Surprise! Imagine that, the media putting a good spin on a Toyota recall. Gee, does that really surprise anyone?

another blatent attempt by the MSM to market on behalf of one of the foreign brands.

Toyota has service hugs, even when steering shafts are splinering on the Prius (wait… LLN didn’t post THAT one… in the site’s defence, only 1 million Toy’s worldwide were affected though)

Altima’s and Sentra’s are drinking oil like gas and spontaniously combusting… and of a dozen comments, not one negative. Had this been a GM or a Ford, there would have bene 50 posts flaming the General for shoddy manufacturing.

The double standards and the incredible ammount of hypocracy knows no limits.

I mean seriously, what are these guys smoking? Is this for real or some lame attempt of a joke… Since when has an recall helped a company’s reputation? Ha, ha, ha, ha…… Spin at its best. Hell, am a Toyota/Lexus owner…

You clowns are arguing what exactly? Face facts.

You’ve been married to a prostitute who has cheated on you repeatedly and has a reputation of being a prostitute.

Others have been married to a spouse who has had an indiscretion, in relative terms, and is making it public and is willing to try and remedy things.

Overwhelming FACTS cannot be ignored. Your decision to be loyal to second-rate product means your’re waking up tomorrow morning with the prostitute … not the rest of us.

“your’re” should read “you’re”

Dean, at no point in your rambling, did you even come close to an intelligent thought. Everyone on this board is now 10 percent dumber. I award you no points, may God have mercy on your soul.

Still a piss poor analagy Dean. GM and all the others give “voluntary” service hugs too… just as the asian and european brands have mandatory recalls…

One and the same. They are all prostitutes, the media is just referring to one as a call girl and the other as a two cent hooker, even though the actions of them all is identical.

The Spin Stops here.

http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-fi-prius31may31,0,3589884.story?coll=la-home-highway1

“The [recall]campaign will involve about 170,000 vehicles sold in the U.S”

“Toyota said no owners in the U.S. had complained about the fault, which was discovered in vehicles sold in Japan.”

“Toyota, noting that no accidents or injuries had been reported”

Tell me, how can you not take this re-call as anything other than a positive for Toyota? They identified and recalled a problem before anyone complained, was hurt, was threatened a lawsuit, or was forced by the Government. Compare this to the Ford Explorer tire failure/rollover debacle a few years ago and tell me that Toyota isn’t doing the right thing.

yes, compare inflating tires to 10psi below recomended to make the ride seem cushier to splintering steering shafts. Moving Forward, but not even the driver can control where it goes…

I beg to differ …

The reputation and just desserts the domestics are experiencing are well overdue. You build crap, you pay for it. They are now paying for it.

The recent Toyota and Nissan issues are not part of a culture of failure. Their misfortunes are surprising and unusual, generally speaking.

Quite simple and logical. But I wouldn’t expect those with IQs under 100 to agree. And if, in fact, you are 10% dumber, you are now officially a vegetable, you stupid pumpkin.

lets look at the head gasket and fuel delivery problems on the old 22re and how long it took toyota to act. Lets look at the overheating and even fire issues of the 1st gen Previa. Lets look at rust and paint issues of 1994 and prior Toys.

open your eyes. The automakers are not around to give you a hug, maybe cuddle a little. They are here to make $$$$$$$$$$. They will sell any one of us out at any given minute if it means their shareholders will realize a gain of a fraction of a penny per share.

Toyota is not exclusive to this. The only difference is how the MSM portrays it.

Dean you are an ASS. EVERY manufacturer has recalls, and none of them are good. What the HELL does your comment have to do with the article? Nothing. The article is a piece of crap. While I will admit that Toyota has a much better reputation than most, it still is a bad thing to have a recall. It will not hurt them as much as some of the domestic lovers here would like, but the way the article is written is pure crap.

Just goes to show you however, that Toyota is getting bigger and bigger and aquiring more and more problems similar to those the Big Three have, quality issues. A problem is a problem, being first to admit it or not. That means your Toyota will have to return to the dealer and be fixed….which means waiting around the lobby or renting a loaner. People do bash on American cars when they have problems and like the posters above have stated, it is quite amuzing that Toyota has a huge recall and everyone one is like, Aren’t Toyotas great??

Post 14-great point.

How about the Toyota sludge problem, you rarely heard about that one.

Post 13 also a great point.

When all else fails blame the media, typical defense of the domestic manufactuers around here.

All car companies have had recalls and, some are handled better than other. Toyota is handling this particular recall the best that any manufactuer could hope to. Any company, no matter the product, be it automobile or lawnmower should get respect for stepping up in such a way.

Mike,

“yes, compare inflating tires to 10psi below recomended to make the ride seem cushier to splintering steering shafts. Moving Forward, but not even the driver can control where it goes… ”

So downplay the problem that caused deaths and sensationalize a problem that hasn’t even occured in the US market. Biased?

This “spin” is justified when you’re dealing with a company that does, for the most part, produce better product.

And the fact that those domestic-loyal clowns jump all over this is actually like watching a pack of wolves.

Its a positive outcome for Toyota because Toyota has a perception of putting out extremely reliabel and high quality cars and now that they have made a mistake they immediately out out a recall before it even became an issue her ein the US.

This is positive because it reinforces the idea that they make great cars and if a mistake happens they jump all over it and bend over backwards to fix it.

Is this the truth? No, ofcourse every company weighs the impact of not recalling something, will they get sued, or will they loose sales etc and they have to figure out what is best at that given time.

Toyota is not perfect, but their reputation is amazing. Reality is not what matters the most, its all about perception.

The big three have to fight the perception that everything they build is crap. This will be a long roa dof them proving us all wrong, but besides quality they need to build something worth looking at long enough to think about driving it.

So there ARE some intelligent people besides myself here ….

Hey honey, come see this … the world isn’t absolutely full of morons. Imagine that!

Ahk-Med:
downplay the problem that caused deaths and sensationalize a problem that hasn’t even occured in the US market

the “problem” that caused deaths was an underinflated tire. This same tire, underinflated, on ANY vehicle… even *gasp* a Toyota… would have had the same results. Blame easily falls on consumers for overloading their vehicles and especially for not monitoring their own tire pressures. Had consumers known enough to check their PSI’s then there would not have been a single incident. Do they still teach responsible driving in drivers ed?

Failing steering components is nothing to downplay either…

Hey Dean – your wife just called, she said the difference between you and her boyfriend is about 6 inches and 45 minutes !

“The “spin” is justified” Does Dean know what “spin” is? That comment alone let us know you are an idiot. Since when is it just to “lie” to people? Wake up Bean…….

If anyone were fair and unbiased they would look up the suv rollover statistics. The Explorer does not rollover at a higher percentage than ANY other suv. That is fact. Check your vehicle limits lately?

Roll overs happen- “In April 1997, Mr. Foote achieved a significant verdict on behalf of Linda McCathern, a young woman who suffers from quadriplegia as a result of the rollover of a 1994 Toyota 4Runner. In May of 1995, Ms. McCathern was a passenger in a Toyota 4Runner that rolled over when her driver steered hard to avoid an oncoming vehicle. Although the driver was able to avoid head-on collision and keep her car on the road, the vehicle rolled over resulting in a serious spinal cord injury to Ms. McCathern, resulting in quadriplegia. After three weeks of trial and three days of deliberations, the jury returned one of the largest verdicts in the history in the State of Oregon. This is the only verdict anywhere against Toyota for a rollover of this sports utility vehicle.
The jury’s verdict was appealed through the Oregon Appellate Courts. On 4/28/99, the jury’s verdict was affirmed by the Oregon Court of Appeals. On 5/10/01, the Oregon Supreme Court affirmed, ending a 6 year legal battle for Mr. Foote and his client.” See? Happens to other manufactures, not just Ford.

Come on, Toyota has had some pretty big recalls recntly. Are we ignoring the facts today?

“And the fact that those domestic-loyal clowns jump all over this is actually like watching a pack of wolves.” And you know why this is done? Because of you and everyone like you that thinks Toyota can do no wrong, while to you every other manufacture is junk. You reap what you sow.

“If it really was a consumer issue with the tire failure, then why were they recalled?”

To replace the tires. Nothing else was modified or replaced. It was a tire recall. The tires failed, bad driving made the vehicle roll over.

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 9 — General Motors has voluntarily
agreed to recall and repair 1,200 1995 model year light duty pickup trucks
that failed to meet California air pollution standards, the California Air
Resources Board (ARB) announced today.

Most, if not all recalls are voluntary. It never looks good if the gov’t forces you to recall vehicles.

Every car company likes to be the leader of something. Toyota and all their fans now can be proud of the fact that over the last couple years they are the industry leaders in RECALLS! Sorry to break your hearts but that’s not exactly something I would be proud of.

tm,

You only shoot your self in the foot by opening your mouth. The tires were recalled to be replaced. What brilliant insight, did you figure that out all by yourself? Regarding the volutary recall you dug up, what a brilliant example of your reading comprehension skills.

“General Motors has voluntarily
agreed to recall…California Air Resources Board (ARB) announced today”

They voluntarily AGREED to a recall. In this situation, the CARB (read: government) was clearly applying “force” to GM. Not exactly the same situation. Oh, and becuase you failed to do so, I’ll actually link to what is most likely your source.

http://www.arb.ca.gov/newsrel/nr010998.htm

Mike,

Is that how you “win” arguements, by putting words in others mouths? Don’t confuse your own bias as mine. GM recalled 34k Vette’s to re-glue the roofs back on. Hooray for GM. Is that what you so desprately want to hear from me? Oh, and please do find me some instances of my bias.

You only shoot your self in the foot by opening your mouth. The tires were recalled to be replaced. What brilliant insight, did you figure that out all by yourself?
Ahk-Med, you asked the stupid question “If it really was a consumer issue with the tire failure, then why were they recalled?â€? Consumer issue-explain to customer how tire inflation is importnat. Letter telling owners not to overload vehicle. You remember that part of the recall don’t you?

“Regarding the volutary recall you dug up, what a brilliant example of your reading comprehension skills. They voluntarily AGREED to a recall.” Your comprehension level is that great Ahk-Med? What did I say? “Most, if not all recalls are voluntary. It never looks good if the gov’t forces you to recall vehicles.” Read your own link
“The emissions problem was found through routine testing GM carries out on its vehicles as part of an agreement with ARB. In testing the pickup trucks after they had been in use GM found the emissions problem and reported it to ARB. The voluntary recall agreement was then worked out between ARB and GM.” GM caught the problem notified ARB and then worked out an agreement. Try reading your own link and making an educated statement. Sounds voluntary, they notified ARB of defective vehicles without ANY pressure from ARB. This is FORCE? Try reading your link.

tm, Your digging a deeper hole. You should really quit.

If it was a consumer issue (read: user error) with the tires, they wouldn’t recall the tires. Since when do companies replace millions of dollars worth of non-defective product for free? I know you struggle with reading comprehension, so I’ll make it simple for you. THE TIRES WERE BAD.

Again, from the ARB link:

“The emissions problem was found through routine testing GM carries out on its vehicles as part of an agreement with ARB”

What kind of agreement do you think GM has with the ARB, a government organization? GM tested and reported the emissions failures becuase they were legally bound to do so.

Ahk-Med it was voluntary. Did ARB suggest penalties if recall was not ordered. Did ARB demand recall? No. Look at the statement. What did it say? GM could have legally delayed testing. Could have said tests were inconclusive. Read the statement. Your reading statements into the press release. If ARB wanted attention they would have said they demanded the recall in their press release. They worked out the details. You can only go by the statement. But I guess you work for ARB right? You twisted GM’s arm, and then failed to mention in the press release you demanded GM recall these vehicles.

Toyota isn’t recalling vehicles that do not have complaints.” The recall follows more than 30 complaints filed with Toyota since March 2004, the carmaker said. The company wasn’t aware of any accidents attributed to the faulty parts, it said.” They were sitting on complaints for 2 years without investigating the problem. 30 is certainly is not alot out of 986K vehicles. But the problem was serious enough to investigate. Its not the first time Toyota has had steering problems (like steering loss). 1994-1998 Camry’s.

Any recall from any manufacturer equals poor design, lack of engineering and poor quality control. Sounds like the word is finally starting to get out on Toyota.

tm,

Lucky for you, I know my way around a law book. Prepare to get edumacated. Here’s the law:

http://www.arb.ca.gov/bluebook/bb06/40cfr/40cfr91_806.htm

The law is written to allow GM to “voluntarly” make the recall to save face and avoid the embarressment of a government ordered recall. The only other option would be that GM decided to conduct a recall that the ARB wasn’t going to require. There is no safety issue, why would they scar their good name with an unnesscary recall? After all, as Al Bundy so eloquently pointed out “Any recall from any manufacturer equals poor design, lack of engineering and poor quality control.”

Try to come up with something more recent next time, this particular “voluntary” recall is more than EIGHT years old.

“Sounds like the word is finally starting to get out on Toyota.”

And if things get as bad as GM then we should all ride a bike to work.

The law is written to allow GM to “voluntarlyâ€? make the recall to save face and avoid the embarressment of a government ordered recall. I guess we have to go back to what I originally said “Most, if not all recalls are voluntary. It never looks good if the gov’t forces you to recall vehicles.”
And your response
“The law is written to allow GM to “voluntarlyâ€? make the recall to save face and avoid the embarressment of a government ordered recall.” First of all any manufacture benefits from the law.

Remember what you said “Toyota is performing a voluntary recall before anyone got hurt or even noticed a problem.” People did notice a problem and complained. Yeah Toyota is voluntarily spending millions of dollars because its not a problem.

“Prepare to get edumacated.” Ahk-Med I have a question,how do you spell voluntarily? Ahk-Med“voluntarlyâ€? Take your shots.

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/press/date/19980902/press016649.html

tm,

I’ll play along. Your totally confusing the issues.

“Toyota is performing a voluntary recall before anyone got hurt or even noticed a problem.â€?

This was stated in reference to the steering colum failure. It’s a safety issue, they made a voluntary recall. They are spending millions of dollars voluntarily because it IS a problem. Can you provide a press release from a government agency congradulating themselves for this steering column recall?

Which leads me to the Toyota emissions related recall that you linked. Again it’s eight years old, but shame on Toyota having to have their hand forced by the government to correct this emissions related problem. I hope they were punished to the maximum extent the law allowed. GM certainly took the more nobel route by issuing a “voluntary” recall with their emmission problem, 8 years ago.

Is that what you want to hear from me?

Do you, like LLN’s resident GM homer, Mike, presume I’m some kind of champion for Toyota, and simply despise GM. Do you think linking to that old ARB release naming Toyota as an emissions offender suprises me? Toyota absolutely has their problems, but thats not what this conversation was orignally about. It was about a faulty steering column in Toyota’s halo car. Toyota identified the problem and has a repair plan in place before anyone was hurt, before it became a real problem. As I said, they deserve praise for it, as would any manufactuer.

You’ve simply clouded the issue by brining up a couple of 8 year old press releases naming GM and Toyota as emission offenders. I’ll bet you could dig one of those up for every manufactuer, including whatever your favorite make is.

Finally, you’ve come up with the most predictable interweb retort when you have no real argument – attack grammer and spelling. Thank you for pointing out my shortcomings, I’ll get edumacated on that right quick.

You young folk and GM bashers may not remember the recall Saturn had in their very early years. During test they found the coolant incompatible with the aluminum alloy of which their engine blocks were cast. BEFORE consumer complaints Saturn replaced the car with a new one. No coolant flush or motor swap. They took your car and replaced a with a NEW Saturn. I’m sure the recalled cars were donated to schools for vocational training or somehow put to use. Sometimes due to service bulletins non-safety related recalls are done when you take your car in to your dealer for routine service. It’s just done quietly. I learned when I was an apprentice Toyota service tech. All machines have faults and failures. Otherwise you assholes wouldn’t have anything to talk about on this site. GET OVER YOURSELVES! Be constructive or be silent!

Still, nobody has addressed why this “toyota’s service hugs are good!” article made the cut, but LLN did not post the original factual article about Toyota’s worldwide recall of just under 1 million vehicles with defective steering shafts.

Is there even a pro-toyota attitude by those running this site?

EVERY manufacturer does recalls, Toyota handles them very well [better than anyone else?], I really don’t see a problem here.

Ahk-Med: haha…so all of a sudden, a MAJOR Toyota recall is brushed aside, while other (primarily domestic) car makers are being skinned alive? Please, who’s the hypocrite now? :-/

Ahk-Med-your words ““Toyota is performing a voluntary recall before anyone got hurt or even noticed a problem.â€?

I pointed out people did notice and did complain, this is how Toyota discovered the problem.(Look it up, read your posts, read the article on the recall) Toyota did not discover the problem. Consumers did. Then Toyota investigated. You are the one confusing the issue. Do you think they recalled vehicles intentionally so that an American agency would not investigate and discover how widespread the problem is? It was smart on Toyota’s part. Recall a vehicle before a gov’t agency could investigate. Obviously the recall was inevitable. No company voluntarily spends million$$ to replace good parts.