When Does a Safe Toyota Become Dangerous?

Are You Paying Attention?…”Stay In Your Lane Meat-head!”

We all possess in town driving patterns that are predictable. There is a left hand turn that I take everyday, sometimes multiple times a day into my neighborhood that falls in this predictable category. It will help if I can help you visualize what I look at everyday as I approach this left-hand turn. Everyday it gets a little more scary. It is not a matter of if but when someone is going to be hurt and hurt bad.

I Bet You Witness What I Witness Everyday

I make this turn approximately 150 feet from a crest of a small hill, so the oncoming traffic has plenty of time to see me. I have sufficient time to see them coming as well, as their vehicle tops the crest and the road flattens out.  The traffic moves at a constant clip of 45MPH, sometimes a little faster. However speed is not the problem here. Drifting left of center for eight out of ten cars is. Having made this same turn for the last twelve years the frequency of this drifting  has gone from zero to close to 80%.

What has Changed Over the Last Twelve Years to Raise the Risk Level of the Left-hand Turn?

• It is not the vehicle. Cars, trucks, SUV’s are all manufactured safer today than they were in 1998.
• The road I use to make the left hand turn has been widened and improved, it is a safer thoroughfare.
• The weather is the same. Global warming has nothing to do with it.

So that leaves one variable. The driver. Everyday as I watch one car after another drift left of center headed directly for the center of my front grill, I flash my lights to wake them up. If I don’t it could be “curtains”,

The  Definition of a Drifter up to 1998: Tramp_Wanderer_Vagabond_Hobo_Transient_Rolling Stone_Vagrant

Starting in around 2001 a new definition has emerged to define a “Drifter”, Automobile drivers that have a phone held up to their ear, sitting in their lap or in the palm of their hand. These drivers are paying more attention to their phone than they are to the road. As cars continue to improve in safety driving skills seem to diminish in the same proportion.

Today The # 1 Hazard to Your Overall Car Safety

The number one safety issue for any car, truck, SUV or van is the cell phone. Why stop at cars and trucks? Excuse me for being a dim-wit for not mentioning the following,  How about passenger trains, freight trains, airplanes, boats or any piece of machinery that requires your undivided attention to operate.

What Causes More Accidents A Defect in the Car of the Driver?

As manufactures continually upgrade the performance and safety of vehicles they also give the driver a false sense of security.  I came across an interesting point of view about car accidents, asking…..is it the driver or the car?, this is a short but poignant  article by Jon Hamilton, click on this link.http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123610366&sc=17&f=1001

When Does A Safe Car Become Dangerous?

Recently Toyota had a recall on various different models concerning a possible “sticky peddle” that could cause a sudden and unsafe boost in acceleration. This defect has been confirmed in less than 20 cars worldwide. To maintain Toyota’s long tradition of building safe cars the manufacturer decided to recall every car made that in any way shape or form could be affected by this malfunction. A blanket recall regardless if any Toyota sold had the defect or not, Right now Toyota is upgrading 50,000 cars a day. That is how you keep a safe car, safe.

As a Toyota dealer my first duty is to serve our local customer needs first, and then any Toyota customer worldwide  thereafter. If you have any questions or if can provide any help call me at 918-333-0900. I have and will always be proud to represent the Toyota Corporation.

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Cover-up? Toyota Chooses The Hard, Painful and Honest Alternative Route

Toyota Not Only Talks the Talk They Walk the Talk

Today in corporate America it is unusual to see a corporation take complete and total responsibility for their shortcomings right out of the box. Isn’t it refreshing to by-pass the dance and get to the core issue, raise your hand, take a hit in revenue and fix your problem?

No Guts, No Glory. The What Ifs

Admit it, doesn’t it take guts to ground your entire fleet of hundred of thousands of vehicles for sale to stop the bleeding due to seven or eight cases of accelerator malfunction?   For some major corporations that is a recipe  for a cover-up. Perhaps we all could have avoided this deep recession if some of our storied financial and insurance institutions had taken the same route as Toyota dating back to the spring of 2008.

No Brains. No Headaches.

How many times have you shaken your head at some of the stupid corporate decisions made by multimillion dollar a year executives who asked and received bailout out money? I guarantee you that a lot of these guys have never suffered a headache since they were promoted to the corporate big chair. No Brains. No Headaches. So I’m proud to be associated with two of the outstanding automobile manufactures in the world. Ford and Toyota. Your safety always comes or precedes corporate profits and you can take that to the bank. Now I’m not so sure we can say that about our government owned automobile manufactures.

The High Road: Why Toyota Corporation and Doenges Toyota are in Total Alignment

The safety of our customers and others is the most important thing.

I have great confidence in the Toyota Corporation and it leadership to do the right thing to insure everyone’s safety. Toyota has been a leader in Safety for over fifty years, and they are proving it now.

The Real Two Issues
Toyota has identified two issues that may cause unintended acceleration:

1. Floor Mat Entrapment The easiest way to assure that you do not experience “floor mat entrapment” is to not operate your vehicle with the floor mat until it has been inspected and/or repaired by your dealer.

2.  Sticky Pedal. The “sticky pedal” concern has been verified on very few vehicles. I have heard six to eight. However with Safety a top priority, one vehicle so disposed is one too many. The problem  appears to be associated with vehicle age and wear. If you do not experience any restriction or abnormal operation of your accelerator pedal Toyota has assured us that it is safe to drive.

What to do if you experience an accelerator pedal that is hard to depress, slow to return or “thumps” during operation, You should drive the vehicle to a safe location, shut off the engine and contact a Toyota dealer for assistance.

If you experience an accelerator pedal that sticks in a partial open throttle position do the following maneuver. The vehicle can be controlled with firm steady application of the brakes. The brakes should not be pumped repeatedly because it could deplete vacuum assist requiring additional brake pedal pressure. The vehicle should be driven to the nearest safe location, the engine shut off and a Toyota dealer contacted for assistance.

Toyota has engineered repairs for both of these concerns.                                                                                       A,) Toyota will notify customers when to bring in their vehicle for the fix.
B.) As of today, February 04,2010 we have received our first shipments of repair parts and have begun the safety updates according to the schedule Toyota has developed.

Doenges Toyota will be open extended hours and provide shuttle service to customers in an attempt to minimize your inconvenience.
Toyota, government agencies and independent testing have not identified any other causes of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles. If you have experienced any problems with your vehicle involving accelerator operation or have any concerns about the safety of your vehicle, please contact me, one of my associates at 918-333-0900 or your Toyota dealer.

If you have not experienced any problems with accelerator operation Toyota has assured us that your vehicle is safe to drive. For information on these issues and to find out if your vehicle is involved go to: www.toyota.com/recall/. If you have further questions or concerns please call me or one of my associates at 918-333-0900.

We are in the process of updating our entire Inventory of Toyota Models to the very latest Toyota Specifications [as of today] They are safe and available to the Retail Market. We are not closed and all of our Toyota models are for sale and we do in fact continue to sell vehicles. Toyota has a well deserved reputation for reliability and safety. Plus we have our Toyota Sales Consultants and Assistant Service Managers  available to answer any and all of your concerns or questions.

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