Will Toyota Ever Get Out Of Free Fall ?

[Timothy]

what blows me away are things like one of my wifes co workers BMW.  it does not have a oil dipstick.  it only has electronic one.  Also the oil drain and fill are simlar to airline fitting.  only really BMW uses them, so for example you can't even change the oil on the car in your drive way...

Doesn't BMW give you free oil changes for 100,000 miles?  I would bet, since their demographic doesn't include do it yourself type of buyers, they do this to prevent operator error during the warranty period.  Either way, if you can afford one, you don't really care what it cost to maintain one. 

As far as Lexus, it's just an expensive Toyota ain't it?

[billt]

It does not have a oil dipstick.  it only has electronic one.  Also the oil drain and fill are similar to airline fitting.  only really BMW uses them, so for example you can't even change the oil on the car in your drive way...

I don't understand? Why can't you change your own oil? I would never buy a car like that.  Bill T.

[TAB]

The drain and fill ports have BMW only fittings that take hose fitting that currently only the BMW dealer has.  Think of them as snap lock fittings for hydrolic or air lines.  I would never buy a BMW, I know way to many people that have way to many probs with them.

[philw]

why would any one want a car with a few nick names like this
Bavarian Murder Weapon
Born Moderately Wealthy
Big Money Waste
Big Mexican Weiner
Big midget Wang
Black Mans Willy
Brought Me Worries
Beats My Wood
Borrows My Wallet
Buffoon Made Waste
Broke My Wallet
Brings Me Women
Bought My Wife
Breaks Most Wrenches
Beautiful Mechanical Wonder
Black Man's Wheels
Be My Wife
Black Man's Wish
Big Money Waster
Break My Window
Bring Money With



do you thing they just brought in to Govenment Motors with a fine like that...

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/toyota-wont-admit-hiding-defects-in-us16m-settlement-with-us/story-e6frg90x-1225855582298

TOYOTA Motor is expected to pay $US16.4 million ($17.8m) to settle charges by the US government without admitting that it knowingly hid evidence of defects from safety regulators, a senior US Transportation Department official said overnight.

An agreement that doesn't require Toyota to admit wrongdoing could help the company defend itself against the numerous civil lawsuits pending in US courts, the official said.

The payment, which could be agreed upon as early as today, would be the largest ever assessed against an auto-maker in connection with an alleged violation of US vehicle safety laws, Transportation Department officials said.

Toyota's troubles with the US government may not be over. The department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is continuing its investigation into Toyota, reviewing more than 100,000 documents, and more fines are possible, a Transportation Department official said.

A Toyota official said yesterday that the company would make a statement today about the civil penalty. People familiar with the auto-maker's deliberations said the company is expected to agree to the settlement.
The fine is relatively small compared with Toyota's sales and assets, but it is another in a series of blows to the reputation of a company that consumers and rivals once held up as a paragon in the auto industry for the quality of its engineering.

Plaintiffs' lawyers who have sued the auto-maker likened the agreement to a no-contest plea. “It is Toyota saying, ‘We will pay, but won't admit we should pay’,” said Houston attorney Mark Lanier, who has filed several Toyota suits. “But in this case, the government should not be settling for this. This is not your normal case.”

Under pressure from US highway safety regulators, Toyota in January recalled 2.3 million vehicles to repair sticky accelerators that could be slow to return to idle.

Earlier this month, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood charged that Toyota officials knew about the sticky-pedal problem for four months before disclosing it to federal safety authorities.

The US investigation, conducted by the NHTSA, concluded that Toyota knew of the “sticky pedal” defect as early as September 29, 2009, when the company sent instructions for repair procedures to distributors in 31 European countries and Canada to respond to complaints about the sticky pedals and sudden acceleration. Documents show Toyota was aware of similar issues with its vehicles in the US, but didn't agree to a US recall until January, the agency said two weeks ago.

The sticky pedal problem doesn't involve a major safety concern and hasn't caused any serious accidents. But the recall prompted the company to halt sales and production of eight of its top-selling vehicles, shining a light on Toyota's safety record and its problems with sudden acceleration.

NHTSA officials had been frustrated with Toyota for its slow response late last year to a recall involving floor mats trapping the gas pedal to wide open throttle position. That problem has caused several fatal accidents and involved the recall of 5.4 million vehicles in the US. When NHTSA officials learned that the company was withholding information about the sticky-pedal problem, they demanded immediate action from Toyota. That led to the continuing congressional probes.

Transportation Department officials concluded that trying to compel Toyota to formally concede wrongdoing would have likely required a lengthy court battle. Officials instead opted to go with the current agreement and minimise the taxpayer cost, an official with the department said. “By paying the full civil penalty, Toyota is accepting responsibility for hiding this safety defect from NHTSA in violation of the law,” a senior DOT official said.

After Toyota president Akio Toyoda admitted on Capitol Hill in March that the company hadn't reacted as swiftly as it should have to safety complaints, the Japanese auto-maker has been trying to demonstrate that it will respond to safety issues more swiftly.

Last Friday, the auto-maker recalled 600,000 Sienna minivans to fix possible corrosion of a cable in some cold weather climates. The recall was prompted after receiving three complaints about the issue, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Last week, when Consumer Reports magazine warned buyers of a safety problem with the 2010 Lexus GX 460, Toyota halted sales of the luxury sport utility vehicle globally, stopped production and tested its whole fleet of SUVs. The company was able to recreate the problem and is planning to recall the vehicle, which went on sale in November, according to the person familiar with Toyota's plans.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration head David Strickland said last week that, since January, Toyota's responsiveness to NHTSA had improved, and he commended their response to the potential safety problems with the Lexus GX 460.

The controversy is exacting a toll on Toyota in other ways. The company has increased spending on discounts to spur sales of vehicles in the US - an effort that produced a 41 per cent bounce in March sales compared to a year earlier. And it faces a growing collection of civil lawsuits over sudden acceleration.

[billt]

The drain and fill ports have BMW only fittings that take hose fitting that currently only the BMW dealer has.  Think of them as snap lock fittings for hydrolic or air lines.  I would never buy a BMW, I know way to many people that have way to many probs with them.

I wonder if they can be removed, and a conventional drain plug installed? I installed a pair of the Fram "Sure Drain" oil pan plugs on both my truck and Mel's 5.0 Mustang. The Mustang required 2 because the oil pan goes over the front cross member. It really makes changing the oil easy. Your hands stay clean, and you don't get burned by the hot oil running all over your hands. When not in use it has a brass cap that seals with an O-Ring. Even if the valve failed oil would not leak out because of this feature. I've had them on both vehicles for about 6 years now.  Bill T.

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[Pathfinder]

I don't understand? Why can't you change your own oil? I would never buy a car like that.  Bill T.

Because the mope who buy these tend not to be the self-reliant types who have the money to pay someone else to do it, and not the brains to realize they can do it for a fraction of the money they are spending.