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UMW Toyota to fix Prius ABS software issue

February 10, 2010 at 12:16 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Toyota

Toyota Prius

The second wave of Toyota’s problems – this time focused on the Prius – began when Steve Wozniak claimed his 2010 Toyota Prius could unintentionally accelerate to about 97mph (156km/h) whenever he uses cruise control to increase his speed. He claims that he knows exactly what to do to duplicate the problem and can do it anytime.

And since in cruise control you don’t touch the pedal, it seems doubtful that it is a pedal issue. But thankfully for Steve, braking to cancel the cruise control system continues to work so it’s easy to stop. Toyota has offered to take Wozniak’s car in for a week to diagnose the problem.

Soon after that, it was reported that over 100 Prius drivers in the US and Japan have reported problems with brakes on the model. The numbers come to about 100 in US and 14 in Japan. The brakes on the Prius is a rather complicated thing – the car has to manage between actual braking using the disc brakes and braking with brake energy regeneration used to charge the batteries. 3 drivers even claim that brake issues have resulted in crashes.

Toyota Prius Interior

The response to the Prius issues have been far quicker than the accelerator pedal issue. Toyota has announced a recall and pinpointed a problem in the software that controls the ABS system in the Prius. Apparently reprogramming the ABS system will solve the problem. But there still hasn’t been anything so far about the cruise control issue that Steve Wozniak brought up.

UMW Toyota Motor just announced yesterday that it will be calling in the Prius to perform the necessary corrective measures. There are currently 60 of the affected third generation Toyota Prius in Malaysia right now roaming our roads. UMW Toyota Motor president Kuah Kock Heng says UMW Toyota technicians are currently undergoing training on how to carry out the necessary corrective measures, and they will contact Prius owners beginning this Friday – the 12th of February.

He also added that undelivered new units of the Toyota Prius will also roll out of the showrooms with the fix already applied. Look after the jump for UMW Toyota’s press release republished in verbatim.
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Toyota Vios facelift teased on UMW Toyota website with estimated pricing

February 7, 2010 at 3:01 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Toyota

UPDATE: 2010 Toyota Vios facelift launched in Thailand!

UMW Toyota has put up a teaser announcing the coming launch of the facelifted Toyota Vios with the updated grille, tail lamps and etc that we saw earlier.

As expected, UMW Toyota has jacked up the prices of all models. Even the cheapest manual 1.5J has had a price hike, bringing the price now to over RM70k when previously it was priced just under RM70k. Of course, these price hikes could be accompanied with equipment list changes.

  Old Price New Price
Toyota Vios 1.5 TRD Sportivo (AT) RM90,900.00 RM92,990.00
Toyota Vios 1.5G (AT) RM85,025.00 RM87,990.00
Toyota Vios 1.5E (AT) RM79,425.00 RM81,990.00
Toyota Vios 1.5J (AT) RM73,525.00 RM76,990.00
Toyota Vios 1.5J (MT) RM69,825.00 RM71,990.00

The price hike brings the top of the range Vios extremely close to the top of the range Kia Forte 2.0 SX – there’s a price difference of only RM1,000 and the Forte is a C-segment 2.0 litre sedan with a GEMA engine similiar to the one used in the Lancer, while the Vios is a 1.5 litre B-segment. On paper, the only thing the Vios has up on the Forte is a 3-year warranty (and double mileage) versus 2-years for the Kia.

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No F1 entry, but Stefan GP is prepared for action!

February 3, 2010 at 3:37 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Toyota

Heard of Stefan GP? A Serbian based team named after founder Zoran Stefanovic, Stefan GP failed to gain a ticket to enter the 2010 Formula 1 season, but will still go ahead in launching its car and testing it. The car in question is actually a Toyota in disguise, as Stefan GP managed to buy the Japanese team’s chassis, gearbox and 2010 spec engine. The renamed Stefan S-01 chassis and Stefan RG-01 engine will be serviced by Toyota.

The team is unrelenting in its pursuit of an F1 slot, and has announced that it will test its car later this month in Portugal with two drivers. Despite not having an entry, Stefan GP is sending equipment to Bahrain for the 2010 F1 season opener! Now, Mr Stefanovic is either a loony or very confident that one of the new teams will fail to make the grid, allowing his team to take over the spot.

If the latter situation comes true, Stefan GP will be relatively well prepared to race – it has a potential points scoring machine in the “Toyota TF110″ that never was, testing under its belt, and former Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima as one of the team’s drivers, according to an Autosport report. Another man under Stefanovic’s payroll is former McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan, who was fired for his part in the Spygate scandal.

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Toyota: Solution for sticky accelerator pedal found, repairs to start this week

February 2, 2010 at 11:33 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Toyota

Toyota has found the remedy for its sticky accelerator pedals that could cause unintended acceleration – a steel reinforcement bar! The company will begin contacting its North American customers to to bring in their vehicles for the fix, starting this week. The parts are already being shipped to dealers, which will extend hours to complete the recall campaign as quickly as possible (some even stay open 24 hours a day).

Now, the actual problem involves a friction device in the pedal designed to provide the proper “feel” by adding resistance and making the pedal steady. This device includes a “shoe” that rubs against an adjoining surface during normal pedal operation. Due to the materials used, wear and environmental conditions, these surfaces may, over time, begin to stick and release instead of operating smoothly. In some cases, friction could increase to a point that the pedal is slow to return to the idle position, leaving the throttle partially open.

Toyota claims to have a solution that is simple but effective. A precision-cut steel reinforcement bar will be installed into the pedal assembly to reduce surface tension between the friction shoe and the adjoining surface, eliminating the excess friction that has caused pedals to stick. The effectiveness of the newly reinforced pedals have been confirmed through rigorous testing on afflicted sticky pedals, Toyota says.

The actual repair involves about 30 minutes’ work and Toyota will cover all repair costs. After the fix, drivers should not notice any change in the feel of the pedal. For the list of North American models affected by this recall, see our previous post here.

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Chrysler targets Toyota minivan and truck owners

February 2, 2010 at 10:26 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Chrysler, International News, Toyota

We recently reported about General Motors taking advantage of Toyota’s recall troubles by offering the latter’s customers incentives, now Chrysler is following suit by annoucing special deals for Toyota’s truck and minivan owners

The Auburn Hills based company is offering current Toyota Tundra, Tacoma and Sienna owners an additional $1,000 trade-in bonus cash with the purchase or lease of any new Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge car or Ram truck. The bonus cash is also there for all Toyota returning lessees who opt for a Chrysler Group vehicle.

“The 2010 Ram Heavy Duty is Motor Trend magazine’s ‘Truck of the Year’ and the Ram 1500 is our most awarded truck ever,” said Fred Diaz, President and CEO–Ram Brand and Lead Executive for the Sales Organization, Chrysler Group LLC. “Chrysler invented the minivan and with more than 65 minivan-first innovations has the best minivans in the marketplace with the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country. Dodge has sold more minivans than any other manufacturer, and combined with the Town & Country has more than 42 per cent market share in the minivan segment,” Diaz trumpeted.

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Toyota: What to do when your gas pedal sticks

February 1, 2010 at 3:16 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Toyota

Toyota USA, facing a PR nightmare due to a massive recall on sticky accelerator pedals, has released an advisory for its customers, which contains recommendations on what to do should the problem appear in their cars. Here’s the official statement:

Each circumstance may vary, and drivers must use their best judgment, but Toyota recommends taking one of the following actions:

  • If you need to stop immediately, the vehicle can be controlled by stepping on the brake pedal with both feet using firm and steady pressure. Do not pump the brake pedal as it will deplete the vacuum utilized for the power brake assist.
  • Shift the transmission gear selector to the Neutral (N) position and use the brakes to make a controlled stop at the side of the road and turn off the engine. If unable to put the vehicle in Neutral, turn the engine OFF. This will not cause loss of steering or braking control, but the power assist to these systems will be lost.
  • If the vehicle is equipped with an Engine Start/Stop button, firmly and steadily push the button for at least three seconds to turn off the engine. Do NOT tap the Engine Start/Stop button.
  • If the vehicle is equipped with a conventional key-ignition, turn the ignition key to the ACC position to turn off the engine. Do NOT remove the key from the ignition as this will lock the steering wheel.

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Peugeot-Citroën recalls Aygo’s French sisters

February 1, 2010 at 2:04 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Citroën, International News, Peugeot, Toyota

PSA Peugeot Citroën has announced a recall of about 90,000 Peugeot 107 and Citroën C1 cars following Toyota’s 1.8 million car European recall which includes the Aygo. The city car triplets of Aygo, 107 and C1 were jointly developed and roll off the same plant in Kolin, Czech Republic. Should the Aygo have faulty accelerator pedals, it’s likely that its French sisters are affected too.

A spokesman for Peugeot Citroën said that he was not aware of any injuries caused by the problem in the vehicles it is recalling, which were made from 2005 to mid 2009.

Meanwhile the New York Times quoted Toyota president Akio Toyoda as saying: “Customers bought our cars because they thought they were the safest. But now we have given them cause for grave concern. I can’t begin to express my remorse.”

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Toyota Corolla Altis CNG for the Thai market

February 1, 2010 at 8:18 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Toyota

Toyota Motor Thailand introduced a new variant of the Corolla Altis at the 2010 Thai Motor Expo – an automatic transmission version of the 1.6 CNG model. The new model is priced at 834,000 Bt which is a premium of quite bait over the manual version which is priced well below 800,000 Bt.

The 1.6 litre 3ZZ-FE engine continues to put out 109 PS at 6,000rpm and 145Nm of torque at 4,400rpm acceding to Toyota spec sheets. The chassis has been revised to cope with the additional weight that the CNG system adds to the car – suspension, coil springs and EPS power steering variables have been changed here.

A selector switch shows which type of fuel is being used (petrol – E20 capable or CNG gas) as well as the amount of CNG left in the tank. The CNG refueling nozzle is located near the regular petrol inlet so you don’t have to open your engine bay to refuel like the way the taxis here in Malaysia do it.

The Toyota ECU calculates the right amount of gas to be fed to the engine via the electronic injectors. The gas is stored in a 75 litre CNG tank made from Chrome Molybdenum steel that is securely held in place and flows through a stainless steel high-pressure gas pipe. The tank is separated from the rest of the luggage compartment with a partition that prevents objects from slamming into the tank during braking.

There has not been much of a push for CNG here in Malaysia by the government. No concrete plan on alternative fuel or anything like that – they seem to be too concentrated on how to save money on petrol subsidies without offering or suggesting to us any viable alternatives other than what I’m interpreting as ‘ubah gaya hidup – drive less’. What about diesel or CNG?

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Facelifted Toyota Vios headed our way soon!

January 31, 2010 at 11:47 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Spyshots, Toyota

Toyota’s mid-life facelift for the Vios gives it a chrome grille that bears a family resemblance to the recently facelifted Toyota Camry.

The new multi-bar grille distances the new facelifted Vios from the previous cutesy animal-like image that the pre-FL Vios had. The bumper has also been updated with new inserts for the foglamp area.

At the rear, the tail lamps seem to have been ‘flipped’ vertically – the previous design was red at the top and clear at the bottom. The facelifted vios has clear at the top and red at the bottom.

We should most likely see it launched in Thailand first and then the rest of ASEAN later.

Source

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Official statement by UMW Toyota Motor regarding recalls in North America

January 29, 2010 at 4:10 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Toyota

UMW Toyota Motor has released an official media statement regarding the ongoing recall issues faced by Toyota abroad. Here is the statement, published in verbatim:

On 21 January 2010, Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), United States released a media statement of safety recall campaign involving 2.3 million vehicles affecting eight Toyota models. TMS also released a follow-up media statement on 26 January, 2010 regarding the suspension of sales of selected models.

UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd would like to emphasize that we have received confirmation from our principal, Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan that all Toyota and Lexus models sold by UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd are not affected by this recall exercise. The accelerator pedal components of the affected models used in the US markets are different from the Toyota and Lexus models sold in Malaysia by UMW Toyota Motor.

We would like to advise that there is no cause for concern on this matter.

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