2/5 豐田召回車 台灣僅五輛水貨
http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/100205/1/202pu.html
----------------------------------------------------------------
2/4 Trans. Sec'y: Don't Drive Recalled Toyotas
美國運輸部長拉胡德（Ray LaHood）今天表示不宜開召修車款 "Don't Drive Recalled Toyotas", 快點把召修車款開去豐田經銷商進行召回車輛的補強.
" target="_blank">
豐田車主別再上路？美運輸部長改口稱口誤
美國運輸部長拉胡德（Ray LaHood）今天稍早警告，豐田（Toyota）車主不該再開車上路了。但拉胡德數小時後改口，稱他是希望有疑慮的車主可以將車送回原廠。
豐田汽車曾多次遭質疑油門設計上的問題，但直到1日才宣布回收多種熱門車款共約800萬輛。負面消息一出，導致豐田股價重挫。
拉胡德2日曾表示，雖然豐田現在的作法是負了責任，但他們是在美國政府多方努力後才願意採取行動，包括由運輸部官員「提醒」豐田管理階層，他們應負法律責任，以及在運輸部會議中堅決要求豐田處理油門踏板問題。
拉胡德3日原本稱豐田車主都不該再開車上路了，但或許是擔心將使豐田形象再度受創，拉胡德後來強調，他的意思、或是他原以為他說的是，「豐田相關車款的車主，或是有疑慮的車主，就把車送回原廠吧，車廠會解決問題的」。990203
http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/100204/5/1zzu7.html
--------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Said to Probe Toyota’s Electronics as Acceleration Cause
February 02, 2010, 03:55 PM EST Story Tools
e-mail this story print this story digg this save to del.icio.us
By Angela Greiling Keane and Margaret Cronin Fisk
Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. safety officials are investigating whether electronic throttle systems may have caused sudden acceleration in Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles, as alleged in at least seven lawsuits.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is trying to determine if electromagnetic interference may be causing the throttle system to malfunction, said an official of the Transportation Department, which oversees NHTSA. The official asked not to be identified because the review isn’t complete.
Toyota said it has ruled out electronics as a cause and yesterday began shipping steel shims to dealers as a fix for sticky gas pedals that have caused the world’s largest automaker to recall about 2.57 million vehicles in the U.S. and Canada.
“We know what the problem is,” Jim Lentz, Toyota’s president of U.S. sales, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television yesterday. “We have the fix.”
The U.S. recall for pedals that stick applies to model years 2009-2010 RAV4, 2010 Highlander and 2008-2010 Sequoia sport-utility vehicles; 2009-2010 Corolla and 2005-2010 Avalon sedans; some 2007-2010 Camry sedans; 2009-2010 Matrix hatchbacks; and 2007-2010 Tundra pickups, according to Toyota.
Toyota also has recalled and plans to fix about 5.6 million Toyota and Lexus brand cars and trucks in the U.S. and Canada because of floor mats that might trap gas pedals and cause vehicles to speed out of control. Some Toyota brand vehicles are affected by both types of recalls.
The safety agency as of yesterday hadn’t found evidence that anything other than sticky or trapped accelerators caused the unintended acceleration, the Transportation Department official said.
Throttle System
Mike Michels, Toyota’s U.S. vice president for corporate communications based in Torrance, California, said in an e- mailed statement today that he had “no information” on a continuing investigation by NHTSA of the automaker’s electronic throttle control system.
Toyota’s American depositary receipts fell $2.74, or 3.4 percent, to $77.20 at 2:44 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The drop was the most in intraday trading since Jan. 28. The ADRs, each representing two ordinary shares, have fallen 8.2 percent since Jan. 1.
At least 15 lawsuits seeking class action status have been filed against Toyota on the acceleration issue, and seven of them claim an electronic throttle system called ETCS-i is at fault instead of the pedals.
In cars with the ETCS-i system, the engine’s throttle is controlled by electronic signals, which are sent from a sensor that detects how far the gas pedal is depressed. The signals are transmitted to a computer module that controls how much the throttle opens.
Lawyers claiming an electronic defect contend that floor mats or stuck pedals don’t explain the sudden-acceleration incidents that triggered their lawsuits.
Hitting a Tree
Edgar Heiskell, an attorney from Charleston, West Virginia, who represents the family of a Michigan woman who died when her 2005 Toyota Camry hit a tree at almost 80 miles an hour, said her car didn’t have a floor mat. She stood on the brake, attempting to stop the car after it accelerated from a speed of 25 miles per hour (40 kilometers), he said.
The suit was filed in November. Heiskell also has filed a West Virginia suit against Toyota seeking class-action status.
In a Texas lawsuit filed on Jan. 29, plaintiff Alfred Pena said his 2008 Toyota Avalon unexpectedly accelerated at a stop sign on Jan. 14, causing a collision. He wasn’t injured, said Robert Hilliard, an attorney representing Pena. Pena’s wife, Sylvia, had a previous episode of unintended acceleration that didn’t result in an accident, Hilliard said.
Wozniak’s Prius
“The fact pattern doesn’t fit the idea of the pedal getting stuck,” Hilliard of Corpus Christi, Texas, said in an interview. Sylvia Pena “was sitting dead still,” and the car accelerated as she released the brake before she touched the gas pedal, Hilliard said.
“My belief is that fixed Toyotas with new pedals will still inadvertently accelerate,” Hilliard said.
Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak said in an interview today his 2010 Prius unexpectedly accelerates to speeds of up to 97 miles per hour while in cruise control. He said he has been complaining to NHTSA and Toyota for two months.
“The reason that my case is important and urgent is that it is electronic,” Wozniak, 59, said from San Jose, California. “I can cause it totally under cruise control without a foot touching the accelerator pedal,” Wozniak said.
Wozniak’s Prius isn’t among the recalled cars.
NHTSA last year tested throttle electronics in response to a petition from a 2007 Lexus ES 350 owner who had experienced sudden acceleration of his vehicle. The agency denied the petition in October after subjecting the same model of car to “multiple electrical signals” and “magnetic fields.”
‘Exhaustive Testing’
Toyota said at the time that the October decision marked the fifth in which the agency had rejected similar requests to investigate company vehicles for defects including electronics related to unintended acceleration.
“In terms of electronics of the vehicle, we’ve done exhaustive testing and we’ve found no issues with the electronics,” Toyota’s Lentz said on a conference call with reporters yesterday.
Toyota, as required by law, stopped selling eight vehicles recalled in the U.S. last week. The company said yesterday it will begin fixing accelerator pedals, which were supplied by Elkhart, Indiana-based CTS Corp., this week, with some dealerships preparing to do repairs around the clock.
‘Enormous Effort’
The Transportation Department and its auto safety agency have been called to testify at two congressional hearings on the handling of the Toyota recalls.
“While Toyota is taking responsible action now, it unfortunately took an enormous effort to get to this point,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today in an e-mailed statement. The department is “continuing to review possible defects.”
A House Oversight and Government Reform Committee panel will hold a hearing on the recalls on Feb. 10, followed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Feb. 25.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0210236520100202?type=marketsNews
U.S. continues to review possible defects
Stocks | Global Markets
* Took 'enormous effort' to get recall follow-up
* Regulators pressed Toyota execs at two meetings
WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. government continues to review possible defects in Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) vehicles and will closely monitor recalls involving millions of vehicles, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said on Tuesday.
"We're not finished with Toyota," LaHood said in an emailed statement to Reuters about the response by the Japanese automaker and the government to consumer complaints leading up to the recalls.
"While Toyota is taking responsible action now, it unfortunately took an enormous effort to get to this point," LaHood said.
He said U.S. officials traveled to Japan in December to "remind Toyota management" about its "legal obligations" and insisted in a second meeting in Washington in January that the company address faulty accelerator pedals.
"We have been pushing Toyota to take measures to protect consumers," LaHood said. (Reporting by John Crawley; editing by John Wallace)
StocksGlobal Markets
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toyota recalls 1.09 million more vehicles in U.S.
Company says it has begun producing new pedals for affected models
TOKYO - Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday that it will recall an additional 1.09 million vehicles in the United States over floor mat problems.
Toyota said the new recall would affect five models — 2008-2010 Highlander, 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Venza, 2009-2010 Matrix and 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe.
Toyota spokesman Hideaki Homma said Toyota decided to recall more vehicles because of the potential risk accelerator pedals being stuck by floor mats. Toyota has already recalled 4.26 million vehicles in the U.S. over floor mat problems.
Toyota said earlier that it has production has begun on redesigned pedals to fix the problems.
Toyota worked on the design with CTS Corp., which supplied the pedals in 2.3 million of the recalled vehicles. Pedals featuring the new design are in full production at CTS, Toyota says.
It was found that the faulty pedals could lead to unintended acceleration in rare instances.
The automaker also says it is working with the supplier to test modifications to existing pedals and plans to roll those out as soon as possible.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35111646/ns/business-autos/
此次召回車款
2008-2010 Highlander
2009-2010 Corolla
2009-2010 Venza
2009-2010 Matrix
2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe.
"
