Garage Gossip

Earlier this year (say Feb to April), in the newspapers and on TV, we were regaled with stories from USA of huge vehicle recalls, with sticking accelerator problems, involving Toyota, which up until this time, has had an excellent reputation for build quality and reliability. Here I must declare an interest as I am on my second Corolla sedan, both of which have been reliable and frugal with fuel.

In the USA, we have been told that the problem is/was with sticking accelerators. Since about 1900, we have had accelerator pedals connected to the carburettor or injection system by means of rods and/or cables. The crudest efforts consisted of a piece of 5/16” rod bent at right angles at the end and drilled for a split pin, and this passed through a piece of tinplate etc.

At the other extreme we have the well-crafted under-bonnet controls on 1930’s Rolls Royce and Bentleys, where the emphasis has been on the minimisation of back-lash, full operation of the unit on the motor, and all this is accomplished with an acceptable amount of effort exerted by the driver. There are some of these cars in the Club, and if asked nicely, I’m sure that the owners would be happy to expose their linkages to an appreciative gaze.

Now in between these examples, there have been millions of cars made with accelerators that did not stick. Why are they doing it now?

I believe that some of today’s car makers are using what can be described as “drive by wire”, where there is no mechanical connection between the pedal and the induction system. It is all done by electronics - are these suffering intermittent failures and causing the accelerators to stick??

In the Sydney Morning Herald of March 19, 2010, the following appeared.

Accident victims are now talking about how their Corolla or Camry accelerated to 160 km/h “in an instant” despite them standing on the brakes.

Who’s ever heard of a Corolla or Camry doing that even with someone standing on the accelerator? With both feet? If a software glitch or an errant floor mat has really caused this increase in performance, how can Toyota harness it and get back into Formula 1?

If I could get a Corolla which would “go to 160 kph in an instant”, I would sign up for a new one immediately!

Another quote from the SMH of March 13, 2010.

Mazda will introduce new technology to override a car’s accelerator in the event that the pedal gets stuck.The announcement follows a similar move by Toyota, which has been dogged by a disastrous US recall involving sticking accelerator pedals.

The override systems are designed to give priority to the brake pedal in the event of both the brake and accelerator being depressed simultaneously.

Although no Mazda models had experienced any ongoing unintended acceleration problems, a spokesman told US industry journal “Automotive News the new system was a preventative move.

Depressing both the accelerator and brake simultaneously? No many drivers would do this. Alright, Paddy Hopkirk and those crazy Scandinavians who rallied the Works Cooper Mini S’s used to do this and some of us do this when we are “heeling and toeing” a downshift if the arrangement of the pedal s allows this agile foot manoeuvre.

A Grand Prix Bugatti needs a driver with narrow feet and slim shoes to avoid pressing two pedals and going from memory, I think that Morris Minors are like this too.

(Note: Did you know that Dolly Parton has tiny feet. I noticed this when she was a guest on one of the last Parkinson TV shows. How many of the rest of you lot knew/noticed this? I’d bet that you didn’t get past her eye makeup!)

But this information seems to indicate that the manufacturers expect that some accelerators will stick and that they have given up trying to fix the problem, so all this extra complicated gear is added. Are the makers just covering their arses? Is the problem electronic?

Now, of course, in the USA everyone is seeking to sue somebody over the real or imagined cause of their accident/frightening incident. Toyota is the main target for of their legal actions. Here is a little legal motoring history from Tony Davis’s column in the S.M.H. of March 19, 2010

It was a jury in the US District Court, however, that ordered Chrysler to pay $US262.5 million ($A290.1) for the 1994 death of Sergio Jimenez II. This six-year-old boy had been the unbelted passenger in a Chrysler minivan his mother had driven through a red light

Nope, can’t think of anyone but the car company to blame in that scenario.

Are American drivers more clueless or worse than our clueless drivers? Or is it because of the big population difference, there are just so many more of them over there.

Don’t forget to go to your Toyota dealer and ask about the availability of the Super Sports /GT Corolla or Camry, the one that will go “to 160km/h in an instant”.

I can see Camry’s dressed up in all the go-faster gear, and doing burn-outs in retirement villages. And on the F3, grey-haired old farts (like the writer) in leather jackets and with lots of bling driving these cars and just waiting for the chance to surprise the 911 and Ferrari owners. I don’t think that anybody has thought of the Camry as a magnet for chicks up until now.