Filed under: SUV, Japan, Recalls, Safety, Toyota



Toyota made big headlines recently because of sliding floor mats and then sticky gas pedals - both resulting in unintended acceleration. Well, let's call today's recall announcement unintended deceleration. According to The Detroit News, Toyota is preparing to recall 50,000 of its full-size model year 2003 Sequoias.

According to the daily, there have been 160 reports of "inappropriate activation of the electronic stability control or the traction control system." Which is a fancy way of saying the vehicles suddenly seem to slow down on their own. Here's what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is saying:

"During the activation of either system, the driver loses throttle control and one of more brakes may apply, causing the vehicle to slow suddenly. During these activation events, the brake lights are not illuminated to signal to following traffic that the vehicle is slowing."
​

For its part, Toyota admits that:

"...the VSC system could, in limited situations, activate at low speed (approximately 9 mph) for a few seconds after acceleration from a stopped position and, as a result, the vehicle may not accelerate as quickly as the driver expects. There have been no reported injuries or accidents as a result of this condition."
​

Obviously, if your vehicle suddenly slows unexpectedly while under acceleration without warning (and without brake lights!), that's an issue. For its part, Toyota initially admitted it was a problem with the traction control system (not the stability control), but for some reason it didn't feel a recall was necessary. However, that was sixteen months ago, before the Japanese giant's woes began in earnest. Today, they're going to fix the issue. Toyota would do well to remember their Nixon: it's not the crime, it's the cover up. Official press release available after the jump.

[Source: The Detroit News]

​

​

Continue reading BREAKING: 2003 Toyota Sequoia to be recalled over traction control

BREAKING: 2003 Toyota Sequoia to be recalled over traction control originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read More...