoothly or in rare cases stick partially open.

The company said a steel reinforcement bar will be installed to reduce the friction."

Describes a a drag shoe that can bind that really sounds stupid. Why even add friction to the throttle body vane when the key is to reduce it? Doesn't anybody know what they are talking about?

Basically a throttle vane is used to permit air flow change into an engine, hit the gas it opens, release the gas it closes, that simple, it also rotates a potentiometer that is used to tell the PCM the throttle position. Unlike a carbuerator that mixes the air with fuel, the TB or throttle body only regulates air flow by driver demand. All that electronic ####### and a bunch of it, measure this air flow with overpriced sensors to determine with the computer the dwell time of the fuel injectors for a proper fuel air mixture in so called open loop mode. After the engine warms up an O2 sensor takes over this task, but like Al Gore is after the fact finding errors in the A/F ratio then correctly them. While average A/F is correct, instantaneous A/F ratio is always off, that is why you have a catalytic converter, another piece of overpriced equipment mounted under your vehicle to reduce HC emissions, damn fuel is burnt after the computer system fuvked it up and is wasted. Hey, this is YOUR EPA doing this.

Another fault with that vane is in PVC systems where ####### from the lower half of the engine is processed into the air cleaner that forms carbon in the throttle body that can jam that vane. If that isn't enough, also have the EGR pouring in ####### that carbons up the all important fuel injectors. And doesn't help to burn ####### fuel from the middle east either with the EPA even adding more ####### to it so the engine can stay clean. Only interested in reducing HC emissions, let your catalytic converter take care of that, the hell with fuel economy.

When all this ####### started, the only correct way was to measure the air pressure in each cylinder to determine the correct amount of fuel required plus it's temperature so you know it's density. For a V-8, that would require 16 cylinder sensors with lots of computer power, way too expensive. So by using a very cheap O2 sensor, and the catalytic converter only the average A/F is measured. But if one cylinder screws up by misfiring, either ignition, injection, or compression, the entire system is screwed by, you get a check engine light, switch to limp mode, and can barely drive your car with maybe a top speed of 40 mph. This is the kind of ####### we are driving today and way overpriced. Hey, contact your EPA.

Getting back to that vane, that is not the only thing that controls engine speed, with smaller high revving displacement engines, single drive belt system rotating all that #######, if any of those like the PS pump, AC compressor, or alternator produce a heavy load, that will kill the engine, so an electronic idle speed control had to be added. This is done by an idle air control valve that bypasses that vane with more air, again the computer has to keep up with it. Sensors located throughout determine the load factor, feed that to the PCM, the powertrain computer module and pulse modulate that valve. If anything goes haywire, the engine can rev up drastically and with all that wiring and sensors, stuff does go wrong. The above article with wiring infers this kind of problem that has nothing to do with a sticking vane, completely independent systems.

Back in the old days, didn't have all this ####### that you are paying dearly for and can't even fix yourself. Coupled with flashram firmware devices, can also have a computer error. Everyone has computer problems, not only with your home computer, but your vehicle computer as well. And the same cheap ####### used in your home computer is used in your overpriced vehicle, but is subject to a far more hostile environment. Namely, a hell of a lot more problems.

All this has to do with burning a filthy fuel, computer guys know of GIGO, garbage in garbage out. With the EPA, we have garbage in, but they want clean air out, their balls will really be in a wringer now if they have to reduce CO2 emissions.

Yet another problem is automatic transmission torque converter lockup, a microprocessor flashram stored firmware control a valve that rams high pressure AT fluid to lockup the converter. With any mechanical or electrical errors like a glitch or a leaky valve, your engine has a direct hard drive to the wheels. That can end up in a disaster as well.

When wife sees a new car, impressed by all those flashing lights, I just see a ton of problems.

f

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

A cogent point indeed. These people don't deserve this headache, but such is life....I am sure the Union will protect these folks though.....e.g. They won't be collecting UI insurance......

Rumor has it, Indiana is not too big on worker's rights and benefits.

[mawilson 2,133]

It's amazing how Jap car lovers always find ways to blame the US.

Even when Toyota cars are faulty, somehow America is to blame. Japan is simply infallible.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

It's amazing how Jap car lovers always find ways to blame the US.

Even when Toyota cars are faulty, somehow America is to blame. Japan is simply infallible.

They love to blame the US, don't they? I wonder if they'd feel better if they got paid in yen?

[NickD 202]

This will be a far shorter post.

Those that suffered after WW II and tried to make good are all history now, a new generation of spoil brats.

What gave the Japanese strength was their powerful cottage industry, mom could stay home and watch junior while assembling components. We couldn't do that here to save on overhead, our IRS wouldn't let us. But that is also becoming history as they also discovered Chinese labor is much cheaper.

If you think our corporations have power, not even close to Japan. And only the elite have those positions, waiting for Japan to collapse. Think the word is greed.