plus 3, Toyota USA says it is evaluating 2010 Prius brake problems; no ... - Chicago Tribune |
- Toyota USA says it is evaluating 2010 Prius brake problems; no ... - Chicago Tribune
- Toyota Says No Recall For 2010 Prius - KDKA
- Report: Toyota to Recall 270,000 Prius - WKRG
- Man Sues City Of Clermont Over Sign Dispute - WFTV
| Toyota USA says it is evaluating 2010 Prius brake problems; no ... - Chicago Tribune Posted: 04 Feb 2010 12:59 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. |
| Toyota Says No Recall For 2010 Prius - KDKA Posted: 04 Feb 2010 12:24 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. Toyota: No Recall For 2010 Prius Amid Brakes IssueTransportation Department To Look Into Complaints Of Faulty Breaks After Company Admits Design Problems
A spokesman for the company said the automaker is cooperating fully with a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation into brake problems, but said it's too soon to talk about a recall. Earlier Thursday, the safety agency said it opened an investigation into the Prius, saying it had received 124 reports from consumers about its brakes, including four reports of crashes. The government is investigating reports that antilock brakes can fail momentarily on some 2010 models in slippery conditions or on rough roads. MORE
The company says it made a change in the 2010 braking system last month to correct cars in production. The company has not made a decision about cars on the road. Asked if Toyota would recall the 2010 Priuses, spokesman Brian Lyons said: "It's too soon to call at this point. We will of course fully cooperate with NHTSA in that investigation." Lyons also said Toyota is checking other hybrid models in its lineup to see if they have the same braking system as the 2010 model, but so far he is not aware of any other models being involved. "As part of our normal problem-solving process, we would look at similar technology in similar vehicles," he said. The U.S. investigation, while preliminary, represents another setback for Toyota, which has been battered with two major recalls in the United States covering millions of vehicles. Those involve gas pedals that can get trapped under floor mats or become stuck on their own and fail to return to the idle position. The safety probes have challenged Toyota's long-standing reputation for building safe, quality vehicles. The Prius was not part of the recall spanning the U.S., Europe and China over sticking gas pedals in eight top-selling models including the Camry. That recall involved 2.3 million cars in the U.S. alone. NHTSA said investigators have talked to consumers and conducted pre-investigatory field work. The preliminary evaluation involves about 37,000 vehicles in the United States. "Safety is our top priority," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. NHTSA said LaHood spoke with Toyota president Akio Toyoda late Wednesday and was assured by the executive that Toyota was taking the safety concerns seriously. Toyota said in a statement it would fully cooperate with NHTSA's investigation. The U.S. investigation came after the Japanese government ordered Toyota to investigate brake problems in the Prius, the world's best-selling hybrid. The new version of the gas-electric Prius hybrid went on sale in the U.S. and Japan in May 2009. Paul Nolasco, a company spokesman in Japan, said the time lag for brakes kicking in felt by drivers stem from the two systems in a gas-electric hybrid — the gas-engine and the electric motor. When the car moves on a bumpy or slippery surface, a driver can feel a pause in the braking when the vehicle switches between the traditional hydraulic brakes and the electronically operated braking system, he said. The brakes work if the driver keeps pushing the pedal, he said. Toyota acknowledged the brake problem while reporting a $1.7 billion profit for its October-December quarter. NHTSA said it opens 100 investigations every year and there are currently 40 open defect investigations, three of which involve Toyota. NHTSA said its defect and compliance investigations have resulted in 524 recalls involving 23.5 million vehicles during the past three years. Toyota senior managing director Takahiko Ijichi defended the automaker's quality standards. "We have not sacrificed the quality for the sake of saving costs," he said. "Quality is our lifeline. We want our customers to feel safe and regain their trust as soon as possible." Toyota for the first time gave an estimate of the costs of the global gas-pedal recall. The $2 billion total represents $1.1 billion for repairs and $770 million to $880 million in lost sales. Toyota is expecting to lose 100,000 in vehicle sales because of the recall fallout — 80,000 of them in North America.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.) Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Report: Toyota to Recall 270,000 Prius - WKRG Posted: 04 Feb 2010 12:59 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. - Several news organizations are reporting that Toyota will recall 270,000 Prius models to repair a problem with the design of the car's breaks. This recall - the latest for the car company - focuses on the third-generation Prius, the Nikkei newspaper reported. Toyota started selling third-generation models in May 2009. In the United States, 100,000 cars sold between May and December 2009 will be recalled, the Nikkei reported. In Japan around 176,000 cars will be recalled, the Nikkei reported. A Toyota spokesman told CBS News he is unaware of any plans for a Prius recall; however, he would not deny the Nikkei's report. Spokespeople for the Transportation Department and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the department's safety agency, would not confirm the report. Company spokesman Brian Lyons told The Associated Press it's too soon to talk about a recall. He says the automaker is cooperating fully with a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration probe into the brake troubles. Earlier Thursday, the Transportation Department opened an investigation into brake problems in the 2010 Prius, the latest in a series of safety troubles at Toyota that have confused drivers and strained the Japanese automaker's relationship with U.S. regulators. Toyota also acknowledged design problems with the brakes in its prized gas-electric hybrid Thursday. The NHTSA said it has received 124 reports from consumers about the Prius brakes, including four reports of crashes. The investigation will look into allegations of momentary loss of braking capability while traveling over uneven road surfaces, potholes or bumps. The company says it made a change in the 2010 braking system last month to correct cars in production. The U.S. investigation, while preliminary, represents another setback for Toyota, which has been battered with two major recalls in the United States covering millions of vehicles. Those involve gas pedals that can get trapped under floor mats or become stuck on their own and fail to return to the idle position. The safety probes have challenged Toyota's long-standing reputation for building safe, quality vehicles. The car company's other recall over sticking gas pedals involves 2.3 million cars in the U.S. in eight top-selling models including the Camry. A lawsuit was filed against Toyota Thursday in Los Angeles asking the automaker to expand its recall for models not equipped with a brake override system. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the family of Noriko Uno. The family's attorney, Garo Mardirossian, says Uno was killed in August in San Bernardino County when her 2006 Camry suddenly accelerated in a residential street despite her attempts to stop. The attorney says the fatal crash could have been avoided had the vehicle been equipped with a backup brake system. In the Prius investigation, NHTSA said investigators have talked to consumers and conducted pre-investigatory field work. The preliminary evaluation involves about 37,000 vehicles in the United States. "Safety is our top priority," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. NHTSA said LaHood spoke with Toyota president Akio Toyoda late Wednesday and was assured by the executive that Toyota was taking the safety concerns seriously. NHTSA said it opens 100 investigations every year and there are currently 40 open defect investigations, three of which involve Toyota. NHTSA said its defect and compliance investigations have resulted in 524 recalls involving 23.5 million vehicles during the past three years. Shares of Toyota traded in the U.S. fell $2.09, or nearly 3 percent, to $71.40 in late morning trading Thursday. Since Jan. 21, when the U.S. recalls were announced, the stock has lost about 22 percent. Toyota senior managing director Takahiko Ijichi defended the automaker's quality standards. "We have not sacrificed the quality for the sake of saving costs," he said. "Quality is our lifeline. We want our customers to feel safe and regain their trust as soon as possible." Toyota acknowledged that it has begun fixing problems with the brakes in its prized Prius, but remains undecided about a recall, adding to the catalog of safety woes - and muddled responses - at the Japanese automaker. Toyota said Thursday that Prius models sold since late last month, including those shipped overseas, had the problem with the antilock brake system corrected. Toyota reported a $1.7 billion profit for its October-December quarter. The remodeled gas-electric Prius hybrid, which went on sale in the U.S. and Japan in May 2009. Complaints about braking problems in the Prius - the world's top-selling gas-electric hybrid - have been reported in the U.S. and Japan, combining to some 180, and come amid a recall of nearly 4.5 million vehicles for faulty gas pedals. The flaw, which requires a software programming change to fix, makes the brakes momentarily unresponsive. Toyota was checking if there were reports of similar problems with other hybrid models though they use a different braking system from the Prius. Paul Nolasco, a company spokesman, said the time lag for brakes kicking in felt by drivers stem from the two systems in a gas-electric hybrid - the gas-engine and the electric motor. When the car moves on a bumpy or slippery surface, a driver can feel a pause in the braking when the vehicle switches between the traditional hydraulic brakes and the electronically operated braking system, he said. The brakes start to work if the driver keeps pushing the pedal, but the driver may momentarily feel they aren't working, he said. A major Toyota dealership in Tokyo said the automaker had informed dealers that Prius brakes can sometimes fail to work for less than a second but it had not told owners. "It is disappointing because the Prius was receiving such rave reviews," said Hiroyuki Naito, a manager at the dealership. The latest model Prius hit showrooms last May and is only made in Japan. In recent weeks, the automaker had answered questions about its overseas recalls for gas pedals with assurances that problems didn't extend to Japanese vehicles, implying it was doing a better job with quality control in Japan. But Prius owners were worried. Akira Suzuki, 25, who makes surf boards and teaches surfing, was excited about the high mileage his recently purchased hybrid offers - but concerned about its possible problems. "I'm not sure how safe it is. I plan to drive very carefully," said Suzuki, who lives in a Tokyo suburb. Despite snowballing problems with quality, Toyota reported Thursday a $1.7 billion profit for the October-December quarter, citing healthy sales of its green models including the Prius, and predicted it would return to profit for the fiscal year through March. Toyota shares tumbled on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, falling 3.5 percent to close at 3,280 yen ($36) after plunging 5.7 percent the previous day. Since Jan. 21, when the U.S. recalls were announced, the stock has lost about 22 percent. Earlier in Washington, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood startled the public with a comment, which he later retracted, that Americans should park their recalled Toyotas unless driving to dealers for accelerator repairs. The Prius was not part of the recall spanning the U.S., Europe and China over sticking gas pedals in eight top-selling models including the Camry. That recall involved 2.3 million cars in the U.S. alone. Toyota for the first time gave an estimate of the costs of the global gas-pedal recall. The $2 billion total represents $1.1 billion for repairs and $770 million to $880 million in lost sales. The tarnishing of the Prius nameplate is also a serious setback for Toyota's recovery from the global auto slump. "It's very unclear what the future will bring," said Mamoru Katou, auto analyst with Tokai Tokyo Research. "Toyota's image as a leader in hybrids has been hurt." The automaker has received 77 complaints in Japan about braking problems for the Prius. Separately, the Japanese government confirmed 14 complaints. About 100 complaints over Prius brakes have been filed in the U.S. At least one accident has been reported in Japan suspected of being linked to faulty braking. In that accident, in July 2009, a Prius crashed head on into another car, slightly injuring two people, according to the transport ministry. Toyota had looked into that accident and concluded there were no problems with the Prius. In the U.S., harried dealers began receiving parts to repair defective gas pedals in millions of vehicles and said they'd be extending their hours deep into the night to try and catch up. Toyota said that would solve the problem - which it said was extremely rare - of cars unaccountably accelerating. Toyota is set to face additional questioning from U.S. congressional and other government investigators. Toyota has shut down several new vehicle assembly lines and is rushing parts to dealers to fix problems with the accelerators, trying to preserve a reputation of building safe, durable vehicles. The latest recall involves 2009-10 RAV4 crossovers, 2009-10 Corollas, 2009-10 Matrix hatchbacks, 2005-10 Avalons, 2007-10 Camrys, 2010 Highlander crossovers, 2007-10 Tundra pickups and 2008-10 Sequoia SUVs. U.S. lawmakers who are now digging into the recalls say they would look into the Prius. Many consumer groups have questioned whether Toyota's gas pedal fix will work and have asserted it could be connected to problems with the electronic throttle control systems. Yasuaki Iwamoto, auto analyst with Okasan Securities in Tokyo, said the big challenge for Toyota was rebuilding its damaged brand, especially in overseas markets. "For all people who own Toyota cars, for all people with jobs related to Toyota, this huge sense of uncertainty simply isn't going away," he said. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Man Sues City Of Clermont Over Sign Dispute - WFTV Posted: 04 Feb 2010 01:28 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. Posted: 4:31 pm EST February 4, 2010Updated: 4:35 pm EST February 4, 2010 CLERMONT, Fla. -- A car mechanic turned political activist is taking the city of Clermont to federal court. Eyewitness News reported in October that Wayne Weatherbee put up signs on his Montrose Street property protesting a city licensing decision. Now Weatherbee's signs have led to a federal lawsuit.Weatherbee says the city is violating his freedom of speech. He's suing the city because he says he has the right to voice his opinion.Weatherbee and the city of Clermont have been in an ongoing battle for the past four years. Weatherbee says he became fed up with city politics, so he placed signs on his property expressing his anger with officials."I had no choice but to bring it to the attention of the public, so they wrote us up for not having a sign permit," he said.Weatherbee owns Bee's Auto Repair in the downtown area. He petitioned the city for a permit to expand his business and he claims city leaders refused to work with him and denied his request for an occupational license. He says he didn't know what else to do, so he voiced his opinions.The City's Code Enforcement Board told Weatherbee he needed to get rid of the signs. He refused, so the board sent him a letter stating to get a sign permit or take down the signs, otherwise the city would fine him. He is now being fined $75 per day."Even though they had a sign permit requirement, they're not going to give him a permit. They said it point blank," attorney Derek Brett said.Brett and the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit against the city. They believe the city is violating Weatherbee's first amendment rights."These city officials want to misuse their public power to go after him. If the city of Clermont chooses to use its citizens' tax dollars and try to fight this aggressively, this can take one or two years," Brett said.The city manager said this was a Code Enforcement Board decision. He was unable to make any other comments because of the lawsuit. Copyright 2010 by wftv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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