Ford Recall History Puts Toyota Recalls in Perspective

Ford Recall History Puts Toyota Recalls in Perspective
February 16, 2010

http://www.usrecallnews.com/2010/02/ford-recall-history-puts-toyota-recalls-in-perspective.html


Did you know…
• U.S. Population in 2008: 304 million
• Total U.S. Vehicle Recalls in 2008: 8.6 million
• U.S. Population in 2009: 305 million
• Total U.S. Vehicle Recalls in 2009: 15.2 million

That means in 2008, a mere 3% of the U.S. population had to deal with a vehicle recall, while in 2009, that figure skyrocketed to 5%. While still not nearly as bad as the 2004 figures totaling over 30 million units recalled (which in today’s figures would represent 10% of the population) 2009 still presents some staggering figures for the U.S. driving public to consider.

Toyota led the pack for recalls in 2009 with over 4.8 million units recalled across both the Toyota and Lexus brand names. And 2010 already puts Toyota as a front-runner so far with its Prius recall of over 437,000 units and the subsequent recall of over 4.5 million units for various problems. A Tacoma recall of 8,000 units was added to Toyota’s bill on February 15 as well. But wait – is the hype more bark than bite?

While 5 million units for the Japanese automaker may seem like a sea of cars, there’s another car manufacturer that trumps Toyota in total recalls over time:
Since the NHTSA started keeping records, Ford Motors has recalled over 20 million vehicles, the highest recall year being 1996 with over 7.6 million units. Thus, while the current recall hype might be news to the US consumer who favors Japanese models over their American counterpart, the news of Toyota’s 5 million units recalled could be overshadowed by Ford’s recall history.

It began back in 1972 when Ford issued a recall for over 4 million cars with faulty seatbelt buckles. With indications that the buckles could release in a crash situation, the auto manufacturer recalled cars from its Ford, Mercury and Lincoln brands – every single one of them made during models years 1970-71.

The next major car recall from Ford was the 1996 Ford Explorer recall. The malfunction in question gave it the less-than-favorable moniker “Ford Exploder” as the ignition switches were found to be defective and could catch fire, overheat or otherwise malfunction. Nearly 8 million cars were affected and Ford recalled nearly all its cars manufactured between 1988 and 1993.

2005 wasn’t such a great year for Ford in the recall department, either. While we’re at it, we should mention 2009 as well. Both years resulted in a recall of 4.5 million units each for Ford, and were directly related to cruise control malfunctions. Had the NHTSA combined these incidents into a single report, it would have been the largest recall of all time with an estimated 14 million Ford / Mercury vehicles affected.

While the Toyota news as of late has consumers riled, perhaps it is a good sign for what lies ahead. More stringent manufacturing processes from the already stringent Japanese automakers may be on the horizon. It will be interesting to watch shareholder reactions to both Ford and Toyota alike as the auto recall situation plays itself out through the remainder of 2010.

But lets go back a little further in history to when Toyota was building vehicles for the Imperial Japanese Army to help support the killing of our soldiers during WW II.

Ford was building stuff for the American army and our allies back then.

Good thread. I like history.

Don

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During the Pacific War (World War II) the company was dedicated to truck production for the Imperial Japanese Army. Because of severe shortages in Japan, military trucks were kept as simple as possible. For example, the trucks had only one headlight on the center of the hood. The war ended shortly before a scheduled Allied bombing run on the Toyota factories in Aichi.

http://www.speedace.info/automotive_directory/toyota.htm

Probably not the best example of patriotic American companies you could reference.

think about it



I can turn my cruise control off

sometimes hours after the vehicle had been parked and turned off.

think about it

When my best friends 4 year old daughter died at 1 am when the house caught on fire directly underneath her bedroom.

The fire was caused by their 2002 Ford Excursion cruise control. It was parked in the garage directly beneath the kids bedroom.
They owned the vehicle two weeks and it had less than 500 miles on it.

It was his wifes first new car, and she NEVER even used the cruise control!!!!!!!!!

YOU think about that!

:rofl:

And an innocent man in jail, perhaps! :hi:

from the get-go would happen?

Not defending Toyota. Just sick of the pile-on when Ford and American car companies are just as bad if not worse.

:rofl:

are actually related to the issue, and how many are just people looking to "cash in" on the hysteria your helping to perpetuate and create?

(with many dishonest, uneducated and false assertions I might add)

see, even when it's their fault, it's still not their fault.

Sid

For every legitimate complaint, there were many erroneous complaints. It appears that most accidents are caused by bad drivers, not by faults in the vehicle they were driving. I am not saying that Toyota does not have a problem. Apparently their cars do accelerate but the drivers do not know what the neutral position in the transmission is for.

Neutral does not help!

The car still accelerates and there is no way to stop it.

You obviously have erroneous information. And you are spreading it.

You have quite nerve talking about others lack of knowledge.

And that person is YOU.

If you put the car in neutral, it CANNOT get power to the rear wheels, thus making it impossible to accelerate.
Just like depressing the clutch in a standard transmission, it "disconnects" the engine from the transmission!

BANDWAGON MENTALITY!!!!!!!

While driving her car near her home in Tennessee in 2006, Rhonda's Lexus ES350 began to accelerate quickly and without warning.

"I put the car into all available gears, including neutral," she recalled about her fruitless attempt to slow the car down. Ms. Smith says she even put the car into reverse, in which position the gearshift remained as the car quickly reached a speed of 100mph.

After putting both feet on the brake and employing the emergency brake to no avail, Ms. Smith began to think that her only choice was to run her car into the guardrail, if only to save the other drivers on the highway.

http://consumerist.com/2010/02/video-one-toyota-drivers-horror-story.html

You sir/madame are the one with the bandwagon mentality!

What she described is mechanically not possible.
Having built and or re-built over a dozen vehicles in my life, I choose not to listen to the ranting of ONE (1) individual on which I base my knowledge.
I recommend you try that yourself, you'll sound more intelligent
Your opinion is based on the statement of one individual, and THEREFORE is nothing but uninformed bandwagon mentality.

leave me alone.

Are you being paid by Toyota, or do you like being an apoligist for free?

And how is that?
Do I work for Toyota? - NO!
Do I want to sue Toyota? - NO! (I do own a 2009 Tundra, so maybe..... NO THAT IS THE PROBLEM!)

I simply stated FACTS.

The problem is people such as yourself that will scream and yell about injustice and wrongdoing without ANY factual evidence to base your opinion. You simply "jump on the bandwagon" to be in vogue for the fifteen minutes it lasts, with complete disregard for the results. (Toyota EMPLOYEES)

Do I solicit giving Toyota a "pass" on this? NO! But to crucify them without evidence being provided is wrong! (I'll bet you bitched about the raw deal ACORN got, but here you are doing the same)

BANDWAGON MENTALITY - The right wing way, and here we are demonstrating that which we condemn. Otherwise known as hypocrisy!

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/total-recall-ten-largest-auto-recalls-of-all-time/

#1 Ford 2008 (12 million vehicles)
In February of 2008, Ford issued the industry’s largest-ever recall, affecting Lincoln and Mercury SUVs, pickups, cars, and vans of model years ‘93 to ‘04. The lowly cruise-control switch was behind this mother-of-all do-overs. It had a nasty habit of catching fire, sometimes hours after the vehicle had been parked and turned off. Owner response, however, has been slow, so in a rare move Ford reissued the recall in September of 2008 for the 5 million vehicles still unrepaired.

#2. Ford 1996 (8.6 million vehicles)
In 1996, after customers complained of fires caused by faulty ignition systems, Ford Motor Co. recalled vehicles including 1998-’93 Escorts, Mustangs, Tempos, Thunderbirds, Cougars, Crown Vics, Grand Marquis, Lincoln Town Cars, Aerostars, Broncos, and F-series trucks.

#3. GM 1971 (6.7 million vehicles): In 1971, some GM customers got the ride of their lives as engine mounts began separating from frames and falling back onto throttles. The models with these rocket-like tendencies included Belair, Brookwood, Camaro, Caprice, Chevrolet, Chevy II, G Series, Impala, Kingswood, Nova, P Series, C Series, and Townsmen.

#4 GM 1981 (5.8 million vehicles): Some drivers learned the hard way that suspension bolts in certain GM models had a way of wiggling themselves loose. The result? The loss of ability to steer the car. In 1981, GM offered to replace the dubious bolts in the Century, Regal, El Camino, Malibu, Monte Carlo, Caballero, Cutlass, Grand Prix, and Lemans.

for failure to address the problem. :hi:

to show just how WRONG you are in your Toyota is #1 assertion.

https://www.policyarchive.org/handle/10207/1096

<Snip>
Based on about 4300 complaints and other data, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is aware of reports detailing a total of 148 deaths and more than 500 injuries allegedly related to certain Firestone tires. Most of the incidents that resulted in deaths reportedly involved sport utility vehicles (SUVs), primarily Ford Explorers.


How's the view from that bandwagon?

To me, the subject is Auto Manufacturers producing faulty products that kill people and how they deal with it.

My contention is that Toyota is no better/worse than Ford and yet the current pile-on Toyota is way more than occurred with Ford.

You seem to think the subject matter is which Auto Maker currently has the worst product defects resulting in most deaths.

The article says "putting X in perspective". That means a broader view.

are blatantly untrue.

NHTSA has yet to confirm any deaths or accidents were caused by Toyota's known problems--or am I missing something? What we have is a mountain of reports, so many that we have to suspect causation.

:hi:

out why Toyota is such HUGE news. My husband and I put on our tinfoil hats and figured this had to be more about knocking Toyota down a notch since they have such market share. Lets not make better cars here, lets just destroy the competition. It's the corporate way.

I love my Toyota and will buy another one when this one dies. If that ever happens.

and all without any regards to the American families this will affect.

Toyota Employees: More than 35,000
Toyota, Lexus and Scion Dealership Employees: More than 1,400 dealerships employ a total of more than 115,000 people
Manufacturing Plants: 10 (in Alabama, California, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia)


They may not be union, but can we really afford any more job loss? - NO

Why the hatred for Toyota when this is minor in comparison to previous US manufacturer recalls?

all the Toyota loyalists would be even more critical than people are being of Toyota and proudly saying "I never had a problem with my perfect Toyota."


"without any regards to the American families this will affect."

Yeah, because DU was so considerate during the auto bailout. Most were gleefully waiting for GM/Chrysler to go under.

Mine is eleven years old and not subject to this recall. My mom has a brand new one that was also not part of the recall. I know lots of Toyota owners who have had no problem with theirs at all even though they have been part of the recall. I'm not saying there is NOT a problem. It just seems like it has been a huge issue now when Ford got a bye on the tire inflation thing and the rollover thing, and that has NOTHING to do with the Pinto.

Toyota's perception of higher quality has been proven wrong and people have been killed as a result of the defect.

"Lets not make better cars here, lets just destroy the competition. "

The US automakers do make better cars. Nobody is responsible for "destroying" Toyota except Toyota.

Buy a Toyota and you'll always have the best, we are so far above those OTHER manufacturers. Toyota CARES about you.

When it turns out they cared a little more about money and being the #1 automaker in the world. That's a big reason why this story is still out there. And their apologists still defend them, even after all this.

Personally I've loathed Toyota since they began price dumping cars in the US to gain market share. I also hate the fact that they build their US plants in right to work states and engage in active union busting.

the uproar over Toyota is more related to how they handled the problem. Evidently they were aware of the acceleration problem for several years before they recalled their vehicles. There must be some sort of death ratio that must be met.

As for Ford, I've driven Broncos for years, I had to because I hauled a horse tailer. The rollover problems stemmed mostly from drivers not knowing how to handle these types of trucks. If you read the owners' manual, this was addressed very carefully by Ford.

Fixed customer cars while they were at the dealership, but never notified customers. Lobbied NHTSA repeatedly to avoid recalls. Confiscated customer vehicles without prior notification. Manipulated reliability data by including common repairs as maintainence.
Stonewalled requests for "black box" data by customers and law enforcement.

Having one exploding car in their past wasn't enough, they went and made another with the Crown Vic. Sadly, since Crown Vics were popular police cars, many cops got blown away as well. The reason why? Same reason the Pinto blew up, a twenty five cent gasket that Ford didn't want to bother with.