This is sorta off topic . . .
As you would expect Toyota's technical troubles have been featured in
the Japanese print and broadcast news for the past several days. This
morning's headlines in the Asahi and Yomiuri are about the Prius,
which has not been suspected of having problems up until now. Briefly --
The Japanese NHTSA (equivalent) now says that since May 2009 there
have been 77 reported incidents of brake failure with recently
manufactured Priuses in Japan. The U.S. NHTSA says there have been
102 reported incidents with Prius brakes in the U.S. (Yomiuri).
Translation: "The problem is said to occur when the car is braking at
slow speeds on uneven surfaces. When the wheels pass over a gap in
the surface, the brakes often cease to operate momentarily. When the
driver presses the brake pedal several times the brakes begin working
again. Reports say this problem has caused accidents with injuries."
Some experts now suspect software problems may be affecting both the
acceleration and braking in several Toyota models. This was reported
yesterday in the U.S.
I think I recall U.S. news sources say the NTSB reports there have
been ~2,000 accidents with Toyota accelerators, 800 accidents, and 20
fatalities. I found the 2,000 figure but I cannot find the other two.
Here is a detailed report on Toyota's troubles, which is pretty damning:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/business/01toyota.html
"Toyota's Slow Awakening to a Deadly Problem," January 31, 2010
- Jed
