Honda has annouced in an email incentive to me that all of their special financing, any incentives, will die on 2 Feb b/c of this.

They all do this.

I was at a gas station in Falls Church, Va. when my air condition blew up. it was so bad that the blow up crapped pieces of the transmission throughout my entire system. Honda paid for it but did not have an official recall. I have a neighbor that lives across the street that clued me in to that isssue. My car could have blown up and caught on fire. Lucky for me it happened when it did.

Cars are the new Option Arm IMHO.

Honda can go and screw themselves as far as I'm concerned.

# of Toyotas I've owned with sudden acceleration problems: 0.
# of sluggard Toyotas in front of me in the fast lane which regrettably did not: billions and billions.

haha i know the feeling bezzle. i also have a toyota.

Apparently Lexus has these things called service reports that show problems that are known, but supposedly are not big enough for a recall. They are required to fix these things under your warranty, but not required to tell you about them.

I can hear it now, someone pushes the button to tell the computer to kill power to engine, and instead they get "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that".

True story that just happened recently. A friend who drives a Prius came over to get me. He parked the car, got out but I guess he didn't put it in gear or use the parking brake. It started to roll and before he could get back in to stop it, it lightly bumped a car an entire empty parking space away. No visible damage but imagine if that had been on a hill.

KD wrote..

To use electronic "start buttons" for reason of vanity is outrageous. And let's not kid ourselves- that's exactly what those switches are.

No they're not. They are a true convenience. Cars that have soft ignition switches also have antennas in the doors which read the transponder in the key if it's within a few feet and unlock the door if you touch the handle. This allows you to walk up to your locked car, get in, and drive away without ever taking they key out of your pocket (or purse, if you're female). After you get out of the car again, you touch a capacitive switch on exterior of the car and the car locks itself again. You never have to dig out the key -- you just have to have it in your possession somewhere.

Once you've had this convenience for a while, it's quite annoying to go back to an old-school car where you have to dig up the key.

-Uwe-

I just wanted to mention something I haven't heard in any of this acceleration coverage: if your car starts accelerating uncontrollably, put it in neutral!

So their more worried about the transmission being damage than the car and it's occupants being destroyed. So it's true you can't shift from drive to neutral during operation?

Someone needs have a kit for installation an Orange button with a cover on it located on the dash like those nuke silos had on these die by wire cars. The master kill engine switch.

what's so nice about keyless ignition & drive by wires anyway? I just don't get it. electonics have much shorter mtbf compared to good ole keys and steel throttle cable. Especially in such harsh environments. Stupidity of the human race ?

Uwe,

I WANT A DAMN RED BUTTON THAT IF I PUNCH IT THE MACHINE STOPS PRONTO.
I want one on my computer, my sewing machine, my cuisinart, my oven, my dishwasher, my washing machine and my dryer, but, most emphatically, I want one on my car. I am not willing to place my life in jeopardy for the convenience of keeping track of my keys. I have a system for keeping track of keys - I always have two in my purse, one in my desk and one or more in my house to everything.

Solid rocket boosters don't have them, can't have them. But, there is NO ****ING EXCUSE FOR MY CAR TO PUNCH THE PEDAL WHEN I HAVE COMMANDED IT TO STOP RIGHT NOW.

Kokomo wrote..

what's so nice about keyless ignition & drive by wires anyway? I just don't get it. electonics have much shorter mtbf compared to good ole keys and steel throttle cable. Especially in such harsh environments.

For the Nth time: You cannot meet current emissions requirements with an old-school cable throttle.

Keyless ignition is simply a desirable convenience feature, and if it fails, there's still an semi-normal ignition switch into which you can insert the key.

-Uwe-

Laura,

Your computer, sewing machine, and food processor all have one already. Unplug the power cord!

If you really want an emergency stop switch in your car, get one put it. All it takes is the switch itself, a set of wiring diagrams and rudimentary electrical skills.

Personally, I'm entirely content with the emergency mechanical power interruptor in my car. I can activate it at any time with my left foot.

-Uwe-

Quote:

what's so nice about keyless ignition

Ever had to hack your car out from under glaze ice just to get the door open? (Note: I've broken my driver's side door-handle before because I was too damned impatient.)

With keyless, you simply turn your car off with the heater set to full-blast the night before the ice-storm. The next day you simply "beep-start" the car and let it warm up and melt the ice by itself.

Bezzle, that's a "Remote Starter" and can be retrofit into many older cars. That's not a factory-integrated "Keyless" system, which normally requires you to press a button inside the car to start it.

-Uwe-

PS: Get a garage.

Quote:

UWE: Your computer, sewing machine, and food processor all have one already. Unplug the power cord!

Duh!

I don't have electric windows or doors. I don't have a keyless anything. I do have a parking break! And a keyed ignition!

I did not want electric windows or doors. I didn't want to pay for them either. The salesman and I almost had a physical altercation over that little issue.

So, no, not everyone wants a keyless ignition or automatic windows and doors.

I didn't learn to drive a manual. More accurately, I tried and my instructors decided it was not a good idea in HS. I still agree with them.

So, I want to turn a keyed ignition off on a runaway vehicle. I want my ER brake to slow it down. And, I want to be able to throw my automatic into neutral if my brakes fail and run the damn thing into a bank of sand if necessary to stop.

And, if I can't do that because it's all electric and software; and there's an accident, I'm suing for negligence and I'll win.

Three Things:

Gen, I agree. Keyless ignition systems are not my favorite, and they are definitely for vanity and non-essential to most consumers' purchasing decision.

Secondly,

psgirl wrote..

Apparently Lexus has these things called service reports that show problems that are known, but supposedly are not big enough for a recall. They are required to fix these things under your warranty, but not required to tell you about them.

Technical Service Bulletins

P.S. Every automaker has them. It's no secret, and there is no conspiracy. NHTSA has them listed on their website.

Lastly, I love how almost every poster on here seems paranoid about Toyota now. Sure they have screwed up in the handling of this. So did Ford with the bad tires and GM with the steering columns catching fire. In two years no one will even remember this and that Camry driver will have much better resale out of their ride than the Malibu or Seabring driver will.

Having owned and driven more Toyota/Lexus cars (with average-high mileage) than most anyone on this forum, I can tell you two things are certain.

1: The ones manufactured in Japan (Vin # beginning with "J") are built much tighter and are more reliable than the ones built in Canada and the U.S.

2: The ones built in Canada and the U.S. are built better and are more reliable than any domestic car built in the U.S. or Canada.

Jc

if i or anybody in my family had never owned/driven a toyota, i might be paranoid about them too. it just boils down to personal experience. my immediate and extended family has driven toyota/lexus/honda/infiniti/scion for years and has found them to be the most reliable and well-made cars they've ever owned.

we have also owned domestic vehicles and found them to be either a step below japanese makes in both reliability in quality (GMC) or total lemons (ford). again, just my experience.

it might sound crazy, but this situation for toyota, while a total debacle, has not lowered my view of their brand all that much at all.

we also have been lucky, because just in my immediate family, we have 3 vehicles that aren't part of the recall (tacoma, a lexus, and a scion).

Again, Im missing out on all the excitement. I have a 2006 Corolla that hasnt given me one ounce of trouble. Great car

Toyota is not the only automaker who has experienced a problem with the ignition system. Granted, the issue is serious - the paranoia on here is off the charts.

GM for instance has been plagued by problems stemming from "crankshaft position sensors." Basically, the vehicle's engine will die at low-mid throttle-usually in the city, not at 65 MPH or above. I know, I had this happen while driving a 2000 Cadillac several years ago. In fact, the service technician told me that they kept those in their pockets because they had so many issues. This problem spans across almost all of the GM fleet from 1998-2007 with "distributorless" direct ignition systems.

Volkswagen/Audi had a recall in the early 2000's where their 4-cyl turbo ignition coils were faulty, and the vehicle was unable to start in cold weather.

Just a little perspective, folks.

Wanna know what the mother of all recalls would involve if an automaker were to ever have to do this? You guessed it... Faulty airbags that deploy suddenly without there being an accident. Wake me when that comes to pass...

as far as recalls, i think i might be "scarred for life" from ford.

back in the early 1990s we had a ford explorer. i was young but i remember after bringing the car back from the dealership on the day of purchase the radio/dash quit working because of a wiring problem. a year later the engine blew up on a family vacation in florida. there were also numerous other problems such as strong random vibrations that came out of nowhere.

after trading it in a few years later for a 4Runner that we had for 11+ years and over 200,000 miles without an ounce of trouble, we continued to get recall notices from ford...i think about 3 or 4 in total, for a multitude of problems.

Don't forget 5 official recalls on Ford's catching fire spontaneously over more then 5 years, and they are still burning.

http://www.flamingfords.info

IMO this administration that is owned by the unions is trying to strong arm Toyota into keeping the Fremont plant (ex GM joint venture) open to make the Waxman hearings go away.

The UAW wants to sell cars based on the model Tonya Harding used to go to the Olympics, still looked like a dancing pig competing with swans.

Of course now Toyota will be forced into a reflash if feasible, as not doing so would expose them to further liability. Fact is that the only domestics that have this feature are some Chryslers that were developed in partnership with Mercedes.

It;s always something. When is the last time a lathe was rear ended or operated with a poodle in your lap? Poor drivers always have excuses, if the start - stop button is made instantaneous or a emergency stop button is installed, first time it is touched accidentally and the car looses power in the wrong place and gets rear ended, then the builder gets sued again for the opposite reason.

Everyone wants to make a buck without working.

Here's the deal:

If we were to have a recalled cars /total number of cars produced ratio. TM would rank far better than any other automaker out there except for maybe Honda.

To the chagrin of many people on here, this TM thing is not engaging in a conspiracy/coverup. Their response has been notably poor by TM standards but far better than most of the GM, F, and C recalls.

Is their stock overvalued? By my measures...significantly. Will they go BK because of this - extremely highly improbable.

In fact, if the paranoia persists and people start dumping their near-new rides, I will be in buyer's heaven.

Even a 500$ chinese dirtbike has a kill switch.
There is no excuse for not having one on a car.