Toyota Prius Problems

Just as things are calming after Toyota's eight-million-vehicle mistakes in the USA and Europe, Mazda is hit with a 90,000-car recall in Japan and China.Australia has again dodged the recall, which only applies to a specific model of the Mazda3 not sold here, but things are looking tougher for even the world's most-admired brands. "The Mazda3 is not affected in Australia," says company spokesman Steve Maciver. "It's only the 1.6-litre engine, which we do not get here."But Toyota Australia was forced to recall the latest Prius hybrid for tweaking of the braking system; elderly Daihatsus have been recalled - ironically, under the Toyota banner; and Great Wall was forced to recall the first batch of its Chinese twin-cab utes to rectify a seat belt problem.Even Suzuki, which has one of the lowest warranty-claim rates in the country, was forced to recall the baby Alto because of a problem with wiring to the stoplights. Suzuki Australia is still sourcing a replacement stoplamp switch and will contact owners.Then there is Toyota USA, which is hit with another cloud over the Lexus GS460. It's a heavyweight SUV which is built up from the Prado and, thanks to an unsafe rating by the influential magazine 'Consumer Reports', sales have been stopped while the company conducts safety tests. It is responding to claims the car can develop a tail slide, leading to a rollover, in an emergency situation. Once again, Toyota Australia is responding with a 'no panic' reply."The Lexus GX460 is not and has never been sold in Australia. Toyota Motor Corporation Japan has advised us that Prado is not affected by the sales stop. It has a smaller engine and significantly less weight overall, particularly over the front wheels, says Toyota and Lexus spokesman, Mike Breen. Toyota is even putting a positive spin on the Lexus development."This is firm evidence of Toyota’s stated intention to respond even more quickly to ensure quality and customer satisfaction. It shows that Toyota is taking the matter seriously and are determined to identify and correct the issue that was identified," Breen says. "Having done that, Toyota Motor Corporation has adopted its normal approach of conducting further tests on other SUVs. These vehicles have already undergone extensive testing and Toyota is confident they meet its high safety standards. Toyota is therefore conducting these tests as an additional measure to ensure customer confidence."And it's not just cheap-and-cheerful car brands that get caught up in recalls. Ferrari is also suffering after recalling more than 2000 of its F355 model fitted with a single fuel pump system and sold in the 1990s. Ferrari says it will be contacting known owners so their cars can be checked for a problem with the fuel system pipes.Porsche, meanwhile, plans to recall 152 of its all-new Panamera flagship, which sells from $270,000 to $365,000. They have to be checked for faulty seatbelt mounting points.

The world's largest carmaker has bowed to global safety pressure and announced a massive recall of its flagship future car, the Prius hybrid.  After bungling a safety threat to more than eight million cars in dozens of countries over a faulty accelerator pedal, Toyota confirmed in Tokyo yesterday that it would recall more than 400,000 hybrids.The local implications of the recall are relatively minor, as Toyota Australia has only sold around 1700 of the latest-model Prius, with cars in dealer stocks taking the total to 2378.   But the damage to the brand's reputation, particularly in Australia where it has been number one for most of the past two decades, is impossible to calculate.Toyota has always stood for rock-solid reliability and safety so the two recalls, particularly the one triggered by fatal crashes in the USA, have done considerable damage to its brand."Toyota Motor Corporation has undertaken a thorough investigation and we are taking the appropriate course of action in the interests of our customers," the head of sales and marketing for Toyota Australia, Dave Buttner, said yesterday as he confirmed the recall of all 2010-model Prius."There have been no accidents linked to this issue reported in Australia. No other Toyota or Lexus models in Australia are affected by this recall."The Prius recall, announced in Japan by company president Akio Toyoda - grandson of the Toyota founder - involves a car that has always stood for the future of Toyota. The Prius is now into its third model and, in Australia, the same petrol-electric power package is fitted inside the Hybrid Camry that went on sale yesterday.The Prius problem was first reported in the USA, where owners complained of a strange feel to the braking system. Only two Australian owners have reported the problem, from 111 complaints worldwide.Toyota says it is the result of a delay that occurs when the car switches from regenerative braking - which captures energy from braking to recharge its on-board batteries - to the conventional braking system.  It says the solution to the problem is a relatively minor software tweak, which will be done free-of-charge to cars in Australia.

Every day there seems to be something new, from extra customer complaints to a damaging internal document which points to deliberate delaying tactics on the safety front.  The total cost of the fiasco is likely to be around $2 billion in lost sales, but no-one can yet say what the safety disaster - everything from faulty accelerator pedals to steering complaints on the Corolla and a brake drama on the Prius - will eventually cost the company in long-term respect.Even in Australia, where Toyota has been largely insulated from the safety problems, apart from the 1700 Prius owners who got a computer tweak to their car's brakes, there are people who are worried about buying a car from the company. And it's early days yet for the full impact on consumer confidence down under.Things are so bad internationally that Akio Toyoda, only recently installed in the top job, will head to Washington to represent Toyota in congressional hearings into the safety failings.  Toyoda is seen as the 'new broom' at the world's largest carmaker, with the potential to turn the company into more than just a brand that mass-produces cars for people who put transport ahead of personality or style. He is already pushing cars like the FT-86 concept, which is expected to be a born-again Sprinter for Gen-Y when it reaches production in 2011.But even he could be tainted, just as Australia's Jac Nasser - once the shooting star at the Ford Motor Company - was brought undone by the unsuccessful campaign to protect the Ford Explorer from a safety crisis in the USA.Toyota has reacted with things like a brake-against-throttle safety switch, but other brands have had that protection against a runaway for years.  It has also set up a new global committee for product quality, which will be chaired by Toyoda, but people are asking why it was not done before.The reason is simple: the Toyota production system is designed to stop faults and flaws before the factory gates. It's so good that it has been copied around the world, and by many companies outside the auto business, for decades.But the safety shortcomings highlighted by the multi-million-vehicle safety recalls show the system is only as good as the people who run it. And Toyota has been caught short.  The Toyota safety story has a long way to run and I am not expecting much good news for a long while yet.

Doing 100km of general running about for less than five bucks in fuel makes motoring pretty affordable. As manufacturers bring out more models with increasingly-amazing frugality, motorists are laughing all the way from the pumps. A generation ago, the 30 miles per gallon mark (9.4 litres/100km in metric speak) was a

When Toyota released the Prius hybrid the green debate was in its infancy and climate change sceptics poured scorn on this radical newcomer, but the debate is now driving our choice in cars and the just-replaced second generation Prius has become an option for environmentally aware used car buyers.For many years now we've had laws to limit the emission of unburnt hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides, the stuff that causes smog and leads to all sorts of health problems, but those gases are only part of what comes out of the tailpipes of our cars. The bulk of what is emitted is carbon dioxide, now better known as greenhouse gas and blamed for causing global warming and climate change.While it's possible to effectively control hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides by treating the exhaust gases before they enter the atmosphere the only way to cut carbon dioxide is to reduce the amount of fuel burnt. Enter hybrids like the Prius that reduce our reliance on the petrol engine, and therefore the amount of fuel burnt, by combining it with an electric motor.MODEL WATCH Toyota launched its first generation Prius hybrid here in 2001 with claims it would cut fuel consumption by 50 per cent and tailpipe emissions by 80 per cent. In 2003 it followed up with the improved second-generation model and claimed it would better those numbers.Driving a Prius was a completely new experience, one that was mostly silent. Silence was something the Prius driver had to come to terms with because there was little of the noise they'd become used to with cars over the decades.The front-wheel drive Prius five-door hatch used a combination of a small 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor for motivation, and depending on the driving circumstances, one or both could be in use.When at rest, at traffic lights or wherever the Prius comes to a halt, there's an eerie silence as neither motor is running. When it comes time to move off the electric motor does the work, it's only when more acceleration is called for that the petrol motor starts and joins in to help out.Once a cruise is reached it's the petrol motor that does most of the work, as it's at its most efficient when running at a steady speed. At that time the electric motor becomes a generator and feeds the system's batteries. Energy is also harnessed during braking and that's also fed into the batteries to keep them charged. The Prius drives smoothly at all times and the changeover between petrol power and electric motivation are seamless.Best of all the driver can observe what's happening with the drive courtesy of an energy readout in the dash, which informs them of the energy being consumed, or better still, that being stored for future use. While the primary aim of designing the Prius was to be frugal and environmentally friendly, Toyota didn't do it at the expense of the driving experience.The Prius was a good car to drive, quiet and smooth with decent performance in traffic and out on the highway. When pitted against the clock it would match a Corolla for acceleration. If the focus was on the hybrid drive system there was also all the features you could want in your daily driver.It came standard with climate-controlled air, cruise, remote central locking, immobiliser, power windows and mirrors, and six-speaker CD sound. The I-Tech model boasted all of that plus a six-stacker CD, leather trim, nine-speaker sound system, reversing camera, and sat-nav.IN THE SHOP Driving a Prius effectively links you to a Toyota dealer, as they are the ones with the knowledge and equipment to service and repair it. The hybrid technology is still relatively new and hasn't flowed on to local workshop level yet.There is some concern about the life of the batteries used in the Prius, for good reason, as they are expensive to replace at around $4000. That said, Toyota says they will last the life of the car, and better still the company says it has only sold a handful through its spare parts service in the eight years the Prius has been on the market here.Because of the complexity of the Prius it's best to adopt a cautious approach when thinking of buying one second hand, and have it checked by a Toyota dealer to make sure all is well. Apart from checking the operation of the hybrid system make the usual checks for crash repairs and regular servicing.IN A CRASH The Prius was packed with all the safety features going. It has dual front airbags, and seat belt pretensioners standard, plus head airbags and side front airbags in the I-Tech. For active safety there was ABS antiskid brakes, brake force distribution, emergency brake assistance, and traction control, but if you stepped up to the I-Tech you also had electronic stability control.AT THE PUMP While the Prius is primarily about reducing greenhouse gas emission owners are keen to point out its fuel-saving virtues as well. But the amount of fuel you save with a Prius is very dependent on the type of driving you do.The more stop-start city driving the more fuel you will save; the savings out on the highway where the petrol engine is used more are much less. Tests of a Prius by carsGuide in 2005 showed that around the city the hybrid would comfortably do 4.1 L/100 km, whereas out on the highway it would run in the high-fives and wasn't any more economical than a small four-cylinder petrol or diesel car.LOOK FOR . Deafening silence. Smooth driving. Low fuel bills. Complexity beyond local mechanic. Comfortable and roomy. Environmentally friendlyTHE BOTTOM LINE It's not a gimmick, the driving future is here, but it isn't cheap and it is yet to be fully proven over the long term.RATING 80/100