Following Ms. Carvalho's lead, I reviewed and listed all of the complaints - letter below - 7 accidents, a total of 30 complaints.
We pay our taxes and fund government to protect us from Corporate irresponsibility.
There is simply no excuse for jeopardizing public safety for corporate greed whether it's Toyota or Route 44 Toyota.
March 14, 2013
Petition by Owner Prompts Recall of 183,000 Honda Vehicles
By CHRISTOPHER JENSEN
American Honda
Honda’s recall of about 183,000 vehicles that might apply the brakes on their own was prompted by a woman who was frightened by having that problem in her own Honda and angry that there wasn’t a recall.
Courtesy of Carrie Carvalho
The recall in the United States covers 101,000 Honda Pilots, 60,000 Acura MDX vehicles, 21,000 Acura RLs from the 2005 model year. About 800 Acura MDX models from 2006 are also included, the automaker told the safety agency in a letter dated Wednesday. Worldwide, the recall covers about 250,000 vehicles.
The automaker said it was not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the problem.
Some owners have complained to the agency of “unexpected braking of varying duration, including several allegations of rapid decelerations from highway speeds to near stop in highway travel lanes.”
The recall is to correct problems with the Vehicle Stability Assist, or V.S.A., which is what Honda calls its electronic stability control system.
Such systems are designed to detect when the front or rear of a vehicle is sliding in a direction contrary to what the angle of the steering wheel indicates. In such situations, the system would apply pressure to a brake to try and nudge the vehicle back on course.
Honda says the malfunction is caused by an electrical capacitor being damaged during manufacturing and possibly an electrical ground bolt that is not tight enough.
Those faults could cause the brakes to be applied “for a fraction of a second” without the driver touching the brake pedal, Honda said.
If the driver should brake during such a malfunction, Honda says a brake-assist feature might activate, applying more stopping power.
Brake assist is a feature found on many vehicles. It is designed to detect sudden, emergency braking and, if the driver is not using the vehicle’s full braking power, to apply it electronically. Automakers developed these systems after safety research determined many crashes occurred because drivers were not pushing the brake pedal to the floor during an emergency stop.
Ms. Carvalho, who owns a 2005 Pilot, experienced involuntary braking problems.
Instead of merely filing a complaint with the agency – as thousands of owners do every year – she took advantage of a federal regulation and filed a defect petition with the safety agency last April. It was one of only six filed during 2012.
She told the agency she found 38 complaints from worried Honda owners and said Honda told her – and some other owners – “they have never heard of this problem.” She also complained that the agency had not begun an investigation.
The agency last October agreed with Ms. Carvalho’s concern and opened a preliminary evaluation.
Last month it upgraded that investigation to a more serious engineering analysis.
Opening an engineering analysis often prompts an automaker to concede a recall is needed.
Chris Martin, a Honda spokesman, wrote in an e-mail that Ms. Carvalho was not responsible for the recall.
“It’s never just one thing that causes initiation of a recall,” Mr. Martin wrote. “Honda received a very small number of complaints over a number of years, and the company was monitoring the situation to determine if a larger issue existed.”
However, Honda’s recall report to the agency makes no note of such monitoring. Its chronology of the recall begins with N.H.T.S.A. notifying Honda of Ms. Carvalho’s defect petition.
The report also disclosed that last November the agency conducted a demonstration to show Honda an example of the malfunction.
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/14/petition-by-owner-prompts-recall-of-183000-honda-vehicles/
U.S.
Department of Transportation
National
Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationOffice of Defects Investigation [NVS-210]
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20590
Petition
for Defect Investigation Toyota Prius Software/Brake Failures
The
reports below are posted on the NHTSA web site, representing 7
accidents, a total of 30 complaints and deserve investigation and
correction.
My
vehicle was towed to the dealership, Route 44 Toyota [Raynham, MA]
after the initial brake failure.
When
it was pronounced 'No Computer Error Messages' and unable
to duplicate problem with my presence prevented during the
evaluation, I attempted to retrieve my vehicle.
I
never left the parking lot of the dealership and repeatedly
demonstrated the problem, both to a Route 44 Toyota salesman and a
Route 44 Toyota technician seated in the passenger seat - the pedal
traveled to the floor, a dashboard warning light came on every single
time I depressed the brake pedal. There were NO BRAKES. The vehicle
continued moving after the pedal traveled to the floor.
We
had owned the vehicle less than 1 month and had driven it less than
1,000 miles. For that reason, we are perhaps lucky that the problem
manifested itself early and we were prevented from injuring or
killing others.
How
can I drive a vehicle with NO BRAKES?
This
is another Toyota failure that jeopardizes public safety and needs to
be investigated.
My
vehicle has remained on the property of Route 44 Toyota since that
failure and is available for inspection.
2012
Prius - 7 complaints
10487746
10485993
NOISE
10483983
NOISE
10481010
NOISE
10480948
NOISE
10473030
10458505
2011
Prius - 7 complaints
10489219
Rough surface
10484633
Rough surface
10482485
Caused accident
10477385
Rough surface
10460127
10459051
Rough surface
10458927
2010
Prius - 14 complaints
10488950
Rough surface
10488731
Caused accident
10487606
Rough surface
10479349
Rough surface
10478683
10476613
Caused accident
10475164
Caused accident
10474307
10474207
Rough surface
10470599
Rough surface
10467713
Caused accident
10464794
10463317
Rough surface
10460049
2009
Prius - 2 complaints
10469900
Caused accident
10455338
Caused accident
Before
innocent lives are sacrificed because of Toyota's denials, I request
that your office initiate a defect investigation leading to a recall
and correction of Toyota Prius' brake failures.
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