While the mainstream media continues to pour fuel on the raging fire that is Toyota these days, the embattled automaker is finding, if not allies, then at least defenders in the journalists most educated on the topics at hand: automotive journalists.

In an editorial by Autoline Detroit‘s own John McElroy, posted on Autoblog, this industry experts slams ABC News for its sensationalist story whereby professor Dave Gilbert, of the automotive department at the University of Southern Illinois, showed how he could cause an unintended acceleration issue with a Toyota Avalon. Neither Gilbert not ABC News clearly explained how the incident was created, something that brings to mind two similar situations. In 1987 CBS’s 60 Minutes aired a story over unintended acceleration in Audis that was later proved to be absurd, while a 1993 Dateline NBC story over exploding Chevy pickups, was later retracted after a General Motors investigation proved it was rigged.

McElroy then goes on to point out that ABC never sought Toyota’s side of the story, something Toyota later pointed out in a press release, saying that it had already been in touch with Gilbert over a similar issue and had proven his tactic did not work. Toyota has since asked Gilbert to show his new example to them and has invited ABC News to come along.

In addition to what is very obviously some one-sided, if not downright biased journalism on the part of ABC, the news agency also interviewed Safety Research and Strategies founder Sean Kane, who helped pay for Gilbert’s experiment. That experiment, and the Safety Research and Strategies document slamming Toyota is also now in question as testimony yesterday at the House Committee hearings showed that the company receives funding from law firms currently suing Toyota.

McElroy concludes that an electronic throttle issue may still be the problem, but that ABC’s story on the issue is best to be disregarded. Wise advice indeed.

[Source: Autoblog]

[Photo Source: Autoline]

Get more Toyota Recall news at the AutoGuide Toyota Recall News Hub

Only yesterday the AutoGuide team was discussing the fact that with all the recent Toyota recalls, the next thing to be recalled might be the automaker’s Prius iPhone App. Well, truth may be stranger than fiction as the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has now said it will look into whether electronic interference from cell phones could be the cause of unintended acceleration issues with several Toyota models.

Electromagnetic interference, or EMI, has become a concern as electronic gadgets have become a part of every day life. At the same time, cars have become increasingly reliant on electrical, rather than mechanical, components. It has been suggested that the issue over Toyota’s “unintended acceleration” problem could be due to electronic interference and not a mechanical fault as many modern vehicles use electronic throttle sensors, rather than a mechanical system where a pushing the gas pedal actuates a wire than opens the engine’s throttlebody.

Fear over electrical interference is what has prompted airlines to ask passengers to turn off electrical equipment.

Toyota currently has a recall out for 2.3 million vehicles due to what it calls a potentially faulty mechanical brake pedal. The recall includes the 2009-2010 RAV4, 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Matrix, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 Camry, 2010 Highlander, 2007-2010 Tundra and 2008-2010 Sequoia.

See more Toyota recall news at the AutoGuide Toyota Recall News Hub.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

Jim Lentz, Toytoa president of U.S. sales, denied his company is covering up problems related to unintended acceleration.

On a media blitz to contain the damage after a nine million vehicle recall, Lentz denied Toyota was hiding anything after government documents revealed the company first received reports of “runaway Toyotas” in March 2007.

“There is no cover-up,” Lentz said to ABC News.

A document dated Jan. 21 submitted by Toyota to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  states Toyota received field reports in March 2007 of accelerator pedals  on the Tundra having “rough operation or being slow to return to the idle position”.

Toyota received further reports in from December 2008 to August 2009 about related issues in other models. An investigation was started in March 2009. Additional reports came in October and the manufacturer announced a recall in January 2010.

“It’s a lot of detail that goes into this,” said Lentz. “We’ve been upfront. We’re taking care of customers right now. What’s most important is that our customers know there is a fix. They’re going to be able to get their cars repaired this week.”

Lentz also denied the problem with unintended acceleration was an electronic issue.

[Source: ABCNews]

Your company is going through a PR nightmare with nine million vehicles being recalled, worldwide. The government is investigating whether the issue is worse than you claim. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is on your tail. Consumer confidence in your product is waning. What do you do if you’re Toyota President and CEO Akio Toyoda?

Offer a public apology.

What don’t you do?

Be seen leaving in an Audi.

But that’s what happened after Toyoda apologized to his customers in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

To be fair, it’s unlikely Toyoda arranged to be picked up by the black Audi in Davos. Audi is the official vehicle supplier for the World Economic Forum, so every executive at the event would likely have been chauffeured in an Audi.

But still, Toyota just can’t seem to catch a break lately.

[Source: ABCNews]

Toyota has offered to test Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak’s Prius after he claimed the vehicle’s electronics can cause it accelerate unintentionally.

Wozniak’s claims made headlines when he claimed his 2010 Prius’ accelerator “goes wild” under certain conditions. He says he can repeat the acceleration issue and suspected the Prius’ software as the culprit.

Toyota has long maintained is the acceleration problem is not a electronics-related issue. The Prius is not included in the company’s recent recall, however, so if Wozniak’s suspicions prove true, Toyota’s problems can only get worse.

Toyota, already under a storm for its trouble with unintended acceleration, is trying to contain the PR damage by offering to have a dealer borrow and test Wozniak’s Prius for a week. Toyota is trying to get Wozniak in touch with U.S. sales president Jim Lentz to help make arrangements.

[Source: Jalopnik]

The U.S. Department of Transportation has now said it will look into electrical issues as a possible source for the unintended acceleration of Toyota products. Toyota recently recalled 2.3 million cars and trucks due to pedals that stick or are slow to return and has since announced a fix for the problem that it says is mechanical, not electronic.

According to an unnamed Transportation official, interviewed by Automotive News, the Federal government’s investigation into the pedal issue will include a look at Toyota’s electronics.

Shinichi Sasaki, Toyota’s to man in charge of quality today repeated Toyota’s position that the problem was mechanical and not electronic. The maker of the supposedly faulty pedal, CTS Corp, has said that it does not believe the problem originates with its product.

The accelerator pedal recall affects 2.3 million vehicles in North America, including eight models: 2009-2010 RAV4, 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Matrix, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 Camry, 2010 Highlander, 2007-2010 Tundra and 2008-2010 Sequoia.

This news come on the day that Toyota launched an advertising blitz in U.S. newspapers, with Toyota U.S.A. president Jim Lentz quotes as saying, “We have launched a comprehensive plan to permanently fix the vehicles we’ve recalled because in rare instances, accelerator pedals can, over time, become slow to release or get stuck. We know what’s causing this and what we have to do to fix it.”

Apparently the Feds aren’t so sure.

[Source: Automotive News]

The Prius hybrid has not been affected by the recent 2.3 million vehicle recall by Toyota for unintended acceleration, but according to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak it probably should be. Wozniak, a man who knows a thing or two about software, recently spoke openly about a “unintended acceleration” problem with his new 2010 Prius, which he described as, “very scary.”

Toyota recently announced a mechanical fix for its sticky accelerator pedals and has denied that the issue is caused by the engine control unit (ECU), despite claims that the ECU is the cause.

“After man years of exhaustive testing we have not found any evidence of an electronic [software] problem that would have led to unwanted acceleration,” said John Hanson, the national manager in charge of environmental safety and quality communications at Toyota.

Wozniak, a man who knows a thing or two about software, says the car, “has an accelerator that goes wild but only under certain conditions of cruise control.” He also claims he can repeat the acceleration issue. “This is software. It’s not a bad accelerator pedal,” he says.

Wozniak claims he has tried to get in touch with Toyota and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), but has had no response. We’re sure he’ll get a response now.

[Source: CNET]