I remember it well. Here's my recollection...

Ford blamed Firestone for the tires which were claimed to be faulty (due to tread separation) for the deaths which resulted from Explorer rollovers. Firestone's tire sales to Ford accounted for 5% of overall sales. Firestone claimed the tires were designed according to Ford's specification... and were not prepared to accept Ford's simplified accusations.

As a matter of interest, it was kinda strange that GM's Tahoe and other SUVs which were shod with the same branded Firestone tires as the Explorer (but differed slightly in specification - additional liner added - to suit the GM vehicles) didn't suffer from the same issues.

Ford cared about as much for the fatalities which resulted from the rollovers as Toyota cares for the deaths which resulted from the unexpected acceleration. See below...

Anyway, the more Toyota prolongs this issue, the more damage it does to its reputation. Explorer sales as well as Ford's overall sales suffered dramatically from the Firestone debacle. The difference is that this will be worse for Toyota than for Ford, because Toyota actually owns Denso, the company that designs and manufactures the parts pertaining to the acceleration problem.

 

It shows the age of most of the members here as well as my own age in the fact that most talk about the Exploder's issues when I'm mainly thinking about how Ford handled the situation with the Pinto.....hence the reason I said the "more than once" thing about Ford.

I thought I read here and elsewhere the "possible faulty parts" were made by a company called CTS.

 

CTS is a teir 1 company , they likely assemble the pedal assembly and outsource the individual parts it takes to make it . Typically , but not always how that works .

 

I assume most here know the full story... of Toyota's global recalls.

CTS make the assemblies for the NA models.

Denso make the assemblies for the Euro, Japanese and most other destinations.

If Toyota are recalling the Euro models, then CTS cannot be at fault.

Hence my remark about Toyota (and Denso's) reputation going down the toilet.

 

Actually, the front pass Firestone tire from the factory on our Avalanche blew out violently on the highway. She said the only warning was suddenly the feeling something odd was going on, and then 10 seconds later a very large bang and the Av dropping down on the corner. I wasn't in the Av at the time, but my wife stayed cool and managed to get the truck safely to the side of the road. Also, thank you to those two 18 wheelers next to her that were paying attention and immediately gave her room to pull over. Plus, Chevy roadside assistance was there immediately to get the spare on and make sure she was okay to drive off again, (for no charge).


Anyways, the theory is that she must have ran over something on the beginning of her highway trip, and the tire pressure slowly went down while she was driving until it violently blew out, because I do check the tire pressure on the Av a lot just for this reason itself.


The outside sidewall was completely shredded and blown off. We brought it to a Firestone shop and they were in complete shock and didn't really say anything.

I had really bad luck with those Firestones overall too, they seemed to puncture at the slightest thing! For better or worse, I avoid Firestones now.

 

Just out of curiosity, were those Firestone tires OEM? I ask in the case they were replacement tires with Ford Explorer specifications fitted to your Chev, by mistake?

 

I'm 99% sure it was a the stock OEM tire from the factory. Bought the Av new.

I had really bad luck with the Firestone's. My wife ran over a piece of wood on the road, later, I noticed the tire was losing air. So I brought it to the tire to the shop(without telling them what happened), they said this was kinda strange, but the tire was toast because of a bunch of tiny tiny little pin holes through out it... Really?! Must have been one heck of a lucky hit for those splinters to go through.

Another time, we were at Bend on a dirt road trek for about an hour.. nothing extreme at all. Right afterward, back on the highway, this time I was driving, and I felt something was odd, so I immediately pulled off and checked the tires. Yup, another impending flat! Got that changed out right away. I guess it must have been bad luck again, with maybe a sharp rock in the dirt?

Either way, whether its justified or not, I'm not using Firestone's or its relatives anymore. They really sucked in the rain too!

 

.....and I'm sure most here are also aware that there's only one auto manufacturer in recent history to actually be charged with negligent homicide, and ironically that company is still alive and well.

 

I'm not sure what you are implying... care to elaborate?

I guess you think some car related deaths are more upscale than others?

 

Since Ford knew about the issues with the Pinto, yet did nothing to fix them, and there was associated substantial evidence to back it up, they were charged with negligent homicide. Whether you, or anyone here likes or agrees with the fact that they're the only one that's had that happen is irrelevant.
Toyota isn't even to that point - yet. Since they haven't learned from Ford's mistakes, they may yet have criminal charges levied against them. The majority here seem to be lined up with their pompoms cheering because they think this will be the death of the evil Japanese auto empire Toyota. Again, what they've done and are doing is not setting precedent. Ford is still around. GM is still around. So is Audi. People still buy those, so while Toyota is suffering right now, like those before them, they will recover. I'm sorry if that disappoints you but facts are facts.

No.

 

Lets just be sure to include that while Ford was CHARGED with negligent homicide, the case was dismissed. Lots of people get charged with stuff. It doesn't mean you are guilty.

 

I completely agree.

[Captain Obvious]In addition, just because someone is acquitted/found innocent/charges dropped/whatever, doesn't mean they actually are innocent.
Also, just because someone isn't charged with a crime doesn't mean they didn't do something wrong.[/Captain Obvious]

 

So do you not believe in that whole innocent until proven guilty thing?

 

Of course. I wouldn't do what I do and live where I live if I didn't.

I'm saying they do get wrong sometimes though, obviously with the premise of "I'd rather find a guilty man innocent than convict an innocent man".

 

Death? No, that's a childish hope, and a completely unnecessary one at that. They make decent vehicles and help drive prices/innovation for other manufacturers.

But dethronement from the #1 spot as far as its reputation for reliability goes? I hope so. Because they do not make cars superior to other manufacturers, yet the common people think they do.

Bottom line - give credit where it's due, and take it away where it doesn't belong.

I will leave Audi for another post. But when it comes to Ford, there are some big differences in the problems:

First, Pinto was one model in Ford's lineup. Toyota spans over half a dozen models. And they didn't touch Lexus yet, although it's quite possibly affected as well.

Two, tires are much different than a stuck accelerator. If you changed your tires, you were OK. If you wanted to be careful, you could adjust the pressure regularly. Or just plain not drive at highway speeds. The consumer could fix it OR be in control until the issue gets fixed. With the unintended acceleration, it could happen at any time at any speed. You could be stopped at an intersection and the car jumps forward. There is no control on the part of the driver other than to not start the car.

And the worst part? Psychologically, it's the maniacal computer. Can you trust it again? Has Toyota addressed the programming enough?